debating progressive politics in Europe and beyond
This morning I was again on CNBC Squawk Box Europe discussing current European politics, especially the latest banking union proposals. Strangely, on a procedural point, I found myself in agreement with Wolfgang Schäuble even though I normally disagree with him. But there you go…
The European Union (EU) is in motion and a lot has changed in recent years. Having been in constant crisis mode since the Eurozone crisis broke out, the Union has been on the back foot for a rather long time. In the wake of this plight, it has become less and less clear what the [...]
The Good Society Debate, that was launched five years ago by the SPD Secretary General Andrea Nahles and the Head of the Labour Party Policy Review, Jon Cruddas MP, has certainly made a splash in Europe. According to a study by the Institute of Democracy Research of Göttingen University the debate, which has been driven by the [...]
According to new research undertaken by the Open Society Foundations there still is: Despite the different challenges facing European nations, the large majority of Europeans believe that standing in solidarity and working together is the best way of getting out of the current crises facing the continent. Two thirds (67 percent) of Europeans surveyed say [...]
I have just come across this video by Brown University Professor Mark Blyth (thanks @JamesHannahUK) who explained very well in five minutes why austerity, especially when everybody engages in it at the same time, is a very bad idea. The video is two years old but – unfortunately – is still up to date with [...]
I was talking to CCTV America two days ago about the Cyprus issue. The video looks a bit strange this time as it was pre-recorded and cut and I was seeing myself in front of me whilst doing the interview. That was slightly distracting but anyway here we go…
The answer is no. In a recent blog post he has revealed the tactics – also employed in the US during the Bush years – that are at work here: if you attack a policy and a leading proponent of it – what he did with Olli Rehn and the EU’s austerity push – you [...]
Something fundamental seems to have changed in Europe in recent days. After the European Union introduced a cap on bonuses, the Swiss people voted in favour of an even harder clampdown on telephone number extra payments. Taken together with a move by many European countries towards a financial transaction tax, it for the first time [...]
The Italian elections have again revealed the degree of political discontent with ‘austerity Europe’. The only good news, as Paolo Borioni made clear, is that in contrast to countries such as Greece Italy’s protest vote did not lead to a strengthening of extreme political forces. When I visited Athens about a week ago this graffiti [...]
This is a timely and urgent initiative! More than 380 social and labour lawyers have signed a manifesto urging the EU to respect and promote fundamental social rights in the crisis-related measures it calls for. Members of the Transnational Trade Union Rights Experts Network (TTUR) drafted a manifesto with the intention of raising awareness about [...]
Last Friday I joined a radio discussion on the Voice of Russia talking about David Cameron’s Europe speech. Here is how they announced it: VoR’s Tom Spender asks a mixed panel if David Cameron’s announcement that he would hold an ‘In/Out’ referendum on the EU if re-elected is a significant milestone in British history or [...]
Following the big speech on Europe yesterday, there is now a lot of talk about what powers Cameron would like to see repatriated. One area that comes up persistently is the Working Time Directive. I don’t want to be technical here so this is how Wikipedia describes the Working Time Directive: The Working Time Directive, 2003/88/EC, is a Directive [...]
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