Bershidsky, Leonid, (2017), “A Multispeed Europe Will Be Hard to Pull Off”, BloombergView, 10 March The European Council, which includes leaders of EU member states, normally issues a consensus document at the end of each meeting. On Thursday, it failed to do so because one member — Polish Prime Minister Beata Szydlo — refused to approve it. The spat tells us something about the rocky future of a multispeed Europe. Relevant …Read More
Beyond Crisis: Constitutional Change in Greece after the Memoranda
Tsiftsoglou, Anna, (2017), “Beyond Crisis: Constitutional Change in Greece after the Memoranda”, LSE Hellenic Observatory, 9 March Can financial crises bring constitutional change? Has Greece become a prominent such example? Already 7 years into recession, crisis-hit Greece is experiencing a tremendous institutional change. This change, which takes place informally rather than formally, is affecting state institutions- primarily its parliament, the executive and courts. Everyday practice, political or otherwise, changes the …Read More
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Populism Versus Prosperity
Emmott, Bill, (2017), “Populism Versus Prosperity”, Project Syndicate, 9 March Marine Le Pen, the leader of France’s far-right National Front, claims that the twenty-first century’s defining battle will be between patriotism and globalism. US President Donald Trump appears to believe that it will be between “the very fake news media” and himself, backed by “the people” he claims to represent. They are both wrong. The battle that will actually define …Read More
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The EU’s new white paper underlines why Europe needs to be more open to its citizens
Schmidt, Vivien, Wood, Matt, (2017), “The EU’s new white paper underlines why Europe needs to be more open to its citizens”, LSE EUROPP, 10 March At the start of March, the European Commission published a white paper ‘On the Future of Europe’. Vivien Schmidt and Matt Wood assess the Commission’s proposals, arguing that while the paper’s focus on differentiated integration is pragmatically useful under the current circumstances, this strategy could exacerbate …Read More
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Europe’s Populists Aren’t the Threat You Think
Bershidsky, Leonid, (2017), “Europe’s Populists Aren’t the Threat You Think”, BloombergView, 7 March For more than a year, the big scare out of Europe has been that populist movements, often far-right and euroskeptic, would win elections across the continent. But electoral landscapes are shifting fast, and it’s time to consider a different scenario — in which the populists lose everywhere. Relevant Posts Gros, Daniel, (2017), “Can the EU survive in an …Read More
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White Paper on the future of Europe: Avenues for unity for the EU at 27
European Commission, (2017), “White Paper on the future of Europe: Avenues for unity for the EU at 27”, 1 March As we prepare to mark the 60th anniversary of the EU, we look back on a peace spanning seven decades and on an enlarged Union of 500 million citizens living in freedom in one of the world’s most prosperous economies. At the same time, the EU has to look forward …Read More
Library » EU » Politics » Policy Papers
Stubborn Germans: Stuck In Austerity/Stability
Hacker, Björn, Koch, Cédric, (2017), “Stubborn Germans: Stuck In Austerity/Stability”, Social Europe, 27 February Led by the current and previous federal government under Chancellor Angela Merkel and her CDU, the advocates of a stability union for the most part favour preservation of the status quo of the EMU architecture. The fundamental reasons for the Eurozone crisis are from this angle to be blamed on the failure of the crisis states …Read More
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Italexit is not a solution for Italy’s problems
Codogno, Lorenzo, Galli, Giampaolo, (2017), “Italexit is not a solution for Italy’s problems”, LSE EUROPP, 24 February Beppe Grillo’s Five Star Movement riding high in the polls in Italy has led to speculation over the prospect of the country leaving the euro.Lorenzo Codogno and Giampaolo Galli argue that an ‘Italexit’ would be a catastrophic scenario, with incommensurable economic, social, and political costs lasting for many years. They note that redenomination, and a likely …Read More
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Regroup and Reform: Ideas for a more responsive and effective European Union
CEPS Task Force, (2017), “Regroup and Reform: Ideas for a more responsive and effective European Union”, CEPS Series: Task Force Report, February The report offers concrete recommendations for how the Union can show added value to European citizens in the areas of security and justice, socio-economics and monetary policy – recommendations that will help reform the workings of the Union and ensure that it is worthy of the continuing confidence of its …Read More
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European integration and populism: Addressing Dahrendorf’s quandary
Buti, Marco, Pichelmann, Karl, (2017), “European integration and populism: Addressing Dahrendorf’s quandary”, VoxEu, 22 February With its current competences lacking the ability to address distribution effects, the EU is seen as an agent of globalisation rather than a response to it. At the same time, it is charged with undermining national autonomy, identity, and control. This column sets out five guiding principles for policy articulation at the EU level for …Read More
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