Single market, competition & trade
The EU and world trade
08 September 2000
The paradox of trade policy is that, at a time when political leaders in most parts of the world have accepted the intellectual case for trade liberalisation more thoroughly than ever before, public opposition to free trade is on the rise.
Reforming the euro club
01 August 2000
And so farewell the euro-11. In future, the adhoc group of eurozone finance ministers will be known as the Euro Group, its powers beefed up along the lines dictated by the French government.
The EU and world trade
01 August 2000
The collapse of the Seattle meeting of the World Trade Organisation in December 1999 was a blow to the EU, which had first proposed the idea of a "millennium round" of trade liberalisation.
Issue 13 - 2000
28 July 2000
- Europe's new political flexibility, Steven Everts
- Reforming the euro club, Alasdair Murray
- The EU and world trade, Julie Wolf
Tackling fraud and mismanagement in the EU
02 June 2000
The European Union's political leaders have great ambitions for the years ahead: a successful economic and monetary union, a coherent and effective foreign policy, and the accession of up to 12 new member-states.
Beware the strong euro
01 June 2000
The claim may seem perverse, when the euro has barely crawled off its record lows, but there is a good case for saying that America rather than Euroland faces a looming currency crisis.
Federalism's last gasp
01 June 2000
The prospect of a two-tier Europe, with Britain outside the core, causes alarm in Downing Street. Joschka Fischer's vision of a European federation - with a group of more ambitious states forming its vanguard - is the latest such proposition, albeit one for the long-term. But does Tony Blair have much to fear?
Issue 12 - 2000
26 May 2000
- Beware the strong euro, Alasdair Murray
- Europe's military ambitions, Klaus Naumann
- Mr Prodi's second chance, Charles Grant
- Federalism's last gasp, Ben Hall
A new economic model
03 April 2000
Slowly, and somewhat reluctantly, the EU is beginning to embrace economic reform. For years America's equity-orientated, shareholder-value-driven economic model appeared anathema to much of the continent.
Issue 11 - 2000
31 March 2000
- A new economic model, Alasdair Murray
- Europe's revolving door, Ben Hall
- The right charter, Ben Hall
- Europe and missile defence, Charles Grant
The spectre of tax harmonisation
04 February 2000
Europe's citizens, generally speaking, do not want their taxes set by Brussels. Taxation and representation still go hand in hand. So it is safe to assume that so long as people continue to look to their national governments to represent their interests (and turn out to vote for their national politicians in greater numbers than for MEPs), they will reject the notion of taxation policies being decided at European Union level.
The impact of the euro on transatlantic relations
07 January 2000
European Union is, almost by definition, subject to strain and tension. During the Cold War some stability was maintained by the common external threat that bound the NATO allies together under US leadership.
Europe's new economy
01 December 1999
Europe needs a new economic story. Its ability to compete in the knowledge-driven economy depends on how well it can translate science, technology and know-how into jobs, growth and economic success.
Issue 15 - 2000
26 November 1999
- Set a date for enlargement now, Heather Grabbe
- The unholiest of alliances, Charles Grant
- The "open method of co-ordination": Innovation or talking shop?, Kirsty Hughes
Europe's new economy
05 November 1999
Europe needs a new economic story because it faces a new economic challenge. The challenge is to transform European science and technology, knowledge and creativity, into jobs, growth and economic success.
The case for "Mr Euroland"
01 October 1999
Most discussions about the euro focus on what it means for the politics and the economy of the EU. The actual and potential external impact of EMU is often ignored.
Commissioning reform
01 October 1999
For most ordinary members of the public the European Commission is the European Union. The fall of the Santer Commission amidst allegations of corruption and mismanagement plunged the EU into crisis.
Don't forget the shopkeepers
01 October 1999
Commission President Romano Prodi has promised a fundamental review of the EU's priorities. He should encourage the Commission to think more about service industries.
A golden opportunity for reform
02 August 1999
It is easy to forget that the Eurosceptical mood of many EU countries is a recent phenomenon. In the late 1980s, when the EU's prime task was the creation of a single market, its popularity grew in every member-state.
Entrepreneurial Europe
02 August 1999
Europe's biggest economic problem is that it lacks the kind of entrepreneurial culture that powers America's economy. There are not enough start-up companies or large companies that are capable of innovation.