Clik here to view.
Britain is leaving the EU, not Europe
Nothing has quite been the same in British politics since the country’s 2016 vote to leave the European Union. Our political leadership is tearing itself apart over how to implement Brexit, and we’re...
View ArticleClik here to view.
World’s cartoonists on this week’s events
First published in The Economist, U.K., June 15, 2019 | By Kal First published on POLITICO.eu, Belgium, June 15, 2019 | By Rytis Daukantas “Another good reason to limit scooters … Reduce emergency...
View ArticleThe myth of the citizens’ assembly
DUBLIN — Put 100 ordinary citizens in a room and together they will solve the most intractable political problems of our time and save democracy in the process. If only things were so simple. Citizens’...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Conservatives lose their friends in the countryside
MILAN — The cleavage between the country and the city is as old as politics itself — but is particularly worrisome these days for one set of political ideas: those that aim to free markets and reduce...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Boris is the leader Britain deserves
LONDON — Call it karma. Call it kismet. It is all but inevitable that within a matter of weeks Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson will become prime minister of the United Kingdom. It won’t be the...
View ArticleWhat the euro needs is trust
Europe’s economy is living through a golden age. Unless we take steps to push through overdue reforms, it’s not likely to last. The economy of the eurozone has expanded for over six consecutive years,...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The south (of Europe) will rise again
MADRID — The days of Spain playing a bit role in Brussels are finally coming to an end. Madrid has a great opportunity to shape EU politics and policies over the next five years. Italy and Poland — not...
View ArticleClik here to view.
How Boris Johnson can defuse media frenzy around late-night argument
As the old PR adage goes, if you are on the end of a front-page hammering for more than a week, you’ve got a major problem. For Boris Johnson, it is now three days and counting. The U.K. papers have...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Brussels makes way for Beijing in the Balkans
PODGORICA, Montenegro — The European Union’s decision to postpone membership talks with Albania and North Macedonia couldn’t have been more poorly timed. With Brussels’ commitment to the region in...
View ArticleManfred Weber’s sham democracy
Europeans like to point the finger at Donald Trump’s relentless attacks against truth, history and vocabulary. But they don’t have much ground to stand on. Manfred Weber’s latest encyclical on...
View ArticleEurozone needs transparent politics, not ‘trust’
In an op-ed for POLITICO (June 21), Mário Centeno, the president of the Eurogroup and Portugal’s Socialist finance minister, summarized the reforms that the eurozone needs: a common budget, a European...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Can Europe kick it with the kids?
What do young people think about the European Union? Some clearly support it, with surveys showing young people tend to vote for pro-European liberal and green parties. Others are more suspicious and...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Yellow Jackets left behind
CULEY-LE-PATRY, France — Emmanuel Macron is right. He is also wrong. The French president claims the Yellow Jacket rebellion, now in its 34th week, has been misrepresented. To describe the gilets...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Get ready for a strong EU
ROME — Proponents of a strong European Union foreign policy have something to smile about this week. The nomination of Ursula von der Leyen at the helm of the European Commission and Josep Borrell as...
View ArticleClik here to view.
ECB needs a rocket scientist, not a rock star
HELSINKI — Central banking is rocket science. If you don’t get it right, the consequences can be tragic. That’s why EU leaders are taking a huge gamble in their decision to entrust the leadership of...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Brussels horse-trading is a win for Macron
The outcome of the top jobs marathon in Brussels has been almost universally hailed by the French press as a triumph for Emmanuel Macron. “Game, set and match” — reads a typical headline in the French...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Europeans have a lot to say. Brussels needs to listen.
LARREULE, France — Elections in my small village of Larreule, in southwestern France, are usually sociable, predictable affairs. When the polls close, a handful of residents gather in the village hall...
View ArticleClik here to view.
A roadmap for the Balkans
BERLIN — Nearly 20 years after the Kosovo War ended, a political settlement between Belgrade and Pristina remains elusive and frustration hangs heavy over the region. Europe can no longer afford to...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Belgian job
The European Council’s proposal to fill the EU’s top jobs is so awash with novelty and controversy that it’s easy to overlook that it contains a reassuringly familiar element. Once again, a former...
View ArticleClik here to view.
In Greece, politics is a family affair
ATHENS — There may be no better place to understand Greek politics than the region of Achaia. Perched at the top of the Peloponnese peninsula west of Athens, it’s home to the country’s third-largest...
View Article