Opinion pieces

  • The real G20 agenda: From technics to politics, by Katinka Barysch
    Open democracy, 16 March 2009

    The efforts of world leaders to find solutions to the economic crisis are intensifying. The last preparatory meeting before the leaders' summit on 2 April 2009 shows what needs to be done, says Katinka Barysch.

  • It's a fabrication that Britain doesn't make things any more, by Philip Whyte
    The Times, 13 March 2009

    Nicolas Sarkozy stung us when he claimed last month that Britain, unlike France, “has no industry”. Since the implosion of the financial sector, it has become an article of faith that the British economy is paying for its excessive reliance on services.

  • Les crises appellent une figure forte pour l'Europe, by Charles Grant
    La Croix, 06 March 2009

    La période actuelle où est mise à l’épreuve la construction européenne exige, pour Charles Grant, non pas davantage de transferts de compétences, mais une personnalité de premier plan face au reste du monde.

  • A trade surplus is not always a sign of strength, by Simon Tilford
    Financial Times, 04 March 2009

    There has been a queue of commentators arguing that the strong economic performance of the US and the UK in the run-up to the financial crisis was an illusion, a product of excessive borrowing and an inflated financial sector.

  • Wij moeten de zwakke eurolanden helpen, by Simon Tilford
    NRC Handelsblad, 02 March 2009

    Twaalf maanden geleden leek het nog ondenkbaar dat een EU-lidstaat in een staatsschuldencrisis zou belanden. Toch behoort dit nu tot de mogelijkheden.

  • Fighting the leaderless jihad, by Hugo Brady
    E!Sharp, 01 March 2009

    The planned closure of the controversial US interrogation centre and prison at Guantánamo Bay should usher in deeper transatlantic cooperation in the fight against terrorism and other common security threats.

  • How to avoid a eurozone debt crisis, by Simon Tilford
    The Wall Street Journal, 24 February 2009

    Twelve months ago it seemed inconceivable that any European Union member could face a sovereign debt crisis. It would have been the stuff of fantasy to argue that Ireland or Austria could be among those at risk.

  • Belarus: An artful balancing act, by Charles Grant
    International Herald Tribune, 23 February 2009

    Compared with most former Soviet states, Belarus has a lot going for it. The government is less corrupt than in neighboring Russia and Ukraine. Belarus has no oligarchs, since the state never sold its big companies, and social inequalities are low.