debating progressive politics in Europe and beyond
The current crisis of legitimacy of the EU can be traced in a path-dependent fashion to its roots in the aftermath of World War II. Subsequent historical distance has elided together the anti-fascist popular consensus across the continent after the defeat and delegitimisation of Nazism with the elite integration ‘project’ which came to fruition in [...]
I was interviewed about the recent European GDP figures by CCTV America recently. This is what I had to say.
„It is exactly nine years since our country became a full member of the EU“. The Czech Republic set out to join the EU in a period dominated by the challenging process of transformation to adapt the economy to market conditions and in a situation in which its economy was remarkably open to the dramatic [...]
That the disease which brought the European Union into the intensive-care ward and has kept it there since, for quite a few years, is best diagnosed as a ‘democratic deficit’ is fast turning into a commonplace. Indeed, it is taken increasingly for granted and is hardly ever seriously questioned. Some observers and analysts ascribe the [...]
The European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) has, for many reasons, always been supportive of the European project, but primarily because this regional integration model aimed not only at economic integration but was also meant to foster social progress and full employment. We have stressed this point on many occasions over the years. The response from [...]
The European Union owes its existence to the efforts of political elites who could count on the passive consent of their more or less indifferent populations as long as the peoples could regard the Union as also being in their economic interests, all things considered. The Union has legitimized itself in the eyes of the [...]
Just weeks ago, the worst of the financial crisis in Europe seemed to be over. Stability seemed to be returning. But appearances proved to be deceptive. A minor problem (at least in scale) like Cyprus, when combined with an almost unbelievable degree of incompetence among the “troika” (the European Commission, the European Central Bank, and [...]
The various economic and budgetary policy governance instruments at the European level have achieved a regulatory density that a few years ago seemed barely imaginable. At the same time, the question also arises about the democratic legitimation of the new coordination mechanisms in which parliaments have only participated sporadically to date. Every parliamentary level thus [...]
The European heads of state and governments are sitting in a burning house haggling over the total sum they will have to rustle up for the water damages from putting out the fire. The reproach that they have lost contact with the citizens doesn’t ring true: the fact is, they never had any to start [...]
The Commission has just issued an analysis (in-depth review, IDR) of thirteen EU countries considered to have macroeconomic imbalances.* In principle this is a sensible exercise. Macroeconomic imbalances had built up in the pre-crisis years. They have important cross-border spillover effects. Resolving them is thus a matter of the common interest of all the member [...]
My objective in coming here today is to discuss the euro crisis. I think you will all agree that the crisis is far from resolved. It has already caused tremendous damage both financially and politically and taken an extensive human toll as well. It has transformed the European Union into something radically different from what [...]
Or rather, why isn’t it doing something? Consumer price inflation is currently 1.7%. The OECD expects 1.6% as a whole for 2013, and 1.2% for 2014. The ECB sees downside risks due to the impact from lower activity, which it acknowledges is falling but which it hopes will recover soon. The OECD expects GDP to [...]
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