Matthias Matthijs

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Europe’s Geoeconomic Revolution

EuropaUnión EuropeaEconomía

The European Union once preached a tripartite gospel: monetary orthodoxy, fiscal austerity, and free-flowing trade and investment, with multilateral institutions watching and guiding from above. That was before its faith in the survival of the liberal economic order was shaken by Chinese mercantilism and, to a lesser extent, by the trade wars of U.S. President Donald Trump. In recent years, and with increasing zeal over the course of the pandemic and the war in Ukraine, the bloc has undergone nothing short of a conversion. Like much of the rest of the world, EU policymakers and politicians now pray at the altar of geoeconomics.…  Seguir leyendo »

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in Windsor, United Kingdom, February 2023. Dan Kitwood / Pool / Reuters

EuropaUnión EuropeaPolítica Exterior

Ever since the Brexit referendum in June 2016—when the United Kingdom voted to leave the European Union—British-EU relations have been bitterly fraught. The reigning theory among pro-Brexit Conservatives in London was that EU officials had behaved like wronged ex-lovers: they begrudgingly accepted the end of the affair but were now determined to make the United Kingdom pay for its decision to leave. EU officials, for their part, were tired of British antics; anytime they agreed anything behind closed doors with the United Kingdom about how their relationship would work, those agreements would be leaked or not fulfilled. Moreover, the EU loathed the fact that the British government never openly talked about the tradeoffs inherent in leaving the EU—greater sovereignty came at a considerable economic cost—while the United Kingdom felt vindicated in its long-held belief that the EU had a problem with democracy; Brussels seemed bent on making it hard for London to abide by the wishes of the British electorate.…  Seguir leyendo »

EuropaUnión EuropeaUE a debate

More than three decades ago, U.S. President George H. W. Bush expressed a wish for a Europe both “whole and free”. Russian President Vladimir Putin’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 made that unrealized vision more elusive. Russia’s Hobbesian war of choice in Ukraine was a direct challenge to the Kantian idea of universal peace on which the project of European integration was founded. The conflict has reminded the European Union that it remains dependent on the United States for its security. Long-simmering tensions between eastern and western Europe on how to deal with Moscow have been laid bare. At the same time, the return of high inflation in 2022 has brought back familiar fault lines between northern and southern Europe.…  Seguir leyendo »

EuropaUnión EuropeaEconomía, ,

European leaders will convene via videoconference on Thursday for a European Union summit. It’s a big one — they will discuss proposals to cooperate on dealing with the economic and financial fallout of a pandemic that has hit its 27 member countries in strikingly unequal ways, with Southern Europe suffering the lion’s share of coronavirus deaths.

The result of this meeting may well be a defining moment for the future of the E.U. itself. Indeed, Emmanuel Macron, France’s president, has called it Europe’s “moment of truth.”

Continuing disagreement has not only limited Europe’s response but provoked unprecedented levels of anti-E.U. sentiment and reinvigorated Euroskeptic political parties across Europe.…  Seguir leyendo »

ReflexionesDemocracia

How safe is liberal democracy? The elections and popular referendums of the past year, especially in the West, raise many questions — but much of the discussion has focused on the popular appeal of democracy.

Political scientists Yascha Mounk and Roberto Foa made a big splash when they argued that younger generations are falling out of love with democratic institutions. Erik Voeten, a professor at Georgetown University, quickly responded that no, public opinion polling data actually shows little evidence that attitudes have changed.

Millennials and other generations may have different views on democracy, but these differences tended to be modest and largely confined to the United States.…  Seguir leyendo »