In the absence of a strong and concerted political direction, the EU is undergoing a process of structural divergence, featuring diverging employment, growth, productivity, competition, and fiscal trajectories. This is not a recovery, but a joyless and jobless stagnation. Ignore it at your peril.
Youth unemployment in Europe is a social bomb waiting to explode, and yet another proof of the EU’s lack of vision. So what is there to be done?
After the recent tragedy in Lampedusa, a number of politicians and commentators have claimed that what Italy needs to face the current refugees crisis is more support from the European Union. Politics aside, what does this claim really imply?
Has ‘multilevel governance’ replaced the nation state or European confederation, creating the precondition for a multilevel citizenship? Or is this just a name we give to the empty place left by the demise of the nation state?
In spite of clear popular support, Iceland's new crowd-sourced constitution was recently killed by politicians. An ex-member of the constitutional council sheds some light on what happened - and why there might still be some hope for this unique experiment.
With so many conflicting interpretations of what post-crisis Europe should look like, it is easy to forget that another Europe will only come by reconciling the people across the continent, through initiatives and institutions that sew up a broken social fabric.
Europe can make sense only insofar as it becomes a space which makes it easier to get rid of the fear that the crisis is disseminating within the social fabric, a space where it is more viable to struggle against poverty, exploitation, and discrimination.
My dear Etienne Balibar, in a recent article you explain how a new Europe can only come from the bottom up. But how would this shift from top-down to bottom-up work, and what does it even mean?
Simply put, 'another Europe' must be able to suggest alternatives that make sense to the majority of the citizens across the continent.
A wave of enthusiasm took Icelanders through the 2012 referendum after the 2008 crash, once the widely-praised 'crowd-sourced' constitution appeared to be within reach. But Icelanders’ hopes seem to be evaporating in the haze of this week-end's parliamentary elections.
A currency devoid of matching political institutions becomes a promising prey of the markets, led by financial interests, including many traditionally hostile to the euro and to the prospect of any further European integration. What to do?
Simply waiting until the fight is over looks like a realpolitik option, but it is a recipe to push Syria only further into disaster. The stalemate can last for years. Europe must act now – to prevent a humanitarian tragedy and to protect its vital interests.
