Attitudes towards the Constitution
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Must European countries converge to one single social model?
26.04.2007
By: Stefan Collignon, LSE and Harvard University
The question seems to be at the core of the legitimacy of the European integration project. Comparing levels of unemployment and economic growth indicate that the social democratic model is at least as efficient as the liberal model in producing economic growth.
Slowly, but surely: The coming of Social Europe
20.04.2007
By: Deborah Mabbett, Birkbeck, and Waltraud Schelkle, LSE
For better or worse, Social Europe is already a reality. It is the incremental result of market integration rather than the fruit of a grand project for creating post-national citizenship in the EU. The EU has significant effects on how generous, universal and, indeed, safe the safety nets for EU citizens are. It is true that ever closer political union and all the solidarity it is supposed to create among EU citizens is a long way away, but social policy is as much contained in obscure rules on financial markets as in headline measures on pensions and benefits.
There is a lot more optimism about the EU Constitution now
09.04.2007
By: Wolfgang Munchau
Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, took two large calculated gambles at the beginning of Germany’s presidency of the European Union. The first was an emphasis on climate change, the second an attempt to revive the EU constitution. Not everybody thought this was a smart choice at the time. The first gamble paid off handsomely for Ms Merkel in political terms, no matter what you may think about the details of last month’s climate deal.
How dangerous is Nicolas Sarkozy?
03.04.2007
By: Eurointelligence ECB Watch
If a politician on a campaign trail says a thing once, you can safely dismiss it. If he repeats it once or twice, you may still choose to ignore it. But if he says it twenty times, you should listen up. Nicolas Sarkozy’s bashing of the European Central Bank is not only extreme and stupid, it s also persistent, and this is why we should take it seriously.