Amari, Giuseppe, (2015), “The Euro Needs More Than Just One (German) Economic Policy Tool To Work”, Social Europe Journal, 20 Αυgust Recently, at the height of the Greek drama, an editorial appeared in Corriere della Sera, entitled: ‘There is no Europe without the Euro, There is no Euro without Europe’. The first statement is both an historical and present falsehood, the second is a banality not worth commenting on. The euro has …Read More
Mody, Ashoka, (2015), “Wolfgang Schäuble, Debt Relief, and the Future of the Eurozone”, Bruegel publications, 6 August The reason Schäuble is concerned is that the carefully constructed but fragile crisis management system—intended to insulate Germany from paying the bills of others—is now under threat. If Greece creates a precedent, then either the crisis management system goes, or a transfer union is effectively in place, with Germany on the hook. Hence …Read More
Melloni, Nicola, (2015), “Explaining The EU’s Politics Of Austerity”, Social Europe Journal, 17 August What is the logic behind austerity? The standard explanations given during the last five years do not hold solid ground. Many – including famous economists and central bankers – had supported budgetary cuts to restore market confidence. Markets, however, were hardly impressed: operators care about profits – usually associated with growth – and cuts in the …Read More
Ruser, Alexander, (2015), “Saving the euro at all costs could lead to the hollowing out of European democracy”, LSE blog, 15 August Abraham Lincoln defined democracy as government of the people, by the people, for the people. Markets, however, he chose not to mention at all. It may be that Mr Lincoln was dealing with an idealistic, out-dated definition of democracy.A brief look at the recent discussion about the viability of democracies …Read More
Danielsson, Jon, (2015), “Iceland, Greece and political hectoring”, Voxeu, 13 August The Greek and the Icelandic crisis have much in common, not the least the heavy pressure from foreign countries and the hectoring from their public officials. In Iceland and in Greece this was counterproductive, hardening the opposition to any settlement. The will to reform needs to come from within, and the sooner the Troika realizes this, the easier it will be …Read More
Pettifor, Ann, (2015), “The Euro, Like The Gold Standard, Is Doomed To Fail”, Social Europe Journal, 31 July On 20th July, 2015 Jacques Delors reached the grand old age of ninety years. President Hollande saluted the elder statesman and told Journal du Dimanche, that “in the past week the European spirit (had) prevailed” in addressing the Greek crisis. This referred to the long, brutal and historic overnight negotiations of 12th July, between …Read More
Kral, Daniel, (2015), “There is more to the Eurozone than the division between ‘North’ and ‘South’”, LSE blog, 30 July. Opposition to the proposed Greek bailout deal has generally focused on the role of Germany, but how do other Eurozone states view the debt crisis? Daniel Kral notes that while there is a tendency to present the crisis as a stand-off between the Eurozone’s ‘North’ and ‘South’, the situation is …Read More
Legrain, Philippe, (2015), “The Eurozone’s German Problem”, Social Europe Journal, 27 July The eurozone has a German problem. Germany’s beggar-thy-neighbor policies and the broader crisis response that the country has led have proved disastrous. Seven years after the start of the crisis, the eurozone economy is faring worse than Europe did during the Great Depression of the 1930s. The German government’s efforts to crush Greece and force it to abandon …Read More
Hanska, Max, (2015), “Europe’s Gravest Threat: Doctrines Diverged”, LSE blog, 23 July Europe’s fiscal and economic crisis has revealed rifts in, what is often assumed to be a common understanding of the ‘European Project.’ Nowhere did the fact that different nations understand the ‘European Project’ quite differently come to a fore as explicitly as during 17 hour negotiations over a 3rd ESM programme for Greece—and particularly, in what different European nations view as …Read More
Howse, Robert, (2015), “The Deal on Greek Debt: Political Gamechanger for Europe, Tactical Retreat (not Surrender) by Tsipras”, Verfassungsblog.de, 13 July The conventional wisdom, delivered before anyone could really ponder the fine print of the Greek debt deal, is that Tsipras surrendered to the creditors in a humiliating defeat. His referendum and prior tenacity in negotiations proved futile,according to the predominant account that has emerged in the media and the …Read More
