European Crisis
Hoping for a return to normal after Trump? That’s the last thing we need – The GUARDIAN
, 11/11/2020
Normalcy and the restoration of a modicum of decorum to the White House: that is what many elite supporters of Joe Biden hope for now that he has won the election. But the rest of us are turned off by this meagre ambition. Voters who loathe Trump celebrate his loss, but the majority rue the return […]
John Bolton vs Yanis Varoufakis on “Is Global Stability A Pipe Dream?” – The 2020 Holberg Debate, 5 DEC 2020
, 18/10/2020
At the 2020 Holberg Debate, Amb. John Bolton and Yanis Varoufakis, Member of the Hellenic Parliament, will discuss current threats to regional and global stability. The debate will be a virtual event. Anyone can watch the livestream here. Tweet your questions before or during the event with hashtag #Holberg2020. JOHN BOLTON is an American attorney, […]
LOWY INSTITUDE: Interviewed by Alexandre Dayanton on EUROPE & THE FUTURE OF CAPITALISM
, 28/09/2020
In this episode of COVIDcast, Lowy Institute Research Fellow Alexandre Dayant sat down with Professor Yanis Varoufakis to discuss Europe and the future of capitalism. Yanis is currently a member of the Hellenic Parliament and served as Greece’s minister of finance during the government debt crisis. ALEXANDRE DAYANT COVIDcast is a Lowy Institute pop-up podcast […]
The EU coronavirus Recovery Fund will take Europe another step towards disintegration – The Guardian
, 25/07/2020
During the early years of the eurozone crisis, I remember gauging its depths by the rapidly diminishing half-life of the celebrations that followed every European Union summit. Premature proclamations that the crisis was over inspired hope, which caused the money markets to rebound. But then, at some point, gloom would unfailingly return. As the years of […]
While EU leaders squabble, the Elephant in the Room remains unnoticed
, 18/07/2020
While the media are reporting the news of the deadlocked EU Summit negotiations over the so-called ‘Recovery Fund’, an eerie silence prevails regarding the Elephant in the Room: The huge wave of austerity the Eurozone is sleepwalking towards. Let’s look at the facts. Even if the Dutch Prime Minister, Mr Rutte, and the rest of […]
The Eurozone’s grappling with crisis, class war & the North-South divide – Berliner Verlag interview
, 16/07/2020
What did you think when the Euro-group elected its new leader last week? At least this was not the outcome Frau Merkel had wished? My first thought was that it spelled the end of any possibility of harmonizing corporate tax rates across the Eurozone, an issue that I am on Mrs Merkel’s side. The second […]
The COVID Class War – THE IRISH EXAMINER & Project Syndicate
, 02/07/2020
“Strengthening the solidarity of Europe’s oligarchs is not a good strategy for empowering Europe’s majority. Quite the contrary. Any “recovery” based on such a formula will short-change almost all Europeans and push the majority into deeper despair.” ATHENS – The euro crisis that erupted a decade ago has long been portrayed as a clash between […]
Europe’s Recovery Fund: An instrument of class war against weaker Europeans everywhere
, 29/06/2020
Europe never was the battlefield on which the frugal North clashed with the profligate South. Instead, every European country has been the battlefield where a vicious class war is fought by a transnational oligarchy-without-frontiers training its armour against the weaker residents of every country, every region, every community. Covid-19, and the European Union’s response to […]
Have Merkel & Macron just announced a eurobond-funded godsend for the EU? DiEM25’s view
, 19/05/2020
On Monday 19th May 2020, Chancellor Merkel and President Macron announced a joint proposal for a 500 billion euro common fund, to be financed by allowing the European Commission to borrow from the money markets. The fund will, according to the Merkel-Macron proposal, finance directly businesses across the EU – by means mainly of transfers. […]
Covid-19 has “turbocharged” the EU’s failures – Interviewed by the NEW STATESMAN’s George Eaton
, 12/05/2020
For Yanis Varoufakis, lockdown has not been a time of contemplation. “I have more work now than I ever did. As you know, everything has shifted to Zoom meetings, which means zero separation between the private and the public,” he explained when we spoke recently, during one such video call. The 59-year-old economist, former Greek […]
DiEM25’s Vision of Europe for the post-Pandemic Era: Some personal thoughts
, 23/04/2020
DiEM25 was created in February 2016 because Europe was disintegrating as a result of a pseudo-technocratic takeover of the EU that was imposing austerity everywhere in response to the financial crisis caused by the EU pseudo-technocracy’s controllers. Today, now that a mindless virus has placed European capitalism in suspended animation, it is time to re-assess […]
DiEM25 on tonight’s European Union Council decision (Yes, we know what, & how terrible, it will be!)
, 22/04/2020
Later today, Thursday 23rd April, the EU Council will meet to discuss the common European response to the Great New Recession caused by the pandemic. Their agenda should comprise one, and only one, item: How to ensure that the necessary increase in public deficits will not show up in the fiscally stressed member-states’ national budgets, […]
On Dutch FinMin, the Eurogroup, its President, the euro, DiEM25 and MeRA25 – Interviewed by TSF Radio Noticias
, 17/04/2020
The Eurogroup approved a 500 billion package to fight the crisis. You recently wrote in the Guardian that The EU’s coronavirus relief deal is a gift to Europe’s enemies. Explain. To begin with, the 500 billion euros is almost entirely loans. It’s exactly what Europe doesn’t need, especially like the countries that were hit […]
On Italy & the EU after the Eurogroup of 9th April – fanpage.it (English version)
, 16/04/2020
The debate about the economic consequences of the Coronavirus pandemic has already begun: what do you think is easier to happen? Will it be a momentary crisis or a crisis destined to change our economic system forever? Neither. The consequences will be harsh and will not disappear any time soon. But, it will not, on […]
On the toxic impact of the Eurogroup agreement of 9th April 2020 – With CNN’s Richard Quest (AUDIO)
, 13/04/2020
Discussing the toxic impact of the Eurogroup agreement of 9th April 2020 on Italy and Europe at large. Interviewed by Richard Quest on CNN’s Quest’s World
The EU’s new coronavirus relief deal is a gift to Europe’s enemies – THE GUARDIAN
, 13/04/2020
Europe suffered a historic defeat on Thursday night. After weeks of impasse, the Eurogroup gathering of finance ministers, whose countries share the euro, reached a decision on their collective response to the coronavirus pandemic’s economic impact. Besides constituting an epic dereliction of duty, the Eurogroup’s decision dealt a decisive blow to the foundations of the European […]
Why are they saying no to the eurobond? The case for constructive disobedience in the EU Council
, 30/03/2020
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tTil8xccFJA
What should the EU do NOW: DiEM25’s 3-Point Plan for averting a Covid-19 Depression
, 27/03/2020
With Lives, Livelihoods and the Union on the brink, the COVID-19 pandemic is the greatest test of the European project in the history of the Union — and we are failing. Solidarity was meant to be a foundational principle of the EU. But solidarity is missing at the moment it is most needed. COVID-19 has revealed a fundamental truth: […]
The Eurogroup fails Europe once again. Brace for a hideous EU recession
, 17/03/2020
The Eurogroup met yesterday, Monday 16th March, to hammer out its coordinated fiscal response to the massive recession already in progress following the lockdown of much of Europe’s society. The task they faced is enormous: If sales, tourism, services etc. fall by 50% for just one month (which is certain), and then by 25% for […]