EU

Belgium is famous for its waffles, chocolates and beers. But it seems that the country is no longer content with just culinary recognition. Belgians are now chasing a veritable world record: they want to be the country with the longest post-election negotiations. […]

Europe’s moral credibility hangs in the balance after Hungary enacted a law to limit press freedom. As Hungary also happens to hold the rotating EU presidency for the first six months of 2011, this is more than just an acute embarrassment for the EU. It calls into question the very foundations the European project is built on. […]

Other European countries could learn a thing or two from both Estonia’s previous economic reforms and its tough but successful austerity policies. If Europe became a bit more like its latest eurozone member, everyone would be a winner. But does this sound even remotely likely? […]

The economic imbalances within Europe have become too great, particularly regarding productivity differences. In order to correct them, it would be desirable for some countries to be able to devalue their own currencies. Instead of trying to keep such nations within the monetary corset of the euro at all costs, the EU should allow them to depart. None of these sensible options were even on the table at the Brussels summit. […]

By comparing the different economic conditions of Europe and Australia, it should not be too difficult for Australians to make a choice about economic policy. Mimicking European policies is the surest way to economic disaster. […]

To superficial observers, this week’s European summit in Brussels will look like any other high-level conference. Prime ministers, chancellors and presidents will rub shoulders, pose for photographers, and dally with waiting journalists. Once again it will all seem a bit like a school reunion. But the pretty pictures of smiling politicians cannot conceal that the continent is in crisis and the European Union is falling apart. […]

On a philosophical level, Europe’s crisis can be interpreted as a practical lesson in the errors of constructivism. It shows what happens if grown economic and social structures are wilfully ignored and replaced by systems designed in academic ivory towers and the backrooms of power. […]

Charlemagne not only entered the history books as the great unifier of Europe. He also established a stable, silver-backed currency whose weight units survived for more than a millennium in many countries. Giving a prize in Charlemagne’s name to a person complicit in the rapid debasement of a paper currency is another bitter-sweet European irony. […]