debating progressive politics in Europe and beyond
Tow days ago I was back on CCTV America‘s ‘Biz Aisa America’ programme to discuss the trade issues between the EU and China that have recently flared up and the latest Eurozone GDP figures. And yes, we talked about austerity too; and I will continue to do so until some real policy change is coming. [...]
Most political leaders in Europe want the European Union to emerge from its current crisis stronger and more united. But the economic policies that have been implemented in most EU countries since the crisis began have given rise to an unprecedented threat to deeper integration – and, indeed, to what already has been achieved. After [...]
Usually around 6.30 in the morning is when the little one wakes up for a feed: she is the daily alarm. The ritual is the same each day, coffee, cigarette and catch up on news on twitter. The morning of Saturday the 16th was different as the previous night an extraordinary Eurogroup was held for Cyprus, [...]
There was a very interesting debate on Channel 4 News in the UK about the repercussions of austerity in Europe and the UK. Paul Krugman, Guy Verhofstadt and Matthew Hancock took part. The result: austerity does not work and the UK government is more and more desperate in its attempt to justify its failing policies.
Watch Joseph Stiglitz discuss the European recession and the politics that has led to it. The talk was recorded in New York at the event ‘A Discussion on the Future of Europe,’ organized by the Center on Global Economic Governance, SIPA, Columbia University, with The Brookings Institution and World Leaders Forum. The event took place on [...]
Watch former Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou discuss the Eurozone Crisis and Greece’s role in it. The talk was recorded in New York at the event ‘A Discussion on the Future of Europe,’ organized by the Center on Global Economic Goverenance, SIPA, Columbia University, with The Brookings Institution and World Leaders Forum. The event took [...]
How Crisis Policies in Southern Europe Threaten the EU’s Social Dimension. The harsh austerity measures that, according to official policy, are supposed to overcome the euro crisis have once again plunged Europe into recession in 2012. Austerity policy has proved – in Greece, Italy, Portugal and Spain (GIPS) – to be primarily an attack on [...]
Last week’s Eurostat press statement on unemployment is devastating. In December 2012, unemployment stood at 11.7% in the Euro area and 10.7% in the EU-27. In both areas, unemployment was is significantly up from December 2011.In the whole of Europe, 25.9 million people are unemployed of which 5.7 million are youngsters. Greece and Spain, recording [...]
Financial crises tend to start abruptly and end by surprise. Three years ago, the euro crisis began when Greece became a cause for concern among policymakers and a cause for excitement among money managers. Since the end of 2012, a sort of armistice has prevailed. Does that mean that the crisis is over? By the [...]
Across the North Atlantic region, central bankers and governments seem, for the most part, helpless in restoring full employment to their economies. Europe has slipped back into recession without ever really recovering from the financial/sovereign-debt crisis that began in 2008. The United States’ economy is currently growing at 1.5% per year (about a full percentage [...]
The global economy this year will exhibit some similarities with the conditions that prevailed in 2012. No surprise there: we face another year in which global growth will average about 3%, but with a multi-speed recovery – a sub-par, below-trend annual rate of 1% in the advanced economies, and close-to-trend rates of 5% in emerging [...]
At year end we all assess the past and guess the future. We compare what we expected and what happened. We develop new expectations for the new year. In economic affairs this is particularly important, as expectations on growth are crucial for firms’ investment decisions, for government policies and for people’s chances to work. This [...]
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