In The News

The Guardian: Report Says Foreign States May Have Interfered in Brexit Vote

Rajeev Syal April 12, 2017
A British parliamentary committee report suggests that “Foreign governments such as Russia and China may have been involved in the collapse of a voter registration website in the run-up to the EU referendum,” Rajeev Syal reports for the Guardian and describes a denial-of-services attack. “The committee does not identify who may have been responsible, but has noted that both Russia and China use...

Financial Times: Brexiters Must Lose if Brexit Is to Succeed

Martin Wolf March 30, 2017
The British government officially notified the EU of its intention to leave – an admission that a prominent and pragmatic member could not influence the larger governing structure or find agreement with other European members. The decision is a tragedy for both sides “Even if the exit negotiations go well,” explains Martin Wolf for the Financial Times. “Economically, [the UK] will lose favourable...

Spiegel Online: Dutch Election Slows Europe's Populists

Claus Hecking March 21, 2017
Prime Minister Mark Rutte and his center-right political party, the VVD, won the Dutch general election. Rutte has held the position since 2010, but faced a strong challenge from the far-right populist Geert Wilders. Wilders’ calls for nationalist policies and a “Nexit” from the European Union were at odds with the Netherlands’ global position as a leading exporter, Claus Hecking posits for...

The Spectator: Theresa May Fights a War on Two Fronts - Any Mistakes Could Be Fatal

James Forsyth March 16, 2017
British voters approved leaving the European Union, by a margin of 52 to 48 percent. More than 55 percent of voters in Northern Ireland and 62 percent in Scotland voted to remain. British Prime Minister Theresa May will trigger Article 50 and the two-year process for EU exit soon. Actual costs and institutions to handle trade, travel, immigration and regulatory details are yet unknown. May must...

Turkey’s Effort to Join the EU Is on Life Support

December 19, 2016
In the aftermath of a bloody failed coup in Turkey – including arrests of political opponents and journalists – European leaders are assessing Turkey’s bid to join the EU. They admit that the crackdown in Turkey goes against European principles, particularly as President Recep Tayyip Erdogan adopts increasingly hostile language toward Europe. Talks have been flailing for years, especially since...

A Europe of Merkel and Fillon?

Camille Pecastaing December 6, 2016
François Fillon and Angela Merkel lead in the polls to become the respective leaders of France and Germany. Both cater to the center-right and embrace free-trade, the EU and globalization. Their similar platforms as well as past tenure together could shore up “the French-German dynamic [that] has been so central to the construction of Europe since the 1950s,” writes Camille Pecastaing for Foreign...

Italy Sinks Into Political Limbo as Defeat Sweeps Renzi Away

John Follain and Chiara Albanese December 5, 2016
Italy is Europe’s fourth largest economy and the country is falling “into political limbo after Prime Minister Matteo Renzi announced his resignation, with rival parties jockeying to fill the power vacuum following his crushing defeat in a constitutional referendum,” reports Bloomberg. The constitutional reforms were intended to reduce the size of parliament, putting limits on the Senate, and...