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During the debt crisis, democracy has become the forgotten factor on the national as well as the EU level. Both Italy and Greece have acquired heads of government who are "apolitical" technocrats. This fact may mark a transition to political systems that are less corrupt and "client-oriented", but in difficult political situations, technocracies must be regarded with considerable scepticism.

Where were you when Europe fell apart?

By: EBR | Monday, February 13, 2012

Too many Europeans have too long avoided the question of Europe, says Swedish writer Per Wirtén. To prevent the EU from turning into a "post-democratic regime of bureaucrats", intellectuals need to stop mumbling and take the fear of Europe seriously.

Our forecast for 2012 is framed by the idea that we are in the midst of what we might call a generational shift in the way the world works. The processes are still under way, and we will therefore have to consider the future of Europe, China and the Middle East in some detail before drawing a conclusion.

Stratfor: Annual Forecast 2012

By: Stratfor - Strategic Forecasting | Monday, January 23, 2012

There are periods when the international system undergoes radical shifts in a short time. The last such period was 1989-1991. During that time, the Soviet empire collapsed. The Japanese economic miracle ended. The Maastricht Treaty creating contemporary Europe was signed.

Contrary to appearances, the principal aspect of the Greek problem for Europe is not economic but geopolitical.

Greece: The history behind the collapse

By: EBR | Saturday, December 24, 2011

Greece's economic crisis has its roots in a political pact dating back to the foundation of the modern state. Historically positioning themselves between an unruly, oriental population and the western powers, since 1981 Greek elites have siphoned off EU funds into a bloated public sector.

Domingo Cavallo at the CEO Summit, “Doing More on Less”, Athens, November 22, 2011 organised by the Hellenic Management Association (HMA)

Greece in light of Argentinean Experience exactly ten years ago

By: EBR | Thursday, December 22, 2011

Greece has been overspending during many years and excessive increases in labor costs have significantly reduced competiveness. As a consequence two costly adjustments are inevitable, whatever the circumstances and whatever the government.

Blaming Greece makes even less sense when we focus on more than just the last week. Since the stock market high this spring, for example, U.S. stocks have lost approximately $2.5 trillion in market cap. Once again, the prime suspect is concern over Europe’s debt situation.

Stop blaming Greece!

By: EBR | Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Not only that, if you believe the financial headlines, Greece is responsible for almost every financial ill that has beset the investment arena over the last 18 months. I say it’s time the headline writers came up with a new story to “explain” what’s happening to the stock market.

Estonia has, after the restoration of independence 20 years ago, applied for a model of open economy that is free of undue bureaucracy, now it scores well in business friendliness and clean government rankings.

Estonia: goodbye to eastern Europe and welcome to the north?

By: N. Peter Kramer | Friday, September 23, 2011

Since the beginning of this year, Estonia is the youngest member of the Eurozone family. Compared with its Baltic neighbours Latvia and Lithuania but also compared with some other EU member states Estonia is doing quite well. GDP growth rate in the first half of the year was the highest in EU.

By focusing on economic matters while allowing military affairs to be linked to NATO and the United States, and by not creating a meaningful joint-European force, the Europeans avoided the part of their history that terrified them while pursuing the part that enticed them: economic prosperity.

The Crisis of Europe and European Nationalism

By: The Globalist | Friday, September 16, 2011

When I visited Europe in 2008 and before, the idea that Europe was not going to emerge as one united political entity was regarded as heresy by many leaders. The European enterprise was seen as a work in progress moving inevitably toward unification — a group of nations committed to a common fate.

One useful step would be a constitutional amendment in Greece introducing a prohibition of public deficits. Other countries have done it, the recent Merkel/Sarkozy initiative foresees such a measure — and it would certainly be instrumental in restoring the country’s reputation.

Greece’s Only Way Out: Looking Beyond the Debt Issue

By: The Globalist | Thursday, September 8, 2011

Greece’s dire straits reflect the fundamental failure of the domestic political economy — and especially a disastrous tradition of political and governmental elites gaming the system for their own benefit. Therefore, the reforms that need to be undertaken cannot be imposed from abroad.

Debt-reduction strategies must be based on concrete and substantive commitments – not just words – but the impact on the economy can be set with a delay.

Don’t Let Fiscal Brakes Stall Global Recovery

By: EBR | Tuesday, September 6, 2011

The current market turmoil, marked by a huge spike in uncertainty, has shaken confidence across the global economy and prompted many to conclude all policy options have been exhausted. That impression is wrong – and could lead to paralysis.

The history in the passage is wrong. Roosevelt′s Keynesian schemes didn′t work, as has been shown by numerous economists. (See The Critics of Keynesian Economics [1960] edited by Henry Hazlitt, and Hunger Lewis′s Where Keynes Went Wrong [2009], among many works that critically and mostly dispassionately address Keynesian economics.)

The Keynesian Non-Answer

By: EBR | Monday, August 22, 2011

The New Republic editorialized recently about the current economic mess and it is worth quoting because the central passage is largely non-hyperbolic, non-polemical: "The classic response to our current economic situation, put forth by J.M Keynes in the 1930s, is for the government to spend money.

With more control over fiscal policy at the European level, Europe is also moving toward something akin to a European monetary fund in the financial stability facility, known as the E.F.S.F. It would be able to buy Greek government bonds on the secondary market, effectively reducing the Greek national debt since Greece would owe what the bonds cost the E.F.S.F., not the higher face amounts.

Europe Must Choose a Currency Union or a Financial Union

By: The New York Times | Friday, July 22, 2011

If there was one lesson to be learned from the European sovereign debt crisis, it was that monetary union by itself cannot work indefinitely. If Europe really wants to preserve the advantages of the euro currency, it will need far more fiscal and economic integration.

The EU has done well in creating an ever closer union amongst European students who are more mobile and more likely to look for employment in other countries having studied abroad through programs such as Erasmus, which essentially funds young people to explore whether living and working abroad appeals to them.

Are Universities Working Hard Enough for their Students?

By: EBR | Monday, July 4, 2011

As Europe’s universities get fuller, with students from a more diverse range of backgrounds than ever before, it is not unusual to hear the complaint that university degrees are losing their value.

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EU Actually

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By: N. Peter Kramer

On the eve of the UN climate conference COP30 in Brazil, the word was finally out.

Europe

France remembers Bataclan attacks but knows enemy has not gone away

Just as France marks the 10th anniversary of the Bataclan massacres, another reminder has come of the permanence of the jihadist threat.

Business

China to loosen chip export ban to Europe after Netherlands row

Beijing has said it will loosen a chip export ban it imposed after Dutch authorities took over Nexperia, a Chinese-owned chipmaker based in the Netherlands.