JamesPCross

It’s time to stop digging

If Europe wants to get out of its current hole, it must first stop digging. Over the past four years, economic crisis management in Europe has been dominated by a narrow obsession with fiscal discipline. The narrowness of this approach reflects in large part the German political elite’s misinterpretation of Europe’s current crisis as aContinue reading “It’s time to stop digging”

And you thought QMV was complicated…

Voting systems in the European Union often attract criticism and/or debate. Complex voting systems are not the sole prerogative of the EU however. The US system for electing its President also has its complications, as both the campaign and past election results have shown. Nobody will count electoral chickens before they hatch in the presentContinue reading “And you thought QMV was complicated…”

Scottish independence – it really matters

With all the attention given to who said what at the EU’s latest ‘crisis summit,’ it would have been easy to miss the news that Alex Salmond and David Cameron have agreed the basic details of a referendum on Scottish independence to be held in 2014. But even if you didn’t miss it, you couldContinue reading “Scottish independence – it really matters”

Merkel Hysteria

If a case study was needed on how NOT to conduct EU negotiations, the October EU summit provides it. It has long been the bane of EU politics that the carefully crafted, finely balanced and nuanced written conclusions of an EU summit can be blown out of the water by a President or Prime MinisterContinue reading “Merkel Hysteria”

Back to the future? Fascism in Europe 21st century-style

European integration was launched in response to the horrors that fascist dictatorship had meant for Europe in the 1930s-40s: war and genocide. In other words, fascism was supposed to be part of Europe’s past. During most of the postwar era, neo-fascist movements remained a marginal, albeit morally troubling, footnote in European politics. Virtually nobody imaginedContinue reading “Back to the future? Fascism in Europe 21st century-style”

EU wins Nobel Peace Prize? Cave hic dragones

The far edges of medieval maps were often inscribed with a warning for travelers “Cave, hic dragones” (Beware, here be dragons.) This is precisely the danger raised by today’s (well justified) decision to award the 2012 Nobel Peace Prize to the EU for its contribution to peace, democracy and human rights in Europe. Notwithstanding theContinue reading “EU wins Nobel Peace Prize? Cave hic dragones”

What did the EU really agree on sovereign and bank debts last summer?

There has been great furor recently over what exactly EU leaders agreed in the June 2012 summit. Some of that furor concerns the issue of separating member states’ liability for sovereign debt, which nobody contests, from their liability for bank debt, which is widely contested. Here in Ireland, where the country’s economic prospects are seriouslyContinue reading “What did the EU really agree on sovereign and bank debts last summer?”

On structural reforms and job creation

In my recent post Getting beyond Europe’s spend more/spend less debate, I focused on the pros and cons of structural reforms including labour market reforms. This recent article in the Economist, drawing on recent studies from the IMF and OECD (linked at the end of the article), points out that the economic impact of structuralContinue reading “On structural reforms and job creation”

Getting beyond Europe’s spend more / spend less debate

The debate over paths to economic recovery in Europe is often presented as a choice between austerity and stimulus. Less often heard in this debate is the range of options related to labour market reform. There are many ways that European states could reform their labour markets in an effort to promote sustainable growth, withContinue reading “Getting beyond Europe’s spend more / spend less debate”

The full Monti

Aidan Regan at the EUI has a fascinating account of Mario Monti’s thoughts on a range of European issues here. Monti is particularly keen on increasing the capacity for effective decision-making at European level, and indeed the slow-motion political response to the crisis in the Eurozone has revealed how badly this is needed. Monti wantsContinue reading “The full Monti”