deBuren

Near the end of 2008 the economic crisis hits the world hard. In November of that year the Eurozone faced a recession for the very first time. Compared to other foreign currency the euro exchange rates dropped dramatically in the first half of 2010. Several European countries struggle with huge budget deficits and massive national debts. The balance sheet of some South European countries and Ireland show that they have tremendous financial problems. Panic rises when Belgium gets caught in the crosshairs of European speculators. The heavily debated article ‘Belgium joins financial market’s hit list’, published at the end of 2010 in The Guardian, started the ball rolling. Is our financial situation really that dire, or are speculators and media starting a panic for nothing?

Are our media able to inform us sufficiently about the economic crisis in Europe? What role did the media play in the build-up of the financial crisis in 2008, and how far does the responsibility of journalists reach when they give speculators a free forum? Are non-specialist journalists capable of covering such a complex subject or does a certain distance from the subject have advantages?

Panel

Sony Kapoor is the Managing Director of Re-Define Rethinking Development, Finance & Environment, an international think tank. A prominent expert on international finance and development, Sony started his career in investment banking and derivative trading. In 2003 he switched to work on reforming the financial system, to promote international development and to help create a more sustainable and fair economy.

Peter De Keyzer was chief economist at the brokerage firm Petercam in Brussels, and takes up the same function at BNP Paribas Fortis as of April 2011. Previously he worked at ABN Amro and KBC.

Leigh Philips is a journalist at the EUobserver, an independent online news medium reaching 60.000 readers each day. The EUobserver covers European politics daily.

Johan Van Overtveldt moderates the debate. He works as editor-in-chief at the economical news magazine Trends.

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