Business Spectator

The problems with forming the European Commission are manifold, but there is only one written rule: Every EU member state will be represented by one commissioner, nominated by national governments. The difficulties begin once you realise that there are numerous unwritten rules to be considered when putting together the new Commission.

In the past, a French prime minister or president visiting Germany would have not only been greeted with military honours but also been treated with polite interest and respect, maybe even admiration. After 15 years of monetary union, which was meant to bring Europe’s nations closer together, only the diplomatic formalities of this past are left.

As Scotland votes on independence from the UK today, it would be courageous to speculate on the result. Recent opinion polls have been so tight that the referendum could go either way. But whatever the Scots decide, the implications will be severe — not just for the (still) UK but also for the EU as well.

In its better days, the FDP was the only party prepared to challenge this cosy consensus of German feel-good politics and talk about those issues that were not universally popular. The voters obviously did not appreciate such tough talk and have delivered the maximum punishment to the party by voting it out of existence. You can do that with a party but the problems will not go away just because the voters do not like to be reminded of them.

With all of Europe’s woes, the ECB now looks like the last institution able to move the continent’s economy. But even the ECB cannot achieve what Europe really needs to make it viable in the long run: painful but effective economic reforms.

Euro periphery countries should have the courage to rid themselves off the shackles of an ill-designed currency union that they should have never joined in the first place. What do they have to lose?

The next stages of the euro crisis are already programmed into the system. It is just a matter of time until the current period of calm ends. And though it is impossible to when we can expect the next euro storm, one thing we can say with certainty: The euro crisis is not over. Far from it.

Ludwig Erhard’s insistence on the social market economy made West Germany rich after the War. His ideas could well help to keep developed countries prosperous under different circumstances today.