Europe / Middle East

28 September 2016

Italian Prime Minister has set the date for the constitutional referendum as late as practically possibly.  It will be held on December 4.  The issue is the perfect bicameralism that gives as much power to the Senate as the Chamber of Deputies.  Italian Prime Minister has set the date...

Featured Articles

17 November 2015

A Lenient EU May Become More So

The EU is warning that Austria, Italy, and Lithuania are at risk of not achieving their 2016 budget goals.  It also warned Spain that is too might miss its target.  Nevertheless, the EU said there were no serious violations. The...

8 October 2015

Imagine an EU without the UK

Europe is always a heated topic at a Conservative party conference. This year much debate has focused on David Cameron’s ongoing renegotiation of terms for staying in the EU. By contrast, the terms on which a Brexit might happen have...

14 July 2015

The Way Forward for Europe

German Finance Minister Schaeuble claims that he raised the possibility of a Greek exit to push for an alternative, and he did so with backing of the Merkel government.  He used the threat of a violating the "irreversible clause" of...

30 June 2015

Investor Focus Remains on Europe

The markets remain off-kilter.  The dollar has recouped a little of the ground lost yesterday.   Reports in a Greek paper that Tsipras may be reconsidering Juncker's proposal may prevent a deeper pullback in the euro, which found a bid near...

15 June 2015

The EU “AG” (After Greece)

Critics of the Greek government repeatedly claim that its radicalism prevents a resolution to the crisis.  Yet the EC has indicated that the difference between the creditors’ proposal and Syriza's plans amounts to 2 bln euro a year in government...

4 June 2015

You’ve Got to Have Faith (In the EU)

The media often depicts a European Union that is unraveling.  The financial crisis, high unemployment, and demands for austerity for as far as the eye can see have undermined confident in the European project.  Syriza and Podemos from the Left and...

28 May 2015

Greater Integration Through Crisis

The pre-Socratic Heraclitus was the philosopher of change.  He wrote, "no man steps in the same river twice; for it is not the same river and he is not the same man."  Truth that. The pre-Socratic Heraclitus was the philosopher...

6 May 2015

Breaking the EU’s Crisis to Crisis Cycle

Just months since taking power in January, Greek’s Syriza coalition faces obstacles at every turn, from an intransigent European Central Bank to an unyielding European Council.  The ECB in particular has rejected Greek proposals for short-term bridge financing to allow...

6 May 2015

An EU without a UK?

“We would be substantially better off not being in the EU because the opportunity cost of us not being able to make our own trade deals with the emerging economies of the world is holding back British business. In terms...

31 March 2015

Where is Greece on Germany’s Priority List?

After several months of tense and often antagonistic negotiations, Greece and its creditors appear to be at a stalemate. In order to receive a further bail-out funds, the Syriza government has proposed a set of reforms that in the view...