Euro

Author: Alexander TIetz

  • Has an EU-turn set in?

    by Ferdi De Ville One of the surprising aspects of the financial crisis that started in 2008 is “the strange non-death of neoliberalism”, as Warwick professor Colin Crouch put it aptly. Indeed, especially after the Greek tragedy changed the beliefs about the origin of the crisis from ‘caused by untamed capitalism’ towards ‘provoked by profligate…

  • The First Round of the French Presidential Elections and Political Turmoil in the Netherlands Could Mark the Beginning of new Controversies on the Eurozone’s Crisis Management

    By Carsten Brzeski François Hollande and Nicolas Sarkozy are the two finalists of the French Presidential elections with 28.5% and 27.1%. Negotiations between the losing candidates and the finalists are likely to be tense. Both Hollande and Sarkozy will now try to get as much support as possible from the losing candidates to win the…

  • Presidential Campaigns in France – Missing the Point?

    By Daniela Schwarzer In April and May 2012, all eyes in the EU are on France. The presidential elections come at a key moment. The crisis in the euro area is re-gaining pace, with bond market pressure once again increasing on Spain – and serious questions asked about investors’ confidence in France.   The campaigns…

  • After the Plaster, the Plan?

    By Ferdi De Ville Even in these relatively calm days after the second bail-out of Greece has been approved and the European Central Bank avoided the collapse of the European banking system by its second Longer Term Refinancing Operation, it is hard to pick one out of the bran tub of interesting topics to blog…

  • What Draghi’s Talk on the End of the European Social Model Reveals

    By Ferdi De Ville On the Wall Street Journal on Friday February 24, European Central Bank President Mario Draghi made no secret about his ideas on the future of the European social model: finito! It is already dead, as it should be, according to the ECB boss. Thereby he admits what many for some time…

  • The French Presidential Elections as the Focal Point for Conflicting European Economic Governance Paradigms

    By Ferdi De Ville It has been much lamented that European Parliament elections are ‘second-order elections’. European elections attract a low and ever-declining turnout and the voters who do make the effort to go to the ballot box base their choice on national rather than European considerations. The ‘euro crisis’ may thoroughly change this picture.…

  • Greece Needs Software and Time

    By Nikos Chrysoloras A common narrative in both Greek and international press is that the Greek economy is contracting so sharply because of the ridiculously high taxation imposed by the IMF, over the last two years. Journalists and commentators who support this view do not, obviously, bother to look at data. If they did, they…

  • Costs and Benefits of the Euro

    By Rainer Emschermann Germany does it again: After two world wars, it is again trying to dominate Europe, this time by forcing the eurozone under its economic tutelage. While it was ok for eurozone countries to buy German products and boost German growth during the last decade, Germany is now refusing solidarity with its customers…

  • Growth is a good intention, but requires bold transformation of crisis policies

    By Ferdi De Ville Even more than other years, ‘to grow’ topped Nicolas Sarkozy’s wish list for 2012. With the French presidential election coming up in late spring, the current president can miss a recession like, let’s say, a hotel maid entering a room at the wrong moment. The wish for growth also scored high…