Tag archive for ‘European Union’
International Trade and the Fight Against Climate Change
In the fight against climate change international trade can be either part of the problem or part of the solution. Both policy areas are closely intertwined. Just consider the millions of tons of goods ranging from T-shirts to raw materials that are transported across the globe, creating 23% of global CO2 emissions. Obviously, it would [...]
Europeans want Economic Governance
There we have it: Europeans want economic governance mechanisms for Europe the new Eurobarometer found out. 75% of Europeans think that stronger coordination of economic and financial policies among EU Member States would be effective in fighting the economic crisis, according to the Spring 2010 Eurobarometer, the bi-annual opinion poll organised by the EU This [...]
Farage is Right About One Thing: The EU’s Democratic Deficit Does Matter
One of those sinful pleasures that some young progressives (among others) secretly indulge in is watching the chairman of the Europe of Freedom and Democracy EP group, Nigel Farage, humiliate time and again the EU’s leadership. Yes, even with all the cheap demagogy and the tasteless ad hominem attacks, Farage can be very funny. Nevertheless, [...]
Why the European Union is Dying
Ok, the headline is exaggerating the problems of the EU and I certainly don’t want it to die. But the headline is meant to attract your attention to a very real issue that has the potential to send the Union into terminal decline: the complete lack of any European identity or ambition of any of Europe’s political leaders. Gary [...]
Angela Merkel: The World’s ‘Most Valuable Leader’
Forget Barack Obama. Forget the Hu Jintao/Wen Jiaboa duo, or David Cameron or Vladimir Putin. Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel is the world’s most important leader. The latest report showing Germany’s economy growing at a blistering annual rate of nearly 9%, well into recovery from a US-made economic collapse, is just further evidence of the obvious. Despite [...]
Social Dialogue between strong Social Partners: Vital for Democracy, Vital for Europe
In most EU member states, social dialogue between trade unions and employers is an essential feature of the democratic process. Trade unions and employers negotiate pay and working conditions, and, in some countries, they also have a say in social security arrangements or have key roles in other areas. They help government manage the economy, [...]
Who is reforming Europe’s Economic Governance?
After the crisis, European policy makers are now crafting reforms to strengthen the Union’s economic governance. It is an opportunity to make Europe more democratic. Instead, conservatives increase the democratic deficit under the pretext of closing budget deficits. This will not work. The European Commission has proposed measures to enhance economic policy coordination. ECB President [...]
Economic Governance in Europe: A Change of Course only after ramming the Ice
The European Commission recently announced proposals to enhance economic policy coordination and strengthen EU economic governance (here). They start from the right premise: ‘the crisis has shown that they [economic policy coordination instruments] have not been used to the full and that there are gaps in the current governance system’. Concrete measures are proposed, all [...]
Is Post-Ideology coming to a Voting Booth near You?
I hadn’t planned on writing about Hungary again quite so soon – not unless our domestic politics raised some point of larger significance to European progressives in general. But a few days ago our new right-wing (?) prime minister, Viktor Orbán announced that the time of the old ideologies that had shaped the 20th century [...]
Russia’s Great Gas Game
Russia and the European Union are geopolitical neighbors. Whether or not their relationship is in fact neighborly, rather than tense and confrontational, is of critical importance to both. Unless it modernizes its economy and society, Russia can forget its claim to status as a world power in the twenty-first century and will continue to fall [...]
Handling Crisis Economics – Where is the European Debate?
I have been following the debates on crisis economics for quite some time now. Especially the discussion about austerity packages and fiscal consolidation versus a more expansionary fiscal policy to make sure the fragile economic recovery is not choked off is one of the key debates of our time. Get it wrong and millions of [...]
Labour Market Reforms and Public Finances Consolidation in Europe
The debate on the strategies that would help the Eurozone governments to face off the current public debt crisis and steer their public finances back onto a sustainable path has been raging on. One of the main criticisms that the current EU initiatives have been receiving is that they do not adequately address the issue [...]
