Ideas
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Nationality: Multiple citizenship, way of the future
11 January 201231316 The Economist London -
Debate : Why I’m feeling strangely Austrian
10 January 20123248 Financial Times London -
Interview: Geert Mak — Reconquering Europe
9 January 20122377 NRC Handelsblad Amsterdam -
Bailouts: Against all the rules
6 January 201237552 Die Zeit Hamburg -
Eurozone crisis: Will the EU end up like Yugoslavia?
5 January 201237167 Politika Belgrade -
Interview: George Steiner, a certain idea of knowledge
30 December 2011130119 Télérama Paris -
Interview: Andrzej Stasiuk’s European lesson
26 December 201115912 Wprost Warsaw -
Eurozone crisis: Iceland is our modern Utopia
23 December 2011598739 Público Madrid -
Debate: Don’t let the European ideal die
20 December 201124234 El País Madrid -
Debate: Europe’s seven deadly sins (2/2)
15 December 201123724 Die Zeit Hamburg -
Debate: Europe’s seven deadly sins (1/2)
14 December 201149821 Die Zeit Hamburg -
Eurozone crisis: Farewell sweet sovereignty...
8 December 201134917 El País Madrid -
Profile: Jürgen Habermas, the last European
2 December 2011292313 Der Spiegel Hamburg -
European Union: Give democracy a chance
1 December 201140730 The Guardian London -
Eurozone crisis: Panic - hottest all-time business model
30 November 201167114 Berliner Zeitung Berlin -
Extremism: The internationalism of the new far-right
29 November 201127417 Aftonbladet Stockholm -
Debate: Crisis tears us apart
29 November 20113467 The Irish Times Dublin -
Who’s afraid of Germany? (5): Europe - an awfully wonderful family
25 November 201125919 Die Zeit Hamburg -
Who’s afraid of Germany? (3): Goethe, in technocrat’s clothing
23 November 201120615 Der Spiegel Hamburg -
European Union: A revolution from above
23 November 20114785 Libération Paris -
Who’s afraid of Germany? (2): Europe sprechs German now
22 November 201122710 Berliner Zeitung Berlin -
Eurozone crisis: What have the Dutch ever done for us?
18 November 201126113 De Volkskrant Amsterdam -
Debate: Why Europe needs enemies
17 November 20111688 Hospodářské Noviny Prague -
Debate: In defence of technocrats
17 November 201119211 The Guardian London -
Eurozone crisis: Europe against the people?
11 November 201143123 The Economist London -
Eurozone crisis: Technocracy is no way to go
7 November 20112836 Il Sole-24 Ore Milan -
Greek referendum: Democracy has junk status
2 November 2011101218 Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung Frankfurt -
Austerity Europe: The cynicism of Greece’s elites
21 October 20114595 The Guardian London -
Opinion: Democracy - an inventory
14 October 201133016 El País Madrid -
Germany: Spare us this Euro Newspeak
7 October 2011901 Süddeutsche Zeitung Munich -
Debt crisis: Beware the saviours of the euro
5 October 20111407 Der Freitag Berlin -
Pirate party: Children of Marx and Microsoft
20 September 201111035 Süddeutsche Zeitung Munich -
Eurozone crisis: Europe returns to national identity
16 September 201132715 The Guardian London -
Political fiction: Three Eurozones are better than one
16 September 201119912 De Volkskrant Amsterdam -
9/11, 10 years on: The East rises over Ground Zero
9 September 20111132 The Guardian London -
Eurozone crisis: Time to get angry, Europe
31 August 20111966 Der Spiegel Hamburg -
Youth: The hooliganism of losers
25 August 201116610 Die Welt Berlin -
Political fiction: A brave new superpower
22 August 20111525 Le Figaro Paris -
Poland: Poles apart from reality
18 August 2011PresseuropGazeta Wyborcza -
End of the line for the euro 4/4: Shanghai endgame
17 August 2011461 Le Monde Paris -
End of the line for the euro 3/4: Wall Street's harsh judgment
16 August 201191 Le Monde Paris -
End of the line for the euro 2/4: Trundling towards doom
15 August 201183 Le Monde Paris -
End of the line for the euro 1/4: Berlin gets ready to leave the euro
12 August 201178610 Le Monde Paris -
Debt crisis: Are there any leaders out there?
8 August 20113825 The Guardian London -
Debate: Human horror, in cold blood
1 August 20111051 Corriere della Sera Milan -
Norway: Anders Breivik – non-entity without a cause
25 July 20114028 The Daily Telegraph London -
Eurozone crisis: Euro – a right-wing dream gone wrong
13 July 201185511 The Guardian London -
European Union: Democratization can’t save Europe
11 July 201118923 Der Spiegel Hamburg -
Debates: Europe the gentle giant must wake
8 July 20112266 De Groene Amsterdammer Amsterdam -
Debt crisis: Only a new Marshall Plan can do it
6 July 20113244 The Guardian London
In an increasingly globalized and racially mixed world, it's natural to have multiple identities. That's why states should loosen up naturalisation rights and grant the right to vote more easily, says The Economist. 
