Press
The unravelling of the EU
03 July 2009
Prospect
Divided on foreign and defence policy, the EU seems to be slipping backwards. It must learn to speak in one voice, or others will shape the new world order, writes Charles Grant, director of the Centre for European Reform.
The Dis-Uniting Kingdom?
30 June 2009
The Wall Street Journal
Britain's European debate has gone septic. More than half of British votes cast in recent European elections went to euro-skeptic parties ranging from the mad, bad political fringes such as the British National Party to a Conservative Party promising to claw back powers from Brussels.
Will the recession make Europe's militaries weaker?
12 June 2009
Foreign Policy
Governments across Europe are about to slash their defense budgets - but they need to ensure they cut correctly.The economic crisis has wracked government budgets across Europe, as revenues have fallen and spending on stimulus and bailouts has soared.
Guest column: Spain's muted EU voice
09 June 2009
Financial Times
There are several paradoxes about Spain’s global role. Its business leaders have built up many world-beating companies, but its politicians tend to be parochial.
Por qué pesa poco España?
08 May 2009
ABC.es
El papel de España en la UE encierra una extraña paradoja. Aunque se trata de uno de los Estados miembros más europeísta, es el que menos influencia tiene de los seis países más grandes. Pero esto no siempre ha sido así.
The EU can ignore Eastern Europe at its own peril
17 April 2009
Yale Global Online
The glow of the G-20 summit and some less-than-awful economic data have brought some faint signs of optimism to Europe. But in the European Union’s Eastern member-states, the risk of economic turmoil and political backlash is still tangible.
The wages of recovery
15 April 2009
The Wall Street Journal
Everywhere in Europe the talk is of the need to cut costs. Companies have no choice but to respond to declining profits by reducing expenses.
Obama’s European Scorecard
07 April 2009
The New York Times
Europe’s Kind of Guy
Josef Joffe
Barack H. Obama is not George W. Bush — that is the difference, and the 44th president has been going to town on it ever since he was inaugurated. In fact, he swept the Europeans off their feet even before the election.
Just recall the hundreds of...
Josef Joffe
Barack H. Obama is not George W. Bush — that is the difference, and the 44th president has been going to town on it ever since he was inaugurated. In fact, he swept the Europeans off their feet even before the election.
Just recall the hundreds of...
Turkey's future lies with Europe
07 April 2009
The Guardian
Barack Obama would not have needed to say it. The fact that he is visiting Turkey as part of a European – not a Middle Eastern – tour shows where he thinks Turkey's future lies: in the EU.
Yes we can - and here's how
03 April 2009
E!Sharp
The credibility of Ireland’s already weak government will be on the line when it puts the Lisbon Treaty to a second referendum later this year.
Why can't Europe and Turkey get along
02 April 2009
Time Europe
Now that Turkey's local elections are out of the way, the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) is free to focus on economic and political reforms.
Ten years on, the eurozone must beware of Greeks bearing debts
29 March 2009
The Times
Europe's leaders have plenty to fret about. The Czech Government, which holds the EU presidency, has collapsed. The European Commission is battling against the protectionist instincts of some states.
Viewpoint: EU enlargement woes
16 March 2009
BBC News
The queue for EU membership keeps getting longer. The 27-nation EU has accepted Turkey, Bosnia-Hercegovina, Croatia, Serbia and other Balkan countries as potential candidates. Recession-battered Iceland may follow.
The real G20 agenda: From technics to politics
16 March 2009
Open democracy
The efforts of world leaders to find solutions to the economic crisis are intensifying. The last preparatory meeting before the leaders' summit on 2 April 2009 shows what needs to be done, says Katinka Barysch.
The summit of finance ministers and central bankers from the Group of Twenty (G20) countries took...
The summit of finance ministers and central bankers from the Group of Twenty (G20) countries took...
It's a fabrication that Britain doesn't make things any more
13 March 2009
The Times
Nicolas Sarkozy stung us when he claimed last month that Britain, unlike France, “has no industry”. Since the implosion of the financial sector, it has become an article of faith that the British economy is paying for its excessive reliance on services.
Les crises appellent une figure forte pour l'Europe
06 March 2009
La Croix
La période actuelle où est mise à l’épreuve la construction européenne exige, pour Charles Grant, non pas davantage de transferts de compétences, mais une personnalité de premier plan face au reste du monde.
A trade surplus is not always a sign of strength
04 March 2009
Financial Times
There has been a queue of commentators arguing that the strong economic performance of the US and the UK in the run-up to the financial crisis was an illusion, a product of excessive borrowing and an inflated financial sector.
Wij moeten de zwakke eurolanden helpen
02 March 2009
NRC Handelsblad
Twaalf maanden geleden leek het nog ondenkbaar dat een EU-lidstaat in een staatsschuldencrisis zou belanden. Toch behoort dit nu tot de mogelijkheden.
Fighting the leaderless jihad
01 March 2009
E!Sharp
The planned closure of the controversial US interrogation centre and prison at Guantánamo Bay should usher in deeper transatlantic cooperation in the fight against terrorism and other common security threats.
How to avoid a eurozone debt crisis
24 February 2009
The Wall Street Journal
Twelve months ago it seemed inconceivable that any European Union member could face a sovereign debt crisis. It would have been the stuff of fantasy to argue that Ireland or Austria could be among those at risk.