Wren-Lewis, S. (2014) “Getting The Germany Argument Right“, Social Europe Journal, 11 November.   As the Eurozone experiences a prolonged demand-deficient recession, and given Germany’s pivotal role in making that happen, it is important to get the argument against current German policy right. It seems to me there are two wrong directions to take here. The first is to argue that Germany needs to undertake fiscal expansion because it has …Read More

Blome, N., Pauly, C., Peter Schmitz, G. & Schult, C. (2014) “Mr. Europe? The Ghosts of Juncker’s Past Come Back to Haunt Him“, Der Spiegel Online, 10 November.   He only recently took office as European Commission president, but now, Jean-Claude Juncker is under pressure due to potentially illegal tax deals forged in Luxembourg during his stint as the country’s prime minister. Some believe he may have to resign. Jean-Claude …Read More

Kreutz, J. (2014) “Why the EU’s commitment to preventing human rights abuses abroad is more than just rhetoric“, LSE EUROPP, 10 November.   Is EU foreign policy genuinely influenced by humanitarian concerns or are such claims merely used to add legitimacy to traditional power politics? Joakim Kreutz uses data on EU foreign policy actions between 1989 and 2008 to assess the extent to which human rights concerns have played a …Read More

Theodoropoulou, S. (2014) “Structural Reforms Will Not Mitigate The Risk Of Deflation In Europe“, Social Europe Journal, 10 November.   In a speech delivered at the Central Bank of Latvia on October 17th, Benoit Coeuré, member of the executive board of the ECB and apparently one of the currently few close confidants of Mario Draghi, argued that speeding up the pace of structural reforms in the Eurozone could be key …Read More