The euro
How seriously can investors take Draghi's assurances?
31 August 2012
The ECB's upcoming programme of government bond purchases will not be big enough to dispel investors' fears that troubled euro members might quit the currency union.
Will a new German constitution save the euro?
29 August 2012
German politicians from government and opposition want a referendum on a new pro-European constitution. But this does not mean that Berlin is preparing for eurobonds.
Has the eurozone reached the limits of the politically possible?
12 July 2012
The limited measures agreed at June's summit are unlikely to take effect, suggesting that the eurozone has already reached the limits of the politically possible.
Needed: A Franco-German concordat
27 June 2012
The euro needs a Franco-German bargain: Germany must swallow eurobonds and a banking union, while France must let the EU have a say on its budget.
Germany's own goal: Why Berlin's sense of invulnerability will be its undoing
22 June 2012
Germany’s strategy for dealing with the euro crisis is maximising, not minimising, risks to the country’s economic and political interests.
Some sorts of austerity are better than others
01 June 2012
Governments in the eurozone's periphery are making indiscriminate cuts. Reducing spending that does little to support demand and recycling it into investment would help.
A Greek exit will not be cathartic
25 May 2012
How the eurozone handles Greece will determine whether or not the single currency survives – and hence the future of the EU as a whole.
If a Greek exit from the eurozone is mishandled, contagion to the other struggling member-states could be uncontrollable, leading inexorably to the collapse of the euro....
If a Greek exit from the eurozone is mishandled, contagion to the other struggling member-states could be uncontrollable, leading inexorably to the collapse of the euro....
Issue 84 - 2012
25 May 2012
- A Greek exit will not be cathartic, Simon Tilford
- Time for France to take the lead on Syria, Edward Burke
- What Putin's return means for the former Soviet republics, Jana Kobzova, Tomas Valasek
Ireland's fiscal treaty referendum: (More) fear and loathing in the eurozone?
11 May 2012
Ireland votes on the EU’s new fiscal compact on May 31st. Hugo Brady assesses the chances of a Yes and the consequences of a No.
Germany's choice: Higher inflation or sovereign defaults
09 May 2012
Germany faces a choice between higher inflation or a wave of sovereign defaults culminating in either a transfer union or the collapse of the eurozone.
Governance reforms have left the euro's flawed structure intact
18 April 2012
European leaders have presided over a major overhaul of the way the eurozone is run. But the eurozone's basic institutional configuration remains as unstable as ever.
Issue 83 - 2012
23 March 2012
- How to keep Britain in the EU, Charles Grant
- Stable public finances require stronger business investment, Simon Tilford
- A new political bargain in Afghanistan, Edward Burke
Eurozone policy-makers place a big bet
13 March 2012
The ECB's decision to lend almost unlimited amounts of money to Europe's banks has bought the eurozone some time. But there is risk that time will be wasted.
The Baltic states and Ireland are not a model for Italy and Spain
27 January 2012
Were Italy and Spain to emulate the Baltics states and Ireland, the implications for the European economy and the future of the euro would be devastating.
The UK-EU split: The impact on Central Europe
13 December 2011
The UK decision to boycott the new EU treaty has left like-minded countries in Central European in weaker position to resist France's etatist tendencies.
Britain on the edge of Europe
09 December 2011
The Brussels agreement on December 9th will weaken British influence in the EU and could damage the single market.
EU summit: Enough to save the euro?
08 December 2011
The UK’s decision to marginalise itself by vetoing a new EU-27 treaty has dominated the post-summit media coverage. And for good reason – it could prove a big step towards UK withdrawal from the EU. However, the bigger question is whether the agreement reached at the summit will do anything to address the fundamentals of the euro crisis.
The French learn followership
30 November 2011
France is backing Germany’s wish for a new treaty to enshrine strict budgetary discipline. In exchange, it hopes Germany will save the euro.
The curious case of German leadership
29 November 2011
Is Berlin leading in the euro crisis? Many Germans say it does, by spreading ‘stability culture’ – but not by telling the ECB what to do.
The ECB must stand behind the euro
28 November 2011
The eurozone is now subject to a full-blown run on its bond market. Spanish and Italian borrowing costs are now higher than those of Greece, Ireland and Portugal when they were forced to seek bail-outs from the EU and IMF. The crisis has spread to Belgium and France, and even...