Articles in this set

• Living in a German Europe

  Thankfully, Angela Merkel – Europe's most determined and powerful politician – is at last listening to others.
  

• Emerging from the doldrums?

  Growth is back on the agenda. But are EU leaders serious about tax reform as well.
  

• Too early to say homo europaeus is doomed

  Europeans may not view Europe as a homeland, but the notion of a common identity emerging should not yet be dismissed.
  

• A living will for the euro?

  The eurozone should emulate an idea used to put stricken banks back on the path to recovery.
  

• A year on, and still failing

  The European External Action Service has had a difficult first 12 months, and hopes have faded that Catherine Ashton will settle into her role as EU foreign policy chief.
  

• In praise of folly

  However familiar he became, Václav Havel always represented – and offered – something different.
  

• From one crisis to another

  Last week's European Council was supposed to save the eurozone. It made things much, much worse.
  

• Belgium's return to normality asks questions of liberalism

  The long-delayed formation of a government in Belgium brings to an end an interesting post-modern experiment in apolitical politics.
  

• Merkel's great gamble

  Germany's chancellor is ignoring advice from all sides on how to deal with the eurozone crisis. If she gets it wrong, the effects will be catastrophic.
  

• Socialist squeeze is loss for the EU's political diversity

  Policies dear to Europe's socialists are now being shaped overwhelmingly by the centre-right, both in national capitals and in the EU's institutions.
  

• The merits of technocracy

  The new governments in Greece and Italy should be spared the sniping (for now) and allowed to get on with the thankless task they have been given.
  

• Clash of the failed titans

  The G20 meeting in Cannes exposed two harsh realities about the eurozone sovereign-debt crisis: that Europe's leaders still do not have the answers, and they cannot rely on international help.
  

• In uncharted territory

  Six features in Europe's new political landscape that could determine whether we emerge safely from the eurozone crisis.
  

• A democratic foundation for the single currency

  The eurozone has to address its democratic deficit as well as its sovereign debt.
  

• A change to the blueprint

  Germany's leaders need to remind voters that they have everything to lose from European disunity.
  

• A crisis that has become dull and monotonous

  With the eurozone teetering on the brink of disaster, what should be exciting has left bystanders stifling a yawn.
  

• Sex, lies and red tape

  The arrogance and greed of Italian politicians has left the country in a terrible state, and that is bad news for the EU.
  

• The rocky road to integration

  The eurozone needs a ‘grand bargain' with EU outsiders to create a new system of governance for the euro.
  

Europa

A weekly look at the overarching issues
facing the European Union.