European Union
Seeking Solutions in Syria
While the media in the U.S. and in Europe spent the last two weeks largely focused on the final Olympic medals count in London, reports on the rising body count in Syria ran second on the nightly news. Parallel to the drama unfolding in Syria is the continuing debate in Washington and… Read more >
Europe’s Tightening Window of Opportunity
Joining the growing number of high profile warnings on the future of the European and world economies, World Bank researchers gravely take note of the euro zone’s eroding gross domestic product, which is expected to decline 8.5 percent in the coming year. Given this path, they are asking themselves “what will happen,… Read more >
The Arab Awakening One Year On: A European Perspective
In early 2011, the debate in the European Union about the repercussions of the Arab awakening that started in late 2010 and continues to this day was largely framed in terms of opportunities rather than risks. The prospect of democracy finally making headway in one of the most static regions of the… Read more >
“A Small but Fine Piece” – More Small than Fine
Prof. Dr. Andreas Freytag takes a look at the outcome of this week’s EU summit in Brussels. According to Prof. Dr. Freytag, while the agreement of a fiscal pact by 25 of the 27 EU member states was good news, European leaders once again failed to address several key issues of the crisis.
Iran: Through the Looking Glass
As tensions rise over Iran’s nuclear ambitions, the European Union has ratcheted up its pressure on Iran with an oil embargo. Tehran is now threatening with an embargo of its own, while the United States leaves its threat of military action on the table and Israel worries about the clock running out of time to stop Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. Is 2012 the year where war becomes inevtiable? And what can Germany or the EU do to prevent it?
Merkel’s Summit
Rarely has one of the recent European crisis summits had as little impact on the public mood as the one just concluded in Brussels on Monday of this week. Reactions to the decision on the tight fiscal pact were generally muted. Most commentators on both sides of the Atlantic described the results… Read more >
Downgrades and Default
In his essay Downgrades and Default, Alexander Privitera explains that while last week’s European downgrades may not have roiled markets, they have some European leaders fuming. Though some European politicians have begun pointing fingers across the Atlantic for the recent rating cuts, according to Mr. Privitera, the problem lies within Europe itself. Until an effective plan for dealing with Greece is put forth, the euro zone crisis will continue.
The Ratings Race
In this At Issue, Executive Director Jack Janes analyzes the aftermath of last week’s string of European downgrades by Standard and Poor’s. Like their American counterparts in last August’s U.S. downgrade, European leaders seemed quick to point fingers at those they felt were responsible for the rating cuts. However, the message from Standard and Poor’s made one thing very clear: the efforts to fix the Euro crisis are still inadequate. According to Dr. Janes, the lack of political will in Europe to realize the true core of the problem is limiting the ability to reach a consensus on how to solve it.
2012: A Mayan Memo for the New Year
The specter of 2012 in the Mayan calendar has been used to suggest the end of the world is near, but what is more likely to come is much of the same from 2011.
The Beginning of the End of the Road? Britain and the European Council meeting, 8/9 December 2011
What will the outcome of last week’s EU summit mean for the future of the UK’s position within the Union? According to Dr. Simon Green, Professor of Politics at Aston University, UK, it could spell disaster for Britain in the single market of the EU. In his essay entitled The Beginning of the End of the Road? Britain and the European Council meeting, 8/9 December 2011, originally published in Aston University’s Aston Centre for Europe blog, Dr. Green explains that Prime Minster David Cameron’s decision to exclude the UK from the EU’s new intergovernmental pact will alienate the UK from the Union more than ever before.
