Social Europe articles on politics

This weekend saw a political earthquake in Poland. Exit polls from Sunday’s general election indicate that the conservative Law and Justice party (PiS) will be comfortably the largest in parliament, able in all probability to govern without a coalition partner. Following the party’s victory in May’s Presidential election, this would give PiS control over Poland’s […]

There are many liberal-left criticisms of Slovak social democracy in its very strong opposition to EU refugee quotas. But there are several arguments in defence of our position: it is no less solidaristic or humane than that of western social democrats – it’s just more realistic. Islamophobia? Do not insult us, man! We object to […]

The past few weeks have seen the Fed struggle to define a clear exit route from its forward guidance strategy. Ambiguous macroeconomic data have triggered different interpretations by prestigious board members, leaving markets with little clue as to future Fed moves. These discussions, sometimes going as far as confrontations, are a byproduct – a healthy […]

Europe’s crisis is poised to enter its most dangerous phase. After forcing Greece to accept another “extend-and-pretend” bailout agreement, fresh battle lines are being drawn. And, with the refugee influx exposing the damage caused by divergent economic prospects and sky-high youth unemployment in Europe’s periphery, the ramifications are ominous, as recent statements by three European […]

What scope is there for the emergence of a Left in Europe able to overcome the mutual suspicions between social democratic parties and those situated in more extreme positions? And to what extent can such a Left offer a political programme that is new, realistic, and exciting? For many years, during which communists and social […]

One key issue in the debate about whether the UK should remain in or leave the EU is how far the UK is currently marginalised in Europe. As Nigel Lawson put it in The Times in May 2013: “While never ‘at the heart of Europe’ … we are now becoming increasingly marginalised as we are […]

Fifteen years ago, the Czech statesman and playwright Václav Havel noted that some Czech politicians “recognize two different kinds of violence, genocide, terror, and mafias: one that is better, and one that is worse. The better kind is pan-Slavic, and the worse kind is Islamic.” The response to the current influx of mostly non-European refugees and migrants […]

If a clear signal was needed that the European Union is falling apart at an alarming rate, Hungary’s construction of razor-wire fences along the border with its fellow EU member Croatia is it. The crisis in the eurozone has, of course, fragmented financial flows, caused economies to diverge, eroded political support for EU institutions, and […]

Without anyone quite noticing, Europe’s internal balance of power has been shifting. Germany’s dominant position, which has seemed absolute since the 2008 financial crisis, is gradually weakening – with far-reaching implications for the European Union. Of course, from a soft-power perspective, the mere fact that people believe Germany is strong bolsters the country’s status and […]

The social dimension of the EU is on the verge of becoming insignificant. At practically all levels there has been a systematic weakening of Social Europe: aims, programmes and instruments have been reduced in the areas of employment policy, labour law and labour relations. The Community is rolling back previous achievements. Workers and trade unions […]

It’s hard to be optimistic about Europe. Last summer, a political cage match between Germany and Greece threatened to tear the European Union apart. In country after country, extremist political parties are gaining ground. And Russian President Vladimir Putin’s incursion into Ukraine, in the EU’s backyard, has turned the common European foreign and security policy […]