As the financial crisis continues to ravage the West, the dominant ideology of all triumphant free-market liberalism is collapsing. But what new political trends are emerging, and which will succeed? asks Gideon Rachman. 
What’s in store for project Europe this year? A community under the supervision of a strong European Commission or a decentralised intergovernmental system, advocated by the Germans? Dutch historian Geert Mak has painted a bleak picture for the future of the European Union. 
He who makes mistakes must pay the price. Ever since the crisis erupted five years ago, this key law of the market economy has been trampled on. Politicians must now decide between prosperity and morality, writes Die Zeit. 
Seen from Belgrade, Zagreb or Sarajevo, the economic and institutional crisis that has struck the European Union has a certain air of déjà-vu. Serbian daily Politika remarks on the similarities with the years preceding the break-up of the federation founded by Tito. 
Literature, philosophy, science: today, our tools for understanding the world are developing separately, regrets the renowned intellectual and humanist. However, culture remains a saving grace, particularly in Europe. 
Why do the Germans and the Poles have a hard time getting along? How does one recognise a Pole? Is there a way to help Germany better "dominate" the EU? A hard to pigeon-hole Polish writer provides some leads. 
In rejecting by referendum a bailout for their toxic banks and the repayment of external debt, the citzens of Iceland have shown it is possible to escape the laws of capitalism and take control of one's destiny, writes a Spanish historian. 
The integration of Europe has allowed the Old World to prosper, but the journey has cost it some of its soul, regrets the Spanish philosopher Rafael Argullol. It's not too late to affirm the values that make Europe strong – but it has to be done quickly. 
The politicians of Europe love to flourish the flag of Community togetherness. But in their day-to-day politicking they give the lie to their supposed virtues. The second part of Die Zeit's list of national egotisms that are harming the Community. 
The politicians of Europe love to flourish the flag of Community togetherness. But in their day-to-day politicking they give the lie to their supposed virtues. Die Zeit has compiled a cheat-sheet of national egotisms that are harming the Community. 
If approved by the Twenty-Seven, the fiscal union proposed by Angela Merkel and Nicolas Sarkozy would be a decisive new stage on the path to European federalism. But are all willing to pay the price: the surrender of the budgetary autonomy of states? 
Jürgen Habermas has had enough. The philosopher is doing all he can these days to call attention to what he sees as the demise of the European ideal. He hopes he can help save it -- from inept politicians and the dark forces of the market. 
Is the EU turning into an empire ruled by Germany? For German sociologist Ulrich Beck, we should take advantage of this widespread and much discussed fear to establish a new organisation for the Union, based on a real community of citizens. 
Fear, alarm, apocalypse: moods rather than facts steer mankind, writes futurologist Matthias Horx. This holds true for the eurozone crisis as well. 
A new Europe threatens to emerge in the shadow of the crisis: a continent dominated by despondency and a defiance of politics that that has paved the way for a resurgence of nationalism and Islamophobia. These are much more serious dangers than national debt figures, writes Aftonbladet. 
Debt and austerity are the new reality for most Europeans. But for some, such a situation is an opportunity to turn a fast profit. In such a context, how can we still talk of nations and society? asks Irish columnist John Waters. 
A family with strict parents, black sheep and tough love: that’s today’s Europe, says an editor at Die Zeit, who sends out a call to defend the historically unprecedented culture of solidarity. 
What Germany’s leadership of the EU means isn’t very clear – least of all to the Germans themselves. A Spiegel columnist looks for the answer in two books, wandering between the lost soul and the genius of the country. 
Political changes in Greece, Italy and Spain have highlighted how European leaders have upset the balance of power between society and the state and politics and the economy. French philospher Etienne Balibar points out that these developments have overlooked the role of citizens. 
“Europe is speaking German,” trumpeted CDU deputy Volker Kauder. Just let’s not overdo it, warns the Berliner Zeitung. An association of free democracies should look a bit different. 
In the current crisis, the Dutch tend to pontificate about the citizens of ill performing countries like Greece and Italy. But as recession now looms, they should keep in mind that their prosperity isn’t just due to their own virtuousness. 
Nothing better than an enemy to forge a common identity. But the adage of the nineteenth century doesn’t quite fit the current crisis. Only by changing their relationship to power can Europeans unite and overcome the crisis, says a Czech editorialist. 
The appointments of non-politicians Lucas Papademos and Mario Monti in Greece and Italy has caused much ink to flow. But on the continent, experts have often played a positive role in politics in times of deep crisis, points out a Guardian editor. 
