Tag archive for ‘Jose Manuel Barroso’
Europe’s Case of ‘Chief Executive Envy’
Every time Europe goes through one of its occasional crises, calls arise across the continent for ‘stronger leadership.’ The perception of having feeble leadership was a major factor in the push for the Lisbon Treaty, which went into effect late in 2009 and created a president for the European Council and a high representative for [...]
Does Europe need a Strategy for China?
The European Union is the second largest economy in the world, but does it have a global economic strategy? 10 years after the creation of the euro, there is little evidence for it. Policymakers are more concerned with protecting narrow domestic advantages than with improving opportunities for the European economy as a whole. The Lisbon [...]
2010 will be the Year of Parliaments
2010 will be the year when democratic accountability takes a front seat in the European Union. That is because the Lisbon Treaty gives bigger roles to the European Parliament, national parliaments and to civil society. The big winner from the Lisbon Treaty is undoubtedly the European Parliament. It has fully become an equal lawmaker with [...]
Nomination of the Commission: left backs the right, and wonders why it has no message
The EP elections, the five year democratic interruption to the Brussels game, are long in the past. Everyone is back from their summer holidays, ready for a bout of jousting and positioning in that depressing and opaque game: how to put together a team of 27 Commissioners. The nomination of José Manuel Barroso as President [...]
