EU Scream

Barry Eichengreen was an early skeptic about the prospects for monetary union in Europe.

Nowadays the eminent economic historian acknowledges the single currency is here to stay. But he says much more should done to prevent the return of austerity that was the price millions of Europeans paid for saving the single currency this decade. A failure to make further reforms, warns Eichengreen, who teaches at the University of California, Berkeley, could be cataclysmic for Europe...

Heather Grabbe of the Open Society European Policy Institute says nationalist populists are closing the minds of Europeans to the values they have in common. She presents survey findings that could embolden centrists and moderates to drop their wishy-washy approach and confront creeping authoritarianism more directly. Look for the full set of reports here on Feb. 19...

Banners and slogans celebrating tolerance and equality make the European Quarter of Brussels look like a civil rights nirvana. The truth is more complicated. There is a critical lack of racial diversity in the institutions that run the European Union, and sexual harassment is a concern. Even before the MeToo movement exploded onto the global agenda, Jeanne Ponté, a young assistant at the European Parliament, kept a notebook documenting the harassment she and her peers experience...

China, Donald Trump, and discontent after financial and debt crises that exploded last decade are buffeting trade. The European Union frequently finds itself at the center of these storms. Arancha Gonzalez, the chief of staff to Pascal Lamy when he led the World Trade Organization and a former trade spokesperson at the European Commision, makes a spirited defence of the benefits of trade...

With Brexit looming, James and Tom bid good riddance to two British members of the European Parliament they like the least: Daniel Hannan, a Conservative with a maniacal focus on Brexit; and Janice Atkinson, an independent who wants to Make Europe Great Again and who helps lead the far-right group created by Marine Le Pen and Geert Wilders...

What came of French President Emmanuel Macron’s call for ordinary citizens to lead a European political renaissance? Well it happened. Sort of. Twenty-six other European Union member states minus the UK agreed to go along with the French idea. During the past year hundreds of consultations, dialogues and debates have been held across Europe. These events amount to a new and experimental approach to connecting citizens to Europe...

The far-right again sets the agenda in Europe and successfully pushes governments to oppose a UN pact on migration. Shame. An EU minister finally slaps down Italy’s Matteo Salvini for Nazi-style migrant-bashing. Respect. Karen Mets of Save the Children debunks claims by Lauren Southern, who boasts to half-a-million YouTube subscribers how she saved Europe from migrants. Campaigner Lyudmyla Kozlovska explains how far-right trolls sought to pass her off as Christine Blasey Ford...

Protecting the climate and ordinary working people is a delicate exercise. Look at the huge Yellow Vests protests in France where President Macron mishandled an environmental tax and the far-right exploited the discontent. Bas Eickhout, a Dutch Green lawmaker vying for a top job in Brussels, says smarter climate policies can avoid more burning cars, flying cobblestones and mass deployments of police...

Citizen-focused movements and parties like DiEM25 and Volt Europa are looking for ways to challenge politics-as-usual. But are they a smart way to fight populism and shore up the European project? Colombe Cahen-Salvador, a one of Volt's three founders, explains why participatory budgets and software linking voters with representatives in the European Parliament are on her party's agenda. Tom says he likes Volt's optimism. He also says he's already given €25 to DiEM25...

Tom interviews Proud Bear, the masters of political satire who are turning the logic of Brexit on its head. Lukas and Andrei – not their real names – masquerade as Russian military intelligence officers who helped swing the vote for Brexit. In reality, Proud Bear want to highlight the need for a full inquiry into suspected Russian meddling. Brexiteers promised to take back control from the EU. James talks with Professor Anu Bradford of Columbia Law School about why that may never happen...