debating progressive politics in Europe and beyond
There are those moments when things become very clear. One such moment arrived last week, on the 9 May when the President of the European Commission presented the Commission’s statement for Schuman Day also known as Europe Day. This statement contains a number of enlightening comments, revealing the real thinking inside the Commission. First, there’s [...]
With talk of a Greek exit from the Euro now being treated seriously it can be informative to consider past experiences with monetary union. The normal fate for currency unions has been eventual failure and dissolution, and the history books are full of examples of such failures. By and large having some pre-existing form of [...]
The latest Eurostat flash estimate shows that at least nine EU countries are in recession, having posted negative economic growth in both the first quarter of 2012 and the last of 2012. In four of these Member States that makes three consecutive quarters of contraction and in Greece and Portugal output has been falling for [...]
In recent months, more and more attention has been focused on the failure of the Eurozone leaders’ policies of fiscal consolidation, with growth presented as the alternative. The problems for the Eurozone stem not just from the policies, however. They also come from the governance processes and the politics—or lack thereof. Processes The main problem [...]
As the mostly centre right governments of Europe rushed a few years back to save their economies by rediscovering the state, many talked of the triumphant return of Neo-Keynesianism. However, they spoke too soon. What followed, as the danger of immediate financial collapse was averted, was a harsh return to the previous orthodoxy and to [...]
Some politicians (and economists) pretend that cutting spending and raising taxes will lead to budget balance.[1] The argument is all too familiar in Britain. Indeed, it is the cornerstone of the ‘austerity drive’ and ‘fiscal compact’ that the Euro Area (EA) is currently adopting. In particular, Angela Merkel has promoted the notion that government profligacy [...]
I guess we knew this was coming, but in the face of last Sunday’s election results and the broader evidence that Europe’s economic strategy is an utter failure, the usual suspects are, you guessed it, doubling down. Simon Wren-Lewis looks on in horror as the Dutch agree on completely unnecessary austerity measures, as a way of showing [...]
The important elections in Greece and France are now behind us and the results will hopefully have a decisive impact on European crisis politics. The days after such important elections are also ‘talking heads’ time. I was on Al Jazeera International and on Sky News to discuss the implications of the election results for European [...]
The result of the Greek elections is no doubt ground-breaking. The collapse of PASOK to its pre-1980 electoral levels, the rise of the far-right to levels unimaginable since the restoration of democracy in 1974, the collapse of the traditional bi-partisanship, the elevation of the left to second place in the popular vote, are all elements [...]
It has become common talk across the European Union to blame the Commission for being undemocratic, and a better representative of financial elites than of the people’s interest. Populist parties wallow in corrosive attacks on “Brussels’ diktats”, while mainstream politicians do not dare risk a stand in favour of Commissioners widely seen as unelected technocrats [...]
Euroscepticism inside the European Union is not as thriving as Euro-doomsayers have suggested: in various elections in Europe in the last months, an overwhelming majority of Europeans have reasserted their support for pro-European parties. Yes, the eurosceptic fringe has been growing, but it is still only a minority. Nevertheless, in these trying times popular support [...]
The UK has long had a semi-detached approach to much of European Union politics and policies – Europe begins across the channel for most people and politicians. And the British opt-outs from the euro and from the Schengen border-free zone are hardly going to be overturned at these times of euro crisis, of debates and [...]
SocialEurope Journal: SEJ Article: A Breakthrough Opportunity for Global Health http://t.co/VYXi6Wag SocialEurope Journal: SEJ Article: When Neo-Liberals drop their Mask http://t.co/saAJbUZH SocialEurope Journal: SEJ Article: At least nine EU countries in recession: stimulus urgently needed http://t.co/oNN0v98l SocialEurope Journal: SEJ Article: European Monetary Union: Doomed to fail or just another Stepping Stone? http://t.co/pMuqDvkA SocialEurope Journal: SEJ Article: Creating Jobs in recession-hit Communities in Europe: Why Microcredit will not help http://t.co/zJb4XxJl SocialEurope Journal: SEJ Article: German State Elections send Merkel an Economic Message http://t.co/yVG4Xr5n SocialEurope Journal: SEJ Article: Two dangerous Myths about a 'Grexit' http://t.co/vOhdnVIp SocialEurope Journal: SEJ Article: Finding a Way out of the Crisis – Growth and Employment in Europe http://t.co/Q8JhRRSg 
All Content
Follow US on Social Media