Efforts to save the euro cannot run against the will of the voters indefinitely, writes Charlemagne of the Economist. 
Governments of “experts” proposed in Italy and Greece could be good at taking emergency decisions, but would deepen European citizens’ diffidence towards ever more indirect democracy. To avoid this, politics must reclaim its role. 
He who submits a vital issue to a referendum is a public menace to Europe. This has been the message from the markets – and since Monday night, from the politicians too. 
After two days of massive strikes and street battles, Greece seems to be edging ever closer to the brink. As European leaders gather this Sunday in a last ditch bid to save the euro, a Greek author condemns the national elites that have brought his country to this juncture. 
After the demonstrations in Greece and the Indignados in Spain, popular protest has spread across Europe and, with the Occupy Wall Street movement, crossed the Atlantic. Be it direct or representative, the very idea of democracy is under scrutiny, says José Ignacio Torreblanca. 
The German expression for “bailout funds” is “euro emergency parachute”. An easy way to grasp the complexities of Eurozone financial mechanisms, but a metaphor running out of steam, argues columnist Axel Hacke. 
If the European project is to be saved, then it's time to stand up to the likes of Chancellor Merkel and President Sarkozy who are promoting a union of democracy deficit, tax competition and social dumping, argues a German author. 
They demand transparency and direct democracy, and almost one in ten voters in Berlin gave them their vote. The Pirate Party is no longer just a party for Net-nerds in hoodies, but represents demands from across society. 
The looming Greek default has brought an arrogant and overbearing EU to a turning point. And a return to a national dimension is the outcome we can look forward to, writes a British columnist. 
There is no denying the reality: Eurozone countries are so different that there will be no common exit to the current crisis. The solution, argues a Dutch economist, is to divide states using the single currency into three groups governed by different rules. 
We have spent the years since the attacks on US soil focusing on the terrorist threat and wars in Afganistan and Iraq. But we have been blind to the real global change : the slow but unstoppable rise of China, writes Timothy Garton Ash. 
The European common currency is in trouble, several EU countries are facing mountains of debt and solidarity within the bloc is declining. It is European youth, in particular, who have drawn the short stick. Closer cooperation is the only way forward. 
A Europe long at peace is once again a seething continent. In France, Greece and Spain crowds of youths are out demonstrating against their situation, and in London they have reduced neighbourhoods to rubble and ashes. What is going wrong here? wonders a German columnist. 
Le Figaro's fictional series "The world in 20 years" begins with the view from Europe. In 2031, the launch of a European flagship inaugurates an age of shared defence and marks the final move in a "great awakening" that began fifteen years before. The Union is a superpower at last. 
In the last episode of the political fiction published by Le Monde, a journalist for the Wall Street Journal finally catches up with the source of the document that has rocked the Eurozone and sowed panic in stock markets all over the world. 
Le Monde's fictional series about the demise of the single currency continues. Gathered around guru George Soros and the former European commissioner Mario Monti, the leading lights of international finance consider the critical situation of the euro, which has been brought about by the ineptitude of European leaders. 
Le Monde's fictional series 'The end of the euro” continues. After the German constitutional court invalidates the euro stability mechanism, the 27 member states seem resigned to the idea that one of their number will default. Charles Leesby of the Irish Times finds himself attending another midnight conference on the fate of the euro … 
On the night of his re-election, Nicolas Sarkozy learns that Angela Merkel is about to be overthrown by a faction in her party that wants to leave the euro. A short time later, Germany’s constitutional court invalidates the euro stability mechanism. In this political fiction, Le Monde examines a possible scenario — which may be more likely than it seems — for the end of the single currency. 
Faced with the euro crisis, world leaders look at best paralysed and at worst irresponsible. But a situation this serious needs heads of government who can take the bull by the horns. 
Beyond the political delusions that pushed Anders Breivik to assassinate more than 70 people, it is evil in it most imbecile form that was revealed by his actions, says Italian writer Claudio Magris.
There is nothing in the mind of Norway’s mass killer that needs studying. Instead of rationalising his deeds, we'd do better to ignore his narcissism and puerile ideology, writes columnist and London's mayor Boris Johnson. 
With the very existence of the euro is in question, an American economist points out the fundamental difference between the single currency and the EU: while the former is the fruit of a right-wing political project, the latter stems from a project for solidarity between nations. The death of one does not mean the death of another. 
Despite the myriad problems currently facing the European Union, democratization is not the answer. Rather, the EU's elites need to improve -- and power has to be taken away from the periphery. 
In this early 21st century, many commentators compare Europe to a gentle, grassing eating dinosaur. In order to adapt to the new world being forged, it must come out of its sloth, urges Dutch writer Geert Mak. 
To emerge from the enduring debt crisis, Europe needs a programme as ambitious as the post-war US sponsored plan. But this time, it has to find the resources internally and foster a continent-wide redistribution.