This video is an excerpt from the event which took place at the Heritage Foundation on December 13, 2013, under the title The Unfinished Work of the Fall of the Berlin Wall: Advancing the Rule of Law with Hon. Edwin Meese III, 75th Attorney General of the United States; Hon. Becky Norton Dunlop, Vice President, The Heritage Foundation; Judge Henry Saad; Joel Anand Samy, co-founder, International Leaders Summit and Natasha Srdoc, co-founder, Adriatic Institute for Public Policy. As we approach 2014, the 25th anniversary year of the fall of the Berlin Wall and the 100th anniversary of the start of World War I, Natasha Srdoc talks about the status of post-communist Eastern Europe and specifically the Balkan region. Research reveals that the legacies of communism, the regions parlous judicial systems, economic problems, and the lack of freedoms continue to oppress some 54 million citizens in the Balkans. Recent statistics show that over 50% of the youth are unemployed in much of the region, rampant corruption and organized crime are on the increase, and the Balkan economies hemorrhaged $111.6 billion in illicit financial outflows via crime, corruption and tax evasion from 2001-2010. Additionally, the Balkan Route of illicit trade, originating from Afghanistan/Pakistan via Southeastern Europe, brings $20 billion annually into European Union member states through heroin smuggling alone which serves to finance terrorist networks. Human and organ trafficking and arms smuggling are a growing concern, also. Roger Helmer, Member of the European Parliament representing the United Kingdom, asked written questions of the European Commission regarding money laundry via Hypo Alpe Adria Group and Prince Michael von Liechtensteins involvement.
Posted on: Tue, 09 Dec 2014 07:41:00 +0000