Topic
What next for Europe?
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Integration
Anyone for a federal Europe?
12 October 20103The Independent London -
Debate
Whither the European mind?
10 September 2010Philosophie Magazine Paris -
European integration
The union needs leaders
30 August 20102Trouw Amsterdam -
Where is the Union headed? (10)
A multipolar union
29 July 2010Gazeta Wyborcza Warsaw -
Where is the Union headed? (9)
Europe keeps moving, nevertheless
12 July 2010Respekt Prague -
Where is the Union headed? (8)
More Europe? No thanks.
5 July 20101Público Lisbon -
Where is the Union headed? (7)
Has the crisis led to an east / west face off?
1 July 2010La Repubblica Rome -
where is the union headed? (6)
Wanted – Motivated leaders to steer a union
23 June 20101Corriere della Sera Milan -
Where is the Union headed? (5)
The European project should not falter now
15 June 2010L'Espresso Rome -
Where is the union headed? (4)
A harsh wake-up call
28 May 2010Gazeta Wyborcza Warsaw -
Where is the union headed? (3)
A single European destiny
26 May 20104Die Zeit Hamburg -
Where is the union headed? (2)
Why I’m missing the EEC
25 May 20101Der Spiegel Hamburg -
Where is the Union headed? (1)
European breakdown
21 May 2010Die Presse Vienna -
Editorial
Not such a happy anniversary
9 May 20102Presseurop
As it goes through another crisis of confidence, Europe has split into two opposing camps, those who seek to relaunch the federalist project, and those for a more British style loose form of membership. And it's very hard to tell which solution is the best.
The idea of a declining Europe, which has been reinforced by poor demographic and economic indicators, has become a fashionable talking point. But writing in the colums of France’s Philosophie Magazine, Alexandre Lacroix insists that the vitality of a civilisation is also measured in terms of the strength of its creative initiative. 
While the EU is slogging knee-deep through an economic crisis and a general state of political malaise, its leaders seem to lack the will to find a solution. Political scientist Rob de Wijk advises them to reverse this tendency in order to keep the Union from falling further into the abyss. 
With countries following their own national agendas, France and Germany vying for the top spot and major decisions being taken in informal meetings, divisions within the EU are deepening, argues Polish philosopher and European expert Marek Cichocki. 
The Greek crisis, German rigour, the shifting global balance of power: the EU has been sorely tried these past few months. But that won’t keep it from evolving in a slightly different form, assures German journalist/political scientist Josef Joffe. Interview.
To stave off the risk of overindebted member states going bust, the EU 27 have taken steps – e.g. euro stabilisation plan, outline of economic governance – tending towards tighter integration. But once again they’ve done it without asking the European public’s opinion, bemoans Público. 
The economic crisis has slowed, if not stopped, the rapprochement between Western and Eastern Europe. Now that the excesses of capitalism have put a damper on their liberal democratic élan, ex-Communist countries are seeing a subversion of the values they once fought for, writes Yugoslav intellectual Predrag Matvejević. 
Europe was left adrift at a time when the launch of its single currency and the reinforcement of its institutions called for real leadership. Now, as we face the euro crisis and the risk of the Union’s fragmentation, the time has come for national governments to make way for truly independent European authorities.
Confronted by economic crisis, European governments and citizens are increasingly succumbing to the temptations of nationalism, selfishness and mistrust of foreigners — a trend deplored by writer Tahar Ben Jelloun, who emphasises the integral role played by immigrants in modern Europe, and modern European identity. 
For years, the EU has sought comfort in the politically correct fiction which states that all member states have equal rights. Bulgarian political scientist Ivan Krastev believes that Europe's citizens and political elites will now have to embrace a more hard-nosed language if we are to succeed in defending the European model. 
Taking their cue from the German chancellor, Europe’s leaders seem to be hiding behind “the will of the people” as an excuse for their inertia. And yet political will is what we need now to confront the crisis and bring the European project back to life, argues philosopher Jürgen Habermas. 
While he appreciates Europe and its diversity, Dutch writer Leon de Winter doesn’t believe there’s enough cultural common ground to justify the EU construct. Ambitious politicians and power-hungry technocrats are exacting a grass-roots solidarity that simply doesn’t exist. De Winter makes the case for a return to the EEC. 
Angela Merkel is walling up Germany, Nicolas Sarkozy is rounding up the Mediterraneans, and the EU doesn’t know where it’s headed anymore. Behind the euro crisis and the ongoing row over how to handle it, the mutual trust and the will to work together are ebbing before our very eyes, observes Die Presse. 
