Research
The Europeans at the London summit
01 April 2009
Christine Lagarde, the French finance minister, threatens to walk out of the London G20 summit unless France gets its way on tougher financial regulation. The toppled Czech Prime Minister, Mirek Topolanek, who happens to hold the EU presidency, describes the US fiscal stimulus as “the road to hell”. Not one EU leader deems it necessary to support Gordon Brown publicly when he tries to drum up support for a more concerted international effort to revive the global economy.
Issue 65 - 2009
27 March 2009
- Europe's flagging response to the financial crisis , Philip Whyte
- Carbon price collapse threatens the EU's climate agenda, Simon Tilford
- In the name of EU solidarity, Katinka Barysch
What if the eurozone broke up?
23 March 2009
The future of the euro may not be secure, warned the CER’s Simon Tilford in a January 2009 essay. The current economic crisis threatens to exacerbate the tensions within the eurozone, and an insolvent member-state... could default and leave the eurozone. Since January, the economic crisis has deepened further, and the eurozone’s weakest economies have come under even greater strain.
Is Russia a partner to the EU in Bosnia?
19 March 2009
Where does Bosnia fit in the broader picture of EU – Russian relations? The EU and Russia are ostensibly partners in building a viable government in this Balkan country, but for much of 2007-08 Russia encouraged Bosnian politicians to resist EU-sponsored police reforms. This policy brief argues that Russian policy...
How serious is the threat to the single market?
19 March 2009
There has been a lot of anguished talk about how the EU’s single market is under threat. Much of this alarm has focused on government support for struggling car firms and public bail-outs of crisis-ridden banks.
The real G20 agenda
13 March 2009
Finance ministers from the G20 countries are meeting in London this weekend to prepare for the global economic summit at the start of April. Expectations are high. But what will the summit be about?
Economic crisis and the 'eastern partnership'
10 March 2009
In two months, at a summit in Prague on May 7th 2009, the European Union will launch a new policy for Eastern Europe – an 'eastern partnership'.
Financial regulation: Is the Channel narrowing?
27 February 2009
On February 25th 2009, a Commission-appointed taskforce headed by Jacques de Larosière published its much-awaited report on financial supervision in the EU.
Why enlargement is in trouble
24 February 2009
It is five years since the EU admitted eight Central and East European countries, followed by another two in 2007. To celebrate this anniversary, Commissioner Olli Rehn has just released a report that explains how these countries have benefited from integrating into the EU. But any jubilant mood was dimmed by the current economic crisis in Central and Eastern Europe; and by the bleak outlook for further accessions.
Germany: Between a rock and a hard place
19 February 2009
Twelve months ago it seemed inconceivable that any member of the EU could face a sovereign debt crisis. It would have been the stuff of fantasy to argue that Ireland or Austria could be among those at risk.
Russia's crisis - what it means for regime stability and Moscow's relations with the world
19 February 2009
The global financial crisis has had a tremendous impact on Russia. Its much-vaunted resurgence has hit the buffers, and the mood in Moscow is one of mounting anxiety.
A thaw between Russia and the West?
13 February 2009
After several years of chilly relations between Moscow and western capitals, a little warmth is detectable. At both the Davos Word Economic Forum in January, and the Munich Security Conference in February, the Russians’ exchanges with Americans and Europeans were fairly polite.
The Lisbon scorecard IX: How to emerge from the wreckage
13 February 2009
EU governments are taking increasingly unorthodox measures to prevent the economic crisis from overwhelming their economies. They are right to intervene, but their policies must not undermine Europe's long-term economic growth prospects in the process.
Britain's Schengen dilemma
10 February 2009
Britain supports more EU co-operation against terrorism, crime and illegal immigration and has done so for over a decade. This is because effective justice co-operation has clearly been in the national interest (as with the speedy capture and extradition of one of the 2005 London bombers from Italy to Britain).
New Europe and the economic crisis
02 February 2009
The EU's new member-states have been hit hard by the credit crunch and collapsing export markets. The Central and East Europeans sense that their post-Cold War growth model – consisting of liberalisation and EU integration – is broken.
Why global energy markets need governing
02 February 2009
After a year of upheaval it may seem perverse to take the world’s financial system as a model for anything – least of all for governance.
Georgia, Ukraine and energy security
02 February 2009
In January 2006 Russia interrupted gas supplies to Ukraine and triggered a short, sharp shock to Europe in its ever-growing dependency on Russian gas.
Obama, disarmament and Iran
02 February 2009
Barack Obama has pledged to take steps to rid the world of nuclear weapons. “I will not authorise the development of new nuclear weapons. And I will make the goal of eliminating nuclear weapons worldwide a central element of US nuclear policy”, he wrote in December 2008.
Issue 64 - 2009
30 January 2009
- Why global energy markets need governing, Nick Butler
- Georgia, Ukraine and energy security, Dieter Helm
- Obama, disarmament and Iran, Tomas Valasek
The French, the European Commission and the Tories
29 January 2009
One Frenchman, Jean Monnet, invented the European Commission, and another, Jacques Delors, was its greatest president. Yet the French are increasingly hostile to this Brussels institution.