September/October 2015
Europe by Numbers: Open Arms – and Arson
It should come as no surprise that Europeans are increasingly worried about the mounting immigration crisis.
Progress of Sorts
Ukraine has made significant headway reforming its economy since the revolution. But quite a bit remains to be done, and the short-term outlook is grim.
Getting Down to Business
A kleptocratic regime, mighty oligarchs – Ukraine was an economic mess before the revolution. Ricardo Giucci and Robert Kirchner, who advise the Ukrainian government, discuss Ukraine’s to-do list.
Driving Forces
Berlin is more deeply engaged in solving the situation in eastern Ukraine than ever before in an international conflict. State Secretary of the German Foreign Office Markus Ederer on the attempts to make “Minsk” work.
The Vagaries of Memory
A project to memorialize five Holocaust mass grave sites in western Ukraine is helping pave the road to democracy and reexamine the country’s troubled past.
Close Up: Mario Draghi
The president of the European Central Bank has a tough balancing act to pull off – do too little and the common currency will fall apart; too much, and European policy-makers won’t take steps necessary to strengthen it.
Halfhearted Hegemon
Twenty-five years after German reunification, the European Union is struggling to come to terms with the consequences of that profound shift – as is Germany itself.
Negotiating Weltmeister
Berlin has been vilified for its handling of Greece, but 2015 has actually been a banner year for German diplomacy: de-escalating the crisis in Ukraine, finding agreement over Iran’s nuclear program, and avoiding a Grexit.
Tipping the Scales
Without TTIP Europe’s competitiveness in the global market is in danger, especially in light of the TPP agreement the US is negotiating with Asia.
Words Don’t Come Easy: “Ertüchtigung”
Think that a “Merkel doctrine” is an oxymoron? Wrong: Ertüchtigung – loosely, “help for self help” – sounds outdated even to German ears, but the concept behind it is useful today.
Europe’s Original Sin
The Greek rescue package has postponed Europe’s reckoning, but one thing is clear: the euro lacks a supporting foundation.
Leaving Nobody Behind
The EU is experiencing the worst storm since its inception, says Norbert Röttgen, chair of the German Bundestag’s foreign affairs committee.
Going Global (In Parts)
Long overdue, the EU has started strategic reflections on what its global strategy could look like.
In 140 Characters (#140c): Carl Bildt
Sweden’s former PM and foreign minister on being undiplomatic on Twitter.
