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Introduction:

Who owns Europe? 
Well, The Europeans, of course. 
That is not of course. Maybe it was, but it isn&rsquo;t any more. 
It has shown up that the French are worried, because some Chinese bought one of the old famous French Chateaus where they produce fine wine. 
The Chinese have also bought Volvo &ndash; the Swedish Carmaker. 
Land Rover, once the quintessence of British industry, is now owned by Tata, the Indian carmaker, as is Jaguar. 
The American Investment Bank Goldman Sachs has now established itself with offices in several European countries. Who knows what they own? 
In general ownership is an awkward term. What does it mean really? 
Let&rsquo;s take a forest. Who owns it? In many countries are big parts of the forests owned by the public. This is very good. That means public access to the forests. 
What about properties? Traditionally, properties are owned by the owners, however, it depends. Even if it is formally yours the property is owned by the bank, until you have paid for it fully. 
What about water supply? Water is something everybody needs. Should the water supply be open for private ownership, or should it be publicly owned? If water is just another commodity on the market, the production of it could be made efficient. The logic behind public ownership is that water is a commodity that everybody needs and uses. Water is public. It is part of the country&rsquo;s infrastructure and a scarce resource. The fight about the water supply is more an more intense around the world, and private ownership has caused conflicts many places. 
The same question goes for roads, railroads, harbours and airports as well as the electric grid. They are all for public use &ndash; private or public ownership? 
&nbsp; 
With the current trends in Europe, more and more of these things are going on private hands. That means they are being sold. Copenhagen airport in Kastrup is owned by an Australian company. In the spirit of neo-capitalism, the company owning Kastrup is interested in one thing only, to earn money. And they do! Every year they take a huge lot of money out of the airport and the airport do not have them for investments and development. At the same time many airlines are struggling. Do the Australian owners care about the airline or the public using the airport? Not at all, they care about earning money. 
Rails, roads and airports are all parts of the infrastructure of a country. 
Banedanmark owns the rails in Denmark. It is a state-owned enterprise that operates under the auspices of the Danish Ministry of Transport and Energy. This means it is publicly owned. But the trains running on the rails may be private or state-owned. Just like the roads, the rails are public, but the people and companies using the roads as well as the rails can be private or state-owned. This is a kind of an example of private and public cooperation. 
&nbsp; 
What will the future bring? 
Who will own Europe in 20 years? It seems that globalization is an unstoppable development. More and more of Europe are being taken over by non-Europeans. Investment funds are also mingling into European properties. Who is losing? One of the losers is General Government. In the name of &ldquo;privatization&rdquo;, they are selling out of values that ought to be kept under national control. Another looser is the general household. This means that people in general, or we might say the middle class people, who traditionally owned their own home, are now on the defensive, and can to a lesser degree than before acquire properties and other values. 
Are we heading towards a Europe that is in the name of privatization is taken over by foreign or local investment funds, or can we, as the common people, manage to keep our heads &ldquo;above the water&rdquo; and survive the ever-increasing venture of global privatization and commodity-transformation of values and resources? 
Go to the Instruction to see what you will have to do in order to learn more about who owns Europe and who will own Europe in the future.

Directive:

The task is set to 5 hours 
&nbsp; 
Read the introduction and the questions and make sure you understand the overall aim of the task. 
 
Read ALL the files. 
&nbsp; 
How to use this task: 
 
Variant 1. 
You can solve the task individually by answering all the questions in the form of a 2-page text. 
 
The structure of the text in sections: 
1. An overall answer to the title of the task 
2. Will privatization continue - why of why not?&nbsp; 
3. Will big investors, banks etc., like Goldman Sachs, increase their influence in EU? 
4. Will foreign investors, like Chinese or American, to a greater degree take over European companies and financial institutions as well as land and infrastructure? 
5. Will Europe ever get rid of its debt? 
6. You can have other comments. 
 
Variant 2. 
You can solve the task commonly, where your teammates and you share different parts of the topic among yourselves and present to each other in a form of a course. The whole course with all the parts shouldn&rsquo;t exceed 1 hour. 
Each one of you will end up with a 1-page text about your part of the topic and the conclusion from your part of the course. All the materials you used for your part of the course should also be send to your teacher. 
&nbsp; 
Use additional sources if you find it beneficial, especially if you have chosen the variant 2. The origin of additional sources must be noted for control. 
&nbsp; 
Issues, with questions as guidelines, relevant for making the product. Use them according to be able to make the product properly. 
 
1. Read File 1. Who owns European economy?
<ol style="list-style-type:lower-alpha">
	<li>What is the difference between foreign investors and domestic investors with regards to EU economy?</li>
	<li>How did privatization of state owned businesses and properties influence the European equity markets?</li>
	<li>What are the recent trends with regards to European ownership of listed companies?</li>
</ol>
&nbsp; 
2. Watch the film clip from YouTube: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zyc9-K0GMcU">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zyc9-K0GMcU</a> about the influence of Goldman Sachs in Europe.

<ol style="list-style-type:lower-alpha">
	<li>How is it possible that an investment-bank like Goldman Sachs can influence European politics/economy in the way it is doing?</li>
	<li>Why do you think the European statesmen who have been advisers to Goldman Sachs keep quiet about it?</li>
</ol>
 
3. Read file 2 about the threats of Goldman Sachs.
<ol style="list-style-type:lower-alpha">
	<li>London is regarded as a hub for international financial companies among them Goldman Sachs, whose main European office is in London.&nbsp; If United Kingdom decides to leave the EU, will Goldman Sachs leave London, or is it just a threat?</li>
	<li>Why do you think Goldman Sachs can threaten the British Prime Minister David Cameron in the way described in the article?</li>
</ol>
&nbsp; 
4.&nbsp; File no 3 about who owns European debt? 
 
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Look at the first graph:
<ol style="list-style-type:lower-alpha">
	<li>Which countries have the highest debt?</li>
	<li>Which country&rsquo;s banks hold the debts of their own country?</li>
	<li>Which country&rsquo;s banks hold debts of other countries?</li>
</ol>
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Look at the second graph:

<ol style="list-style-type:lower-alpha">
	<li>Which country&rsquo;s banks hold the Italian government&rsquo;s debts?</li>
	<li>Which country&rsquo;s banks hold the Greek government&rsquo;s debts?</li>
	<li>How does this differ from the debts of Germany and France?</li>
</ol>
&nbsp; 
5. Read file 4 about Goldman Sachs and Greece. Greece has been in deep debt since 2008. Then Goldman Sachs moved in.
<ol style="list-style-type:lower-alpha">
	<li>Try to figure out what Goldman Sachs did. (It is not easy. Those people are clever).</li>
	<li>Did they help Greece, or did they help themselves by making money in the process?</li>
	<li>Why is it that Goldman Sachs can manipulate Governments and whole countries the way they do?</li>
</ol>
&nbsp; 
6. Read file 5 about who owns the water in Europe.
<ol style="list-style-type:lower-alpha">
	<li>From the article, find out who owns the water in Europe.</li>
	<li>Find out if the water supply is being more and more privatized.</li>
	<li>Discuss if it matters if a country&rsquo;s water supply is privatized or not.</li>
</ol>
&nbsp; 
7. Read file 6 about the European forests. In general forests are publicly owned.
<div style="margin-left: 40px;">a. Why do you think this is the case when so many other commodities are being privatized? 
 
&nbsp;</div>

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