debating progressive politics in Europe and beyond
Ireland’s economic crisis has its roots in a housing bubble that collapsed in 2007. Commentators have pointed to a number of bankers, politicians, developers and builders who share part of the responsibility for the orgy of lending and borrowing that preceded the crash, but the key role of the media has not yet been systematically [...]
In a recent talk in London Peer Steinbrück, the SPD candidate for the German Chancellorship, in an otherwise progressive talk referred to Ireland as the “star pupil” among the countries struggling to recover from the disastrous Europe crisis. This comment goes along with frequent reference in the media to Ireland’s “success” compared to the other crisis [...]
The people of Ireland will be on the streets in their tens of thousands on February 9. They will be marching in a series of coordinated demonstrations scheduled in six cities across the country, including the capital Dublin. While the protests have been organised by the Irish trade union movement, they are designed to ensure the [...]
So, tomorrow we will finally hear David Cameron’s big speech on Britain’s future in the European Union. So much has already been trailed and leaked that it will be difficult for Cameron to come up with something substantially new, but rumour has it that he is at least trying. In the meantime there is an [...]
Given the current low level of noise about the future of the Euro and potential changes in the composition of the Eurozone one could conclude that the worst scenarios of the past turn out to be exactly – scenarios. Michel Barnier, Commissioner for Financial Services, even declared the beginning of the end of the Eurozone [...]
The aftershocks of Ireland’s property crash continue to reverberate through the economy. The sharp decline in construction activity and property prices from their respective peaks has devastated the construction sector and seriously undermined the Irish banking system. The next few years will continue to be difficult for the Irish economy and the outlook for growth [...]
Could you have imagined it? This is the kind of Europe we now have built for our children. We have seen the grotesquely overgrown financial sector destroy our economy, caused millions of Europeans to lose their jobs, handed our children billions of euro in bad debts, and yet its leaders evade sanction and even walk [...]
At the end of July, the Conference Board (a business sector driven research association based in New York) published a study pointing out that several crisis ridden countries in Europe are now recording significant cuts in wage costs. In their view, these falling unit wage costs are rebalancing competitive positions between the core and the [...]
It’s an awkward question but one that must be raised repeatedly. Does Germany really want the euro to survive? Was the beloved DM sacrificed for unification? The German public—like their counterparts around the world—appear to be unduly influenced by their jingoistic press, one which tends to see Germans as the much-maligned victims of a Eurozone [...]
Analysis of the Adaptation Programmes Reveals Policy Failures In a comprehensive study for the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung Klaus Busch, Professor (retired) of European Studies at the University of Osnabrück, meticulously charts political crisis management since the beginning of the crisis in the Euro Area in 2010: »A manifold policy failure is evident during this brief time-period which [...]
The escalating run on the banks on Europe’s periphery is now front page news. Even the Germans no doubt realize that moving on a scale great enough to arrest such a bank run will risk potential Target 2 losses on a huge scale. The odds are some kind of huge ECB efforts to stem this [...]
In five years we have gone from being the ‘pinup stars’ for EU growth to being the ‘posterchildren’ for austerity and, like a nodding dog in the back of a car, our leaders are as clueless now as they were then about the road taken and final destination. Some of that ‘clueless-ness’ can be seen [...]
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