Single market, competition & trade
Offline? How Europe can catch up with US technology
26 July 2015
The EU should not fret about the power of US internet giants. The take-up of digital technology across the services sector is more important than a 'European Google'.
The Greek bailout deal resolves nothing
13 July 2015
Even if the new bailout makes it through the Greek parliament in coming weeks, the programme's economic incoherence will make it fall apart.
Thomas Cromwell or the executioner's axe? Options for a Grexit
10 July 2015
EU lawyers are working to find a creative way to accommodate a Grexit if it becomes inevitable. None of the options are legally watertight or desirable.
The four horsemen circling the European Council summit
24 June 2015
Grexit, the Mediterranean crisis, Russia's aggression and the British question will continue to sow discord in Europe. Unless leaders can think European, not national.
The eurozone's 'five presidents' report': An assessment
22 June 2015
The long-awaited report rightly aims to complete a financial union in the eurozone, but over-emphasises structural reforms and underplays the need for stronger counter-cyclical policies.
Greece: After a deal, work on a solution
11 June 2015
A deal between Greece and its creditors is still likely but what the country really needs is a Greece-led, cross-party plan to transform its institutions.
How will the eurozone cope with the next downturn?
27 May 2015
Eurozone policy-makers will have little ammunition to combat the next downturn: interest rates will still be close to zero, public debt and unemployment high.
Issue 102 - 2015
27 May 2015
- Five ways to win a referendum, and five potential pitfalls , Charles Grant
- Don't mention Beijing: The EU and Asia's maritime security, Rem Korteweg
- How will the eurozone cope with the next downturn? , Simon Tilford
Do the UK's European ties damage its prosperity?
30 April 2015
Eurosceptic claims that EU regulation and the protectionism of other member-states are holding back Britain's economy – and that withdrawal would be a liberation – are nonsense.
Vorsprung durch Grexit?
17 April 2015
German officials are sanguine about the consequences of Grexit, and view it as increasingly likely. Merkel would be well-advised to prevent it from happening.
Not in front of the MPs: Why can’t Parliament have a frank discussion about the EU?
15 April 2015
David Cameron wants to increase the role of national parliaments in the EU. His pledge will hold more weight if British parliamentary scrutiny of EU affairs was improved.
The low-hanging fruit of European capital markets
08 April 2015
The planned capital markets union in Europe faces many obstacles. Commissioner Hill was right to start with the lower-hanging fruit.
Issue 101 - 2015
08 April 2015
- Security in the age of austerity: You get what you pay for, Ian Bond
- The low-hanging fruit of European capital markets, Christian Odendahl
- A Marxist take on the 'Brexit' general election, John Springford
Disunited Kingdom: Why ‘Brexit’ endangers Britain’s poorer regions
07 April 2015
A British exit from the EU most imperils the UK's poorest regions, and could make the country's regional inequality worse.
German rebalancing: Waiting for Godot?
09 March 2015
Far from rebalancing, Germany’s trade surplus continues to grow. This is in nobody’s interests. The German government could and should take steps to reduce it.
Reduced to rouble? An update on the Russian economy
24 February 2015
The Russian economy is heading for a long recession. Economic collapse, which could still occur, is not in the West's interests.
Annual report 2014
02 February 2015
Charles Grant discusses three challenges facing the EU in 2015: the combined problems of Russia and Ukraine; the continuing fragility of the eurozone; and the growing risk of Brexit.
Genetically modified crops: Time to move on from theological dispute
30 January 2015
GMOs should not be supported or opposed as a single technology. The compromise that the Juncker Commission has negotiated must now be implemented.
The implications of Syriza’s victory
26 January 2015
Greece is not at imminent risk of leaving the euro. But the negotiations will be difficult and uncertainties over Greece's membership will persist.
Quantitative easing alone will not ward off deflation
21 January 2015
Quantitative easing alone will do little to boost the eurozone economy. The ECB needs to shift expectations and this requires a different approach to monetary policy.