Murkens, J. (2015) “A referendum on Britain’s EU membership is a sure fire way to encourage the breakup of the UK“, LSE EUROPP, 02 March. David Cameron has pledged to hold a referendum on the UK’s EU membership if his Conservative party wins a majority at the British general election in May. Jo Murkens writes on the impact an EU referendum would have on the UK’s place in Europe …Read More
Cottarelli, C. (2015) “Potential growth rates and the working of SGP fiscal rules“, VoxEU Organisation, 02 March. The European Commission has clarified the flexibility in existing Eurozone fiscal rules. This column argues that the emphasis on structural rather than headline deficits is desirable but requires identification of potential growth rates. The way the Commission currently estimates potential output yields potential growth estimates that are very low. Thus, a year …Read More
Mitchell, B. (2015) “Germany is not a model for Europe – it fails abroad and at home“, Billy Mitchell Blog: Modern Monetary Theory … macroeconomic reality, 02 March. Some time ago I wrote a blog – The German model is not workable for the Eurozone (February 3, 2012) where I outlined why Germany’s export-led growth strategy could not be a viable model for the rest of the Eurozone nations. …Read More
Görlach, Α. (2015) “The critical junction – Unless Germany charts a new business course, it will lose out to the rest of the world economy“, The European Magazine, 02 March. Sigmar Gabriel lives in the 19th century. For the German Minister for Economic Affairs, the list of what matters isn’t long: industry, German cars and so forth. Digital innovation? New business models? Not for him. He is, rather, stirring …Read More
Mauro, Ρ. (2015) “Greece’s Reprieve: In Praise of Kicking the Can Down the Road“, Peterson Institute, RealTime Economic Issues Watch, 24 February. The melodrama in Greece has produced demands that Athens and its European partners take decisive action to fix a complicated situation once and for all. In fact, kicking the can down the road—as the players did recently to avert a financial crisis—is an underrated and long-standing feature …Read More
Buti, Μ. & Carnot, Ν. (2015) “What is a ‘responsible’ fiscal policy today for Europe?“, VoxEU Organisation, 24 February. In an uncertain world, fiscal policy must be robust to a range of models. This column introduces a rule of thumb governing fiscal expansion that is consistent for a group of countries, and for each country individually. Applying this rule to the Eurozone recommends overall fiscal neutrality, with moderate consolidation …Read More
Bhalla, R. (2015) “The Intersection of Three Crises“, STRATFOR Geopolitical Weekly, 24 February. Within the past two weeks, a temporary deal to keep Greece in the eurozone was reached in Brussels, a cease-fire roadmap was agreed to in Minsk and Iranian negotiators advanced a potential nuclear deal in Geneva. Squadrons of diplomats have forestalled one geopolitical crisis after another. Yet it would be premature, even reckless, to assume that the …Read More
Boeri, Τ. (2015) “Why We Need A Welfare Union In Europe“, Social Europe Journal, 23 February. Are Europe’s welfare states fit to meet the demands brought on by the financial crisis? In an interview with EUROPP’s Managing Editor Stuart Brown, Tito Boeri discusses the need for a ‘stress test’ of the European welfare state, why citizens in southern European countries have been much more susceptible to poverty during the crisis, and …Read More
Oskar Lindgren, K. (2015) “Why participatory governance offers a realistic route to addressing the EU’s legitimacy crisis, LSE EUROPP, 24 February. How can EU decision-making be brought closer to Europe’s citizens? Based on a case study of the ‘REACH’ regulation governing the production and use of chemical substances, Karl-Oskar Lindgren writes on the potential for a participatory governance approach to increase the EU’s legitimacy by enhancing the capacity for …Read More
Crook, C. (2015) “What Germany Owes Greece“, BloombergView, 19 February. How much does it matter, if at all, that Greece’s demand for a new bailout program with softer terms is being pressed by a new government, elected for that very purpose — a government that retains solid support even as its standoff with other European Union governments drags on? How much does democracy matter in a situation like this? …Read More
