Eurosphere roundup: Austerity rows, new Italian government, French left vs. Germany…

Austerity row lays bare Europe-wide divisions

from Hurriyet Daily News

The financially-hit European countries seesaw between the European Union?s austerity impositions and their citizens and international economic organizations? insistence on lifting tight measures

English: Members of the Socialists and Democra...
English: Members of the Socialists and Democrats in the European Parliament protest austerity measures at the Parc du Cinquantenaire in Brussels, Belgium on September 29, 2010. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

 

Iceland rejects austerity and EU

from Grahnlaw by Ralf Grahn

Tired of austerity, voters in Iceland seem to have returned to power the conservative Independence Party and the liberal Progressive Party which presided over the outbreak of economic crash (Iceland Review Online).

 

Europe?s guns, debt and corruption

from open Democracy News Analysis – by Frank Slijper

This second of two essays on military spending and the EU crisis, explores the role of the European arms trade, corruption and the role of arms exporting countries in fuelling a debt crisis, and why these ‘odious’ debts need to be written off. See Part One here.

Europe?s austerity, the beginning of the end?

from open Democracy News Analysis – by Mario Pianta

Europe is increasingly unpopular, the recession hits the euro area and Angela Merkel is now facing a new populist party. So Brussels opens up to a timid change of season. But austerity has not yet been defeated politically, in elections and in the streets.

 

Italy will lead revolt against austerity

from FT.com – World, Europe

Belt-tightening fatigue will lead to measures resulting in assets such as bonds, equities and privatised companies trading at more realistic valuations

 

MAIN FOCUS: Hopes for a new start in Italy | 29/04/2013

from euro|topics

Italy’s new government has been in office since Sunday. Under Prime Minister Enrico Letta, the left-wing PD and the conservative PdL have formed the first grand coalition in Italy since 1947. Some commentators are confident that the alliance forged by Letta and President Giorgio Napolitano can end the political crisis in the country. Others believe the truce between Left and Right won’t last for long

Youth unemployment, grey economy, and Switzerland

from Blogactiv by Dimitris Rapidis

 

Italy?s new government beds in as storm clouds gather (News)

from EurActiv.com

 

Giorgio Napolitano: Italy?s strongman

The veteran former communist recalled to office is under fire for wielding his authority and stretching his constitutional powers, writes Guy Dinmore

Beyond Their Ken?

from A Fistful Of Euros » A Fistful Of Euros by Edward Hugh

Spain?s economic problems now form part of such a complex web of cause and effect, action and reaction, that it is getting increasingly difficult for laymen, journalists and politicians alike to get to the core of what is actually happening.

 

Margaret Thatcher: European.

from A Fistful Of Euros » A Fistful Of Euros by Alex Harrowell

The French Socialists? internal policy machinery has been activated to express increasing frustration and anger at the constraints of the Eurozone, in the context of rising unemployment and basically no sign of anything improving. Specifically, they?re trying to start a row with the Germans, and somewhat less obviously, Britain. The key quote is here:

 

Les gens de l?information: A sociology of EU information people

from Ideas on Europe by Ronny Patz

The ?Eurobubble? online series (see also my recent blog post) and the last months of working in Brussels have raised again my academic interest in the sociology of the bubble. In my readings around this subject, I stumbled over ?Le champs de l?eurocratie: Une sociologie politique du personnel de l?Union européenne?* by Professor Didier Georgakakis.

Council of Europe turns up the heat on Hungary (News)

from EurActiv.com

Sorry – who are you again? The rather indifferent German response to French socialists’ attack on Merkel

from Open Europe blog by Open Europe blog team

On Friday Le Monde got a big scoop with the news that French President Hollande?s Socialist party had drafted a strongly worded paper criticising Angela Merkel and her focus on austerity, accusing her amongst other things of ?selfish intransigence?. It?s not exactly news that all was not well with the ?Franco-German motor? but still pretty explosive stuff and we were keenly anticipating what the German response would be.

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