Month: September 2012

  • How the ‘Future of the Euro Area’ Debate has Turned into a ‘Future of the EU’ Debate

    by Daniela Schwarzer Since 2010, the EU has undergone two closely intertwined developments: firstly, the day-to-day management of the sovereign debt crisis with many steps taken ‘overnight’ as a matter of urgency and, secondly, governance reforms which have already changed the functioning of the EMU. This latter debate has developed considerably during these last three…

  • Temporary Relief – the Big Tasks are still Ahead

    by Daniela Schwarzer The euro area is going through a moment of relief. After the ECB’s announcement of its new bond-purchasing programme (the OMT) and the German Constitutional court’s green light for the European Stability Mechanism (ESM), the bond and stock markets have recovered. Yet, the crisis probably only pauses – it has by far…

  • Approaching Fall

    by Ferdi De Ville Slowly but surely everyone is returning from the summer holidays and getting back to business. For politicians and observers involved in the euro crisis, the long vacation was more tranquil than expected. The open-return flight tickets of politicians did not have to be used preliminary and observers could feel increasingly relaxed…

  • Mario Draghi’s Pudding

    by Carsten Brzeski At its meeting on 6 September, the ECB kept interest rates on hold and presented details of its new bond buying programme. Mario Draghi truly presented his “believe me it is enough”. Now the ball is back in the eurozone governments’ court. The ECB’s macro-economic assessment was clearly not a top priority…