The "pause for thought" decreed by the heads of state and government for themselves and their citizens after the voters in France and the Netherlands rejected the Treaty Establishing a Constitution for Europe has been extended for at least another year. The European Council meeting on 15th and...

In debates about the future of the EU, the eurozone is regularly held up as a stable core element that could potentially deepen cooperation across broad policy areas. Undoubtedly the 12 EMU Member States have a keen interest in maintaining and consolidating the European Monetary Union as a...

The rejection of the EU Constitution Treaty by the people of France and the Netherlands has thrown the European Union (EU) into a state of shock - now it is time to learn lessons from the referenda and the debates conducted in the lead-up. France in particular went through a passionate debate...

French President Nicolas Sarkozy's project of a Mediterranean Union, which would have involved only the countries bordering on the Mediterranean but not the entire European Union, has caused months of tensions, particularly between Germany and France. It was pressure from the German federal...

There is widespread concern in the European Monetary Union (EMU) about the sustainability of public finances in a number of member states. In the wake of the financial crisis, their public debt has increased dramatically. Rating agencies have already downgraded some countries' credit ratings,...

Twenty years have passed since the launch of the Weimar Triangle. Yet apart from anumber of glitzy summits, the German, Polish and French co-operation can hardly beconsidered as having played an influential role in European politics. Nonetheless,trilateral collaboration could certainly take on a...

The recent Greek elections and a possible softening of the conditionality imposed on the country in exchange for the rescue package may give the recession-stricken country some breathing space. But the task is still immense: further cuts, liberalisation and far-reaching public sector reforms are...

For years, politicians placed individuals' mobility at the heart of the EU's popularity. Projects such as the Schengen and Euro areas reduced obstacles to free movement, thereby creating greater employment chances as well as more choice and means of exchange for citizens. But not all citizens...