Europe’s Underappreciated Success: 10 Years Of Post-Enlargement Convergence
On May 1st 2004 ten countries joined the EU in the biggest enlargement of the Union to date. Moreover it was a step heavy with
The Mismeasure Of Technology
There is nothing better than fuzzy language to wreak havoc – or facilitate consensus. Ludwig Wittgenstein argued that philosophical puzzles are really just a consequence
Ukraine And EU Enlargement 10 Years After Big Bang
While the world watches nervously the developments in Ukraine, one cannot but ask oneself what would have happened if the EU (and/or NATO for that
The Real Problems Of Migration And Work And How To Solve Them
Sitting in nice wine bars or cosy restaurants in superbly gentrified inner city areas, the chattering liberal middle class expresses its disgust about the xenophobic
The Future Of The Captured State
Concerns about state capture are nothing new. Special interests hold undue sway over official decision-makers in many countries, and regulators are always prone to see
Why The Left Must Address Inequality And Poverty
Gently, slowly one can sense the terms of intellectual trade changing. The long era of individual accumulation with the massive transfer of power from the
Why The Future Of Social Europe Lies In The Member States
Unlike the simple anti-EU rhetoric of populist parties, those parties who take a more moderate stance towards the EU face a difficult task in the
Some Reflections On Thomas Piketty’s ‘Capital’
Thomas Piketty’s Capital in the Twenty-First Century is a six hundred and eighty-five page tome that definitively characterizes the empirical pattern of income and wealth
Losing Interest
Two of the world’s most prominent economic institutions, the International Monetary Fund and Former US Treasury Secretary Larry Summers, recently warned that the global economy may
Ten Steps To Revive The European Economy
Economistas Frente a la Crisis (Economists Confronting The Crisis) is a group of Spanish economists founded in 2011, who refuse to remain indifferent to the
Digital Risk In The Modern Society
The issue of privacy and the surveillance of digital communications has been a key topic of concern across Europe, particularly in the aftermath of Edward
On The Alleged Pains Of The Strong Euro
Since its most recent low of $1.20, reached in the heat of the summer of 2012, the euro has appreciated by 15 percent against the
Will Vladimir Putin Bolster The Eurozone?
Jacek Rostowski, Poland’s finance minister until last November, recently suggested that Russian President Vladimir Putin would not have dared to annex Crimea if he had
Electoral Bloodbath For Dutch Labour
The Dutch Labour party (PvdA) is in a coalition government with the conservative-liberal political party (VVD) of Prime Minister Mark Rutte: recent local elections saw
Zygmunt Bauman’s Warning From History
We are about to enter into a sobering period reminding us of the human capacity for destruction and devastation. As we begin to commemorate a
Why Are Rich Countries Democratic?
When Adam Smith was 22, he famously proclaimed that, “Little else is requisite to carry a state to the highest degree of opulence from the
The Wolves Of Wall Street
“What a commentary on the state of twentieth-century capitalism,” mused “motivational speaker” Jordan Belfort as he looked back on his life of fraud, sex, and