MADRID | If Spain’s democracy owes something to someone it would be Germany. During Spain’s democratic transition, Christian democracy and Social Democracy German foundations sustained and alerted incipient political parties when they need it.
MADRID | The prospect France, not to mention Italy or Spain, will flatly fail to meet their targets stands as a more plausible explanation of the realisation that austerity alone will not work.
By Katja Mann | Despite severe financial and economic problems, Slovenia can still avoid a bail-out – if investors stay confident.
ROME | Nadia Urbinati | The stalemate over the election of the President of the Republic, which broke on April 20 with the re-election of Giorgio Napolitano and the resignation of the leadership of the Democratic Party, is the highwater mark of the crisis in the Italian political system. To save that system, we must move ahead immediately with reforms, starting with electoral reform.
STRASBOURG | Over time, EU regions have become more sophisticated in trying to attract businesses. They amend their offers to reflect the wants of businesses, in order to obtain success.
By Matt Shearman | This was an historic step for Serb-Kosovo relations, but in the wider terms of the EU accession debate, the agreement stands as a prelude to the difficult road ahead.
By Juan Carlos de Martín | Responding to political crisis, a chorus of voices, such as Italy’s Five Star Movement, are calling for a transition to the direct participation that the Internet has made possible. However, the two systems should complement, rather than compete against each other.
MADRID | Cuts and tax rises cannot be considered by all means as negligible. Bur their real impact on disposable incomes does amount to a rather modest share, on average.
PRAGUE | The EU has ruled on the curves of cucumbers, forbidden hairdressers from wearing heels, and even financed a porn film. These urban legends about decisions taken in Brussels are as endless as they are false. And they all get the kiss of life in the same place: the British tabloids.
MADRID | The European Central Bank must change course, too, so market credit costs drop to a range at which peripheral governments will not suffer as much as they do now. Brussels and Berlin may stubbornly be strangling the eurozone because they cannot see the wood from the trees.