Worldcrunch
-OpEd- This must have been the moment he was waiting for: an energetic handshake with Donald Trump, with a smile and a deep look into his eyes to top it off. The two men seemed to be sealing a fresh pact. Cameras flashed, capturing the important moment for newspapers and history books — the five […]
Finger pointing isn’t going to help Italy solve its migration problems. What it needs is help, and for the EU to stop dilly-dallying. A view from Berlin.
-Analysis- BRUSSELS — It was a colleague from Agence France-Presse who set us thinking a few days ago, by retweeting an interview that Jean-Claude Juncker, the President of the European Commission, gave to Le Monde two years ago. “No debate or dialogue is possible with the far right,” the former prime minister of Luxembourg explained […]
-OpEd- PARIS — At a time when nationalism is coming back to life across the continent, the pro-European activism of Emmanuel Macron is to be applauded. The emergence of a new sheen of European sovereignty, which the French president regularly calls for, would allow commercial, environmental, banking, digital or migration issues to be dealt with […]
Israel’s offensive against the Iran nuclear deal could be an opportunity for European leaders to improve it.
-Analysis- The Western world isn’t short of public enemies right now. There are, of course, the usual suspects: Putin, Assad, even Mark Zuckerberg seems to have joined the club. But there’s another, more discreet nemesis that may loom closer than the rest: acrylamide, a natural chemical that’s produced as part of the cooking process for […]
Just because trade balances tend to work in Germany’s favor doesn’t mean partner countries aren’t benefiting too.
From both the left and right, populist leaders in Italy are again at the forefront of the movement around the world.
Slovakian authorities are investigating ties between politicians and the Calabria-based Ndràngheta crime syndicate following the killing, last week, of an investigative reporter. Mobsters have been siphoning EU development funds.
-OpEd- PARIS — While leafing through the newspapers in an English pub last weekend, I was surprised to see The Sunday Times, hardly a tabloid, portraying the three fiercest Brexiters as “musketeers.” A rather flattering image assuming Boris Johnson, Michael Gove and Jacob Rees-Mogg — the three men in question — are not offended by […]
The negotiations and the complex, chaotic debates around Brexit are revealing of a major dilemma facing democracies: What do you do when a country is profoundly divided?
It is the great challenge (and paradox) of our time: Far from erasing identity claims, globalization reinforces them. From Spain to Myanmar to Trump’s America, it must be confronted head-on.
-Analysis- Is there ever a good time to hold an independence referendum? Of course the answer to that question, from Kurdistan to Catalonia, depends on whom you ask. For those looking to declare a new nation based on ethnic, economic or political claims, there’s no time like the present to take destiny into your own […]
There is no contradiction between feeling French (or Catalan, or Berliner) and becoming a European citizen. But it is time for that citizenship to have real civic meaning.
Millions of British citizens don’t want to give up being European.
Donald Trump’s Mexican border wall has been a rallying cry and all-purpose metaphor since his improbable campaign began in 2015. But if and when it gets built, the wall would also be, well, a wall. The U.S. president’s decision Tuesday to let the so-called DACA program expire is aimed at pushing Congress to find a […]
PARIS — Donald Tusk had a dream: The United Kingdom was staying in the European Union — For him, this vision isn’t just a pure imaginary digression. The European Council president even appealed to the words of one of Britain’s most famous voices, quoting John Lennon’s “Imagine“: “You may say I’m a dreamer, but I’m […]
With Brexit woes dominating the UK and the fresh air of Macron’s victory in France, capitalistic economics in Europe may be turned on its head.
Emmanuel Macron is the youngest candidate to be France’s next president. That’s not the only feature that sets him apart from the rest of the field.
The Turkish president is using Europe to stoke nationalist sentiment back at home before a referendum to expand his own powers. Enough is enough.
-OpEd- MILAN — Whether the West likes it or not, an old question has returned on the global stage: whether or not to reconstitute the former G8 by inviting Russia back in. The decision rests with Italy, the current holder of the rotating presidency of the Group of Seven and the host, in May, of […]
-Analysis- BERLIN — Europe’s leaders were jubilant when Alexander Van der Bellen won the Austrian election Sunday. The bitter pill came later with confirmation that Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, a strong supporter of the European Union, had lost the constitutional referendum he’d staked his reputation on — and would resign. Italy was one of […]
Looking eastward from Western Europe, Turkey used to be seen as both a model of secular democracy in the Muslim world and a huge business opportunity. But longstanding hopes for Turkish entry into the European Union appear grimmer every day. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, apparently seeking to revive a form of “Ottoman glory,” has led […]
As Turkish President Erdogan pushes his country towards despotism, European Union leaders — especially in Germany — must take a harder line.
The weakening power of the “Mother of Europe” comes at a bad time for both Germany and the rest of the continent.
Germany’s favorite fish isn’t always caught off the Alaskan coast. U.S. fishermen want transparency for consumers. But such a move could upend the fishing industry.
Politicians are hiding behind complacent language instead of facing the challenges that their constituents are fired up about.
LONDON — Britain’s departure from the European Union would have immediate far-reaching consequences for the British job market as hundreds of thousands of British and European Union citizens want to leave the UK to work on the continent instead, according to a recent survey by the StepStone global private markets specialist found. Some 600,000 British-based […]
Following attacks in Paris, Brussels, Istanbul, and now Nice, Europe must unite to combat the Islamist terror campaign.
Germany and Britain have always competed for top European talents. Now, Europe’s best and brightest may see the UK as too complicated. One of many potential positive side effects of Brexit.
The once Great Britain has just gotten smaller. But Brexit has also rendered the meekness of the European project evident to all. And the big players like the U.S. and China will eat them for lunch if something doesn’t change quickly.
BERLIN — When exactly should the British leave? How should the European Union react? Following the initial horror at the UK vote in favor of Brexit, the search is now on, from Brussels to Berlin and beyond, to find practical solutions to pick up the pieces and set Europe on a new path forward. Here […]
“This has implications for absolutely everything,” political editor for BBC News Laura Kuenssberg declared of the prospect of Britain leaving the European Union. And now that Brexit camp has won, and the UK prepares to bid farewell to the EU, the parties and the gawkers have begun to gauge the fallout of ending the 43-year-long […]
The result is in: The British have voted 52% to 48% in favor of having the UK split from its continental partners. It’s a momentous decision that has deep economic, political and cultural ramifications. Some will come down the line, and others — like Prime Minister David Cameron’s resignation — are more immediate. Here’s a […]
PARIS — The fateful day has arrived. Voters in the United Kingdom go to the polls Thursday to decide if they should stay or should they go from the familiar but increasingly unpopular arms of the European Union. The consequences of an potential “Brexit” extend beyond Britain, as the EU would lose a major economic […]
If the UK leaves the European Union, the members of the free market camp in the EU would be severely outnumbered.
Europe has seen its relative economic and military power decline for decades, but its “soft power” has held strong. But even that is now at risk.
KIEV — In real life, Nadiya Savchenko’s eyes are neither large nor blue. But on welcome posters splashed across Kiev Airport recently with the slogan #freesavchenko, the doctored photos of the just released air force pilot — who was captured by Russia and elevated to heroine status back home during her long imprisonment — played […]
A troubling tale of how the European Commision stalled the regulation of potentially cancer causing chemicals