Britain not SwissSaving the euroGermany’s own goal
  • Britain should not go Swiss
    Insight by John Springford, 10 July 2012
    Britain should not go Swiss
  • Needed: A Franco-German concordat
    Insight by Charles Grant, 27 June 2012
    Franco-German discord
  • Germany's own goal: Why Berlin's sense of invulnerability will be its undoing
    Insight by Simon Tilford, 22 June 2012
    Germany’s own goal
  • Are the British the new French?
    Insight by Simon Tilford, 05 May 2009

    The British tend to deride France as a hopelessly statist, anti-entrepreneurial country full of bolshie workers intent on extracting disproportionate rewards for their labour and a state too weak to resist them. This characterisation is not wholly inaccurate.
  • Will Spain remain a small country?
    Briefing note by Charles Grant, 01 May 2009

    Spain punches below its weight in EU policy-making. Since Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero became prime minister, five years ago, Spanish influence in the EU has diminished.

  • Yes we can - and here's how
    Opinion piece by Hugo Brady
    E!Sharp, 03 April 2009

    The credibility of Ireland’s already weak government will be on the line when it puts the Lisbon Treaty to a second referendum later this year.
  • Ten years on, the eurozone must beware of Greeks bearing debts
    Opinion piece by Charles Grant
    The Times, 29 March 2009

    Europe's leaders have plenty to fret about. The Czech Government, which holds the EU presidency, has collapsed. The European Commission is battling against the protectionist instincts of some states.
  • It's a fabrication that Britain doesn't make things any more
    Opinion piece 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.
  • Germany: Between a rock and a hard place
    Insight by Simon Tilford, 19 February 2009

    Twelve months ago it seemed inconceivable that any member of the EU 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.
  • The Irish send out good vibrations on Lisbon
    Insight by Hugo Brady, 08 December 2008

    Ireland’s parliament – the Oireachtas – recently published a lengthy report on where the country’s relationship with the EU stands after the country’s rejection of the Lisbon treaty by referendum.
  • Unilateral Germany threatens to weaken Europe
    Opinion piece by Charles Grant
    Financial Times, 05 December 2008

    In Brussels, Paris, Washington and other capitals, one increasingly hears the same complaint: Germany is acting unilaterally. On a broad range of issues, the Germans seem to think the European Union no longer advances their interests and are more prone to go their own way.