Research
A pact for stability and growth
03 October 2003
The stability and growth pact – the EU’s fiscal rule book – is in tatters. The eurozone’s largest countries, Germany and France, are in breach of the pact, having exceeded the 3 per cent of GDP limit for budget deficits in 2002 and 2003. Theyare likely to do so again...
The EU's new borderlands
03 October 2003
With the 2004 enlargement, the EU will acquire many new neighbours, some of them unstable states with fragile economies. This working paper explains why the regions along the EU's new eastern border matter for Europe's security.
Can the EU achieve an area of freedom, security and justice?
03 October 2003
In 1997 the EU member-states committed themselves to constructing an 'area of freedom, security and justice' – a task at least as ambitious as the creation of the single market.
Resolving the rows over ESDP
03 October 2003
European defence has returned to the top of EU governments’ agendas this year, with the divisions provoked by the Iraq war making it a highly sensitive subject. It is possible to argue that the European Security and Defence Policy (ESDP) has proceeded according to plan in 2003.
The CER guide to the draft EU constitution
03 October 2003
For the fourth time in little more than a decade, the EU is trying to overhaul its institutions and policies. The EU’s previous attempts, which culminated in the treaties of Maastricht in 1992, Amsterdam in 1997 and Nice in 2000, were less than fully successful. Citizens still perceive the EU...
If it's broken, fix it!
01 October 2003
Europeans are right to worry about their economy. Forecasters think that the eurozone economy will grow by a paltry 0.5 per cent this year. But the real problem is that Europe's sluggish performance is part of a long-term trend.
A clean break for Europe
01 October 2003
Europe needs to change. Those who constantly have to defend the concept of Europe against ill-informed criticism can easily slip into a defensive mode. But if we are serious about reform, we need to be on the front foot.
The EU must be tougher and more creative on Iran
01 October 2003
Iran is a test case for EU foreign policy. After the Iraq debacle, the EU faces a daunting challenge. The Union must demonstrate it can stay united under pressure; act tough when necessary; and persuade Washington to adjust its overall strategy.
Tensions between Tehran and the West have risen markedly in...
Tensions between Tehran and the West have risen markedly in...
Issue 32 - 2003
26 September 2003
- If it's broken, fix it! , Katinka Barysch
- A clean break for Europe , Nick Butler
- The EU must be tougher and more creative on Iran, Steven Everts
Der Lissabon-Anzeiger: EU Wirtschaftsreformen vor der Osterweiterung
05 September 2003
Als sich im März 2000 die EU-Staatschefs zum Gipfel in Lissabon versammelten, schien Europas Wirtschaft am Anfang eines neuen goldenen Zeitalters zu stehen. Die Wachstumsraten waren die höchsten seit nahezu einem Jahrzehnt.
Old Europe? Demographic change and pension reform
05 September 2003
US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld was onto something when he classified the current EU countries as 'old Europe'. Germany, France and Italy together will have more than 70 million people over 60 in 2040. The fact that Europeans are leading longer, healthier lives is to be welcomed. The problem is...
Transatlantic rift: How to bring the two sides together
05 September 2003
The Iraq conflict divided the West into two hostile camps. The rifts that run across the Atlantic and among the Europeans show few signs of disappearing.
Holidays in hell (and Hanover)
04 August 2003
August used to provide a rare opportunity for Europe's political elite to escape the limelight. For a few weeks, EU leaders could catch up on their reading - or sleep - and spend some quality time with long-suffering families.
The way forward for European defence
01 August 2003
The EU has lost its military virginity. At the request of the UN, the EU sent 1,500 troops to Congo at the beginning of June 2003. The Congo mission is significant for two reasons: it is both the first autonomous EU mission - one that does not rely on NATO's help - and the EU's first military operation outside Europe.
Tough love for the EU's Eastern neighbours
01 August 2003
After it embraces ten new members in 2004, the EU will have long borders with Russia, Ukraine, Belarus and Moldova. Few people in today's EU know or care much about these countries.
Issue 31 - 2003
25 July 2003
- Tough love for the EU's Eastern neighbours, Heather Grabbe and Henning Tewes
- The way forward for European defence, Daniel Keohane
- Holidays in hell (and Hanover), Alasdair Murray
Corporate social responsibility in the EU
11 July 2003
Europe wants faster growth. But it also wants social fairness and a healthy environment. This is why companies in the EU are under growing pressure to broaden their focus from pure profits to policies of corporate social responsibility (CSR).
Difficult but necessary: A transatlantic strategy for the greater Middle East
10 June 2003
The US and Europe have to succeed in an exceptionally difficult undertaking. They have to meet not just a single or double challenge, but a triple one: They need to prove, to each other and the rest of the world, that the principal rationale of the US-European partnership is indeed no longer the bilateral relationship and the broader European agenda, but their ability to tackle, together, the growing problems of a troubled world.
Britain and the euro: How to reap the benefits
06 June 2003
The British government predicts that joining the euro would boost domestic investment, employment and growth – provided the economic conditions are right. It has promised to implement measures to ensure that Britain will benefit from the euro.
Transatlantic disputes must not undermine EU and US counter-terrorism co-operation
05 June 2003
Not all is doom and gloom in the tattered transatlantic relationship. EU member-states and the US are co-operating effectively over terrorism. But the US needs to work more with the EU as a whole, rather thansimply through individual European governments. Moreover, officials on both sides of the Atlantic are increasingly...