debating progressive politics in Europe and beyond
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 celebrations of 50 years Franco-German reconciliation are behind us and maybe the most impressive fact they revealed was how “normal” these relations have become. De Gaulle re-accredited the “great German nation” after the war, Helmut Schmidt and Valery Giscard d’Estaing laid the foundations for Europe’s Monetary Union, Mitterrand and Kohl implemented it, but all [...]
Angela Merkel has made her choice: “I support Nicolas Sarkozy on all fronts,” she told reporters in Paris. This is not surprising. It is “perfectly natural” to support fellow conservatives, she explained. Yet, this alliance is dressed in historic terms: “It’s about the big responsibility we have, the construction of Europe. We are surrounded by [...]
It is not easy to detect where the euro debate stands after coming back from a holiday in India. In fact the euro crisis was hardly mentioned in the The Hindu, one of the most important Indian newspapers. However, I think there is a tangible game change happening this year. Still, we are faced with many [...]
Europe’s governments have done it: the Euro Area is in shambles. Not because the euro was a bad idea, but because partial interests by member state governments prevent the design and implementation of good policies. Nation states damage the collective interests of European citizens. The present system of intergovernmental governance without a European government is [...]
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