Charles Wyplosz, Graduate Institute – Institut de hautes études internationales et du développement (IHEID)
The news from France has not been good over the last few years. Poor economic growth, stubbornly high unemployment, plant closures on the rise, strikes (not new, really), voter disenfranchisement and the…
When in 1987 Margaret Thatcher won the third of her three elections in the UK, she was at the height of her powers. She governed in almost monarchical style, her (internal and external) opponents either…
Kai Arzheimer, Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz
The results of the German election have been described as a triumph for Angela Merkel. Her Christian Democrats bounced back from their second-worst result since 1949 to heights they have not seen since…
When the term “factor” is used in the description of political power, one is reminded of sunscreen or perfume: an ingredient to ingest. One is certainly not reminded of German chancellor Angela Merkel…
Germany and the UK have ambitious clean energy policies. Both have set themselves national emission reduction targets beyond the European Union’s goal of 20% below emissions levels of 1990. Germany has…
Erik Gawel, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research y Sebastian Strunz, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research
When the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Japan was hit by a tsunami in March 2011, the disaster had a profound effect on German energy policy. Chancellor Angela Merkel reasoned that “Fukushima…
Harald Sander, Cologne University of Applied Sciences (CUAS)
Last week the German government’s economic forecasts for 2013 have made clear that the Euro crisis will have a serious economic impact on Germany, with the economic growth projection cut down to a mere…
On 23 July, the rating agency Moody’s put the triple A debt of Germany, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg on a negative outlook. The day after, the outlook on the European Financial Stability Fund was also…
Today Eurozone leaders will meet in Brussels. On the agenda is nothing less than the survival of the euro. Officially, it is about Spain: Spain’s economic and financial woes show the urgency. Moody’s drastically…
Almost 70 years ago, Adolf Hitler committed suicide in the bunker of the Reich Chancellery, marking the downfall of one of the most murderous regimes the world has ever seen. Decades later, there is still…
Captain Paul Watson, founder of the marine conservation organisation Sea Shepherd, was arrested last week in Frankfurt, Germany, on an international arrest warrant issued by the Costa Rican government…
Europe is in economic dire straits and the two most powerful economies on the continent are, at least on paper, led by individuals with considerable differences. The previous French President Nicolas Sarkozy…
The democratic executions of Nicolas Sarkozy in France and Lucas Papademos in Greece means the body count of European leaders guillotined by angry electorates has risen to 12. Sarkozy and Papademos join…
Harald Sander, Cologne University of Applied Sciences (CUAS)
Greece is rescued, for now…maybe. Perhaps it’s time to move on to the next basket case. So, which of the PIIGS is the next Greece? For the moment, Portugal looks to be the front-runner. The country’s public-debt-to-GDP…
The announcement by credit ratings agency Standard & Poor’s overnight that it could downgrade the triple-A rating of Europe’s debt rescue fund has battered market confidence, which had been buoyed…
Harald Sander, Cologne University of Applied Sciences (CUAS)
Early this week, sovereign bonds spreads for France and other Euro-core countries peaked. Around noon on Tuesday the spreads on French and Austrian 10-year government bonds exceeded the German bund rate…
Is the Eurozone about to crash and burn, leaving Club Med in its wake? Not so fast. Reports have suggested that French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel have discussed a strategic…
Global markets have tumbled in the past 24 hours on fears over Italy’s worsening debt crisis, with media reports that Germany and France have begun talks to break up the Eurozone if the monetary union’s…
Those who call for the Occupy movement to have a coherent set of demands at its birth ignore the history of social and protest movements. Often, the coherence to the programs of protest movements is only…