In The News

Spiegel: EU Mulls Funding Cuts for Eastern Europe

Markus Becker, Peter Müller, Christoph Schult and Jan Puhl April 10, 2018
Europe’s largest and most powerful economies maintain that values embracing human rights and the rule of law have enhanced European prosperity. So it’s understandable that the Germany, France and others do not want to subsidize Poland, Hungary, Slovakia and other states that skirt the rule of law, refuse to support refugees and engage in corruption enriching a few individuals in power rather than...

The Telegraph: Victory for Eurosceptic, Populist Parties in Italy Election

Nick Squires and Peter Foster March 5, 2018
Italian voters supported anti-establishment, populist and Euroskeptic parties in Sunday’s election, but no party received the required 40 percent for running the government and a coalition will be necessary. Europe’s fourth largest economy is flailing and concern runs high about unrestrained migration. Unofficial results suggest that Five Star Movement lead by capturing about one-third of all...

Financial Times: Pro-EU Tory Faction to Join Labour on Brexit

Jim Pickard, George Parker and Laura Hughes February 28, 2018
Britain remains divided about whether the nation should part ways with the European Union, and some members of parliament mull crossing party lines to salvage a trade relationship. Voters in June 2016 narrowly approved exiting the EU, but concerns emerged since about misinformation and foreign interference during the campaign. Jeremy Corbyn, leader of the Labour party, shifted his party’s positon...

EUROPP: The Italian Election

Andrea Lorenzo Capussela February 27, 2018
Italians head to the polls on Sunday March 4 and polls suggest that a center-right coalition led by former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi may win the most seats in parliament. Economic growth has lagged in Italy, at 1.3 percent, and the country’s unemployment rate stands at 11.4 percent. Immigration and European integration are also concerns for Italy’s voters. Andrea Capussela summarizes Italy...

Spiegel Online: Eastern Europeans Tire of Being Sold Inferior Products

Nils Klawitter December 22, 2017
Some products taste better in some places as some manufacturers cut back on expensive ingredients for products destined for less wealthy regions. So there may be less chocolate, sugar or cheese in products sold in Eastern Europe than Western Europe though labels and prices are the same. Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico has threatened sanctions, speaking out “for 103 million EU citizens who...

El País: Brussels Pushes for European Version of IMF

Claudi Pérez December 6, 2017
The European Union is proposing its own version of a bailout fund modeled after the International Monetary Fund. “With initial firepower of €500 billion, which could be boosted up to a further 20%, the new European Monetary Fund will bail out member states in exchange for reforms, as the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) has done in the past with Greece, Ireland and Portugal,” reports El País....

Roads & Kingdoms: Shifting Current

Matthew Bremner August 8, 2017
The number of active Scottish fishermen has halved in the past half century, and the industry blames the European Union and ideals of free movement of labor and capital. Accordingly, “while 60 percent of Scotland’s population voted ‘Remain’ in last year’s Brexit referendum, more than 90 percent of its fishermen did the opposite,” reports Matthew Bremner. The EU treats the North Sea, like all...