Europedebate.ie

Irish perspectives on European governance

EU shares responsibility for the mistreatment of migrants in Greece

Media coverage of the mistreatment of migrants and asylum-seekers in Greece has focused, quite rightfully, on the responsibilities of the Greek government — both its duty to ensure that all individuals are processed according to legal guidelines and its duty to ensure their protection from violent abuse by vigilante gangs and even by public officials. This recent film highlights the Greek government’s persistent failings in both regards.

However, there is substantial evidence that the EU as a whole read more

Armaments, corruption and debt

A recent report found that “the governments of countries of lending countries – like Germany and France – are emphatic on the priority of [Greece] settling outstanding bills with arms suppliers…, while at the same time insisting on swingeing cuts in public spending and other austerity measures”, despite the fact that there is evidence of corruption in at least some such armaments contracts. This article from Irish Left Review argues that core country decision makers can legitimately be read more

European migration policy and the Greek crisis it is provoking

Greece is at the hard end of another European policy problem, related to austerity, but this time to do with immigration, and it’s turning into a serious human rights and humanitarian crisis. According to Europe’s border control agency Frontex, 93% of migrants to Europe came through eastern and central Mediterranean routes in 2011. With the tightening of the patrolling of Spanish and Italian access routes, most of these arrived first in Greece, with legal rights under the European Convention of Human read more

Enough is enough — it’s time to sanction Hungary

The challenge of managing the EU’s on-going economic crisis has distracted the Union from worrisome political developments within some of its member states. The worst offender here is Hungary, where the government has initiated legislative and constitutional changes and used political rhetoric and symbolic actions that are clearly incompatible with its obligations as an EU member to ensure democratic safeguards, respect for human rights and the rule of law. As such, the EU as a whole — and the read more

The Europeanization of Military Training and Education

This guest post by Dr. Tamir Libel, currently a Non-Resident Fellow at the UCD Centre for War Studies, reports on research he conducted as a Marie Curie Fellow at the UCD School of Politics and International Relations in 2012-2013:

In the aftermath of the Cold War, European militaries have drastically transformed national systems of officer education. Several have consolidated their military education institutions, which had once enjoyed considerable autonomy, into a new arrangement of read more

Does the European Union need to become a community?

Analysts of European integration often contend that the European Union must build not only institutions but also an identity. Assuming that the Union cannot get by on (at any rate uncertain) popular perceptions that it is economically beneficial, they argue that only a shared sense of belonging to an overarching European communal unit could help Europeans develop the trust and commitments a democratic polity needs.   Accordingly, difficulties in the European integration process – the present read more

Will the Irish EU presidency get serious about political extremism in Europe?

We’ve all heard of Silvio Berlusconi’s recent praise for Benito Mussolini on Holocaust Memorial Day. But he’s not alone. The European Commission observes that political parties across Europe are seeking to win voters from extremist movements by borrowing their hate-filled language and imagery.

And we know that these movements are growing. Have a look at this report on ethnic scape-goating in Europe, and at this comprehensive database on extremist movements active across Europe.

Even national parliaments are now affected: ”Not read more

Austerity in the Eurozone periphery

The latest issue of the online journal Intereconomics features articles about Greece, Ireland, Italy, Spain, and Portugal. Aidan Regan and I wrote the article on Ireland. As we know well here in Ireland, they’re an oddly-sorted bunch, because each faces a rather different set of domestic policy challenges. Each also has problems that need to be addressed in a wider European context, and they’re not always the same read more

Home truths about the Euro crisis

Jean-Claude Juncker said some remarkably candid things to the European parliament yesterday. His role as the chair of the Eurozone group of countries has given him limited scope to speak freely to date. Indeed he’s someone who is quoted as saying ‘I’m for secret, dark debates‘.

Now that he’s about to step down, he’s made some extremely critical comments about the entire approach the EU has adopted in response to the crisis. I have some reflections on this, and especially on high and rising read more