Do the right thing
Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis enjoys the limelight — and a bit of controversy. At a conference of free-market economists in Athens on Wednesday, he teased the audience with well-informed...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Putin’s best EU friends
Italy’s Prime Minister Matteo Renzi is trying to have it both ways. Just days after attending the G7 summit, which highlighted the possibility of stepping up sanctions against Russia should it not meet...
View ArticleHungary’s hard right turn
Whatever one thinks of Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and his party, Fidesz, their immediate political challengers look much scarier. The second most popular party in the country, Jobbik — the...
View ArticleEurope returns to the 1930s
Czech police intercepted a group of Syrian asylum-seekers on a train headed for Germany. Upon being detained, the 200 or so refugees were marked with ink numbers on their forearms. While clearly a...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The EU doesn’t need Britain
In all the talk of Brexit, and what it would mean for Britain, we have lost sight of the fact that British membership of the European Union is not a sine qua non for the EU’s robust survival. For the...
View ArticleTap the refugee source
A pessimist is a well-informed optimist, goes the old joke. Indeed, after the terrorist attacks in Paris, retaining any degree of optimism about the resolution of Europe’s refugee crisis is more...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Poland’s looming economic storm
Poland’s Law and Justice Party (PiS) has chutzpah. In spite of vocal domestic and international opposition, the PiS-controlled government has continued to pursue its controversial reforms of the...
View ArticleVote here for cronyism, against liberal democracy
Slovakia’s election on Saturday will, in its own way, shape Europe’s future. As the Continent grapples with multiple crises, Slovakia takes the helm of the Council of the European Union in the second...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Europe’s reformist revival
Recent debates over Europe’s future are permeated by a sense of impending doom. The eurozone is an economic basket case, we’re told. The Continent is flooded with Muslim asylum-seekers, and inept...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Euroskepticism’s empty promise
The European Union is not in a good state. After next month’s referendum, the United Kingdom might be on its way out. The British example can be easily followed by others. Ninety-two out of 200 Czech...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Europeans should brace for a post-American world
I remember spending a fair portion of the 2000s, during the presidency of George W. Bush, fighting the casual anti-Americanism that existed in Europe at the time. I used to explain to my friends on the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Can Europe survive a Trump presidency?
With the benefit of hindsight, none of this will look surprising to future generations. An anemic economic recovery, anxieties about immigration, structural changes that made redundant the skill sets...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Make internationalism great again
WASHINGTON â Across the West, nationalism has been appropriated by political forces that are isolationist, illiberal, and protectionist. For proponents of open societies, this poses a problem. In...
View ArticleClik here to view.
For unruly members, multi-speed Europe is not the answer
In a rare display of European unity, the EU27 vowed to make the European Union âstronger and more resilient” through greater solidarity and “respect of common rules.” But let us not fool ourselves....
View ArticleClik here to view.
The real victim of Trump’s NATO outburst: The US
The partnership between Europe and the United States will survive Donald Trumpâs performance at NATO headquarters last week. The U.S. presidentâs brusque behavior and intemperate words may haveÂ...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Can Macron avoid the Sarkozy trap?
Imagine a young French president, elected on a platform of deep economic reforms of pensions and labor legislation. After the first proposals are unveiled, a wave of paralyzing strikes sweeps across...
View ArticleVote here for cronyism, against liberal democracy
Slovakia’s election on Saturday will, in its own way, shape Europe’s future. As the Continent grapples with multiple crises, Slovakia takes the helm of the Council of the European Union in the second...
View ArticleEurope’s reformist revival
Recent debates over Europe’s future are permeated by a sense of impending doom. The eurozone is an economic basket case, we’re told. The Continent is flooded with Muslim asylum-seekers, and inept...
View ArticleEuroskepticism’s empty promise
The European Union is not in a good state. After next month’s referendum, the United Kingdom might be on its way out. The British example can be easily followed by others. Ninety-two out of 200 Czech...
View ArticleEuropeans should brace for a post-American world
I remember spending a fair portion of the 2000s, during the presidency of George W. Bush, fighting the casual anti-Americanism that existed in Europe at the time. I used to explain to my friends on the...
View Article
