“You Fix the Roof When the Sun is Shining“
An interview with Marcel Fratzscher on last week’s “economists’ letter”—and why Germany and France need to get moving on eurozone reform.
No Tie, No Support
Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras started out as the far-left David taking on the EU-IMF Goliath. Now he is seen as Berlin’s poodle.
A Paradise Long Lost
Syriza’s election was supposed to mark a new direction for Greece. Instead, conditions have steadily worsened. The country is in dire eco-nomic shape and faces the brunt of the refugee crisis.
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.
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.
Halftime in the Greek Crisis
The giant consensus machine that is the EU is still running smoothly enough, but Europe – and Greece – will continue to suffer from the euro’s flawed construction.
An American Economist in Paris
The advice coming across the Atlantic illustrates one thing clearly: Washington does not understand the purpose of the European Union and its common currency.
Waving the Grexit Stick
Germany’s finance minister may be (southern) Europe’s most hated man – at home his approval ratings are going through the roof. Pointing to the inner logic of eurozone rules he may have more in mind than the future Europe’s single currency.
Europe by Numbers: On the Rocks
The notion of “European solidarity” cuts many ways; right now, it needs to be applied to the EU’s two most pressing problems, Greece and refugees.
(In)credible Euro
The fallout with Greece has shown the complexity of governing the eurozone. The time to address the euro’s weaknesses and keep Europe’s single currency credible is now.
Saving Europe
The real dividing line in the debate about Greece and the euro is whether Germany and Europe should give in to Athens’ demands, or force Greece to reform? Interestingly, both camps are firmly pro-European.
Transmission Impossible
American experts have no shortage of suggestions for how Europeans could save Greece and ultimately fix the euro crisis. Yet most of the commentary is as uninformed as it is critical.
Political Union Now!
If we want to keep the Europe we have – we must change it. The European Union needs more integration, and German Chancellor Angela Merkel must lead the way.
How to Avoid a Grexit
Greece needs to make reforms if it is to return to growth, and it is more likely that this will happen inside the euro than outside. The key is to reactivate a logic that has worked many times: solidarity in exchange for reforms.
