Pan Cogito Sort Of Replies To Those Who Might Question His Commitment To An 'Open' Global Economy And An 'Open' Global Culture

"“If we look to the last crisis 80 years ago where one country tried to pass its problems to another country and so on, they did not solve their problems. We can only be successful if work together and keep open the economy,” said Mr Josef Pröll [Austria's Finance Minister and Vice-Chancellor in the Financial Times last Wednesday].

Mr Pröll added that western Europe had a particular responsibility to eastern Europe. ”We have made a lot of money in these countries in the last 20 years and now in this crisis we must support them in these difficult times."

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More than 80 per cent of emerging Europe's bank assets are owned by western European banks.

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The Kyiv Arsenal factory (Russian and Ukrainian: Завод "Арсенал", Zavod Arsenal) is one of the oldest and most famous industrial factories of Kyiv, Ukraine, Future European Union.

In 2004, a Ukrainian oligarch and art philanthropist Viktor Pinchuk suggested the establishment of a modern art gallery in the oldest 19th century building of the Arsenal. This large fortress-looking brick structure, situated on the Tsitadel'na Street and recognized as an important architectural monument, belongs to the Ukrainian military and is presently poorly maintained.

Later, Viktor Yushchenko, the President of Ukraine, expressed his support for the museum idea but suggested that the museum had to be state-run and dominated by more traditional art pieces in order to become a "Ukrainian Hermitage". The process of converting the building to civil use is underway, while the nature of the museum is still being debated.

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Header photo credit: (c) Halibutt via Wikimedia Commons. With thanks.