Jun 16, 2013

Bond jitters threaten Europe’s calm

There is quite a bit of bad news still to come out of the eurozone itself

An elderly woman chants anti-austerity slogans during a protest by hundreds of pensioners in central Athens, Thursday, June 6, 2013. Elderly Greeks have faced successive pension cuts since Greece began relying on international rescue loans in 2010, and have also been hard hit by health care cuts. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris) ©AP Jun 9, 2013

Hail the honesty about Greece’s bailout

The IMF’s admission is welcome but the hard part will be acting on it

A MACHINE COUNTS AND SORTS OUT EURO NOTES AT THE BELGIAN CENTRAL BANK IN BRUSSELS ©Reuters Jun 2, 2013

Why austerity is like a B-movie monster

The eurozone behaves like a closed economy. But it is run as though it were just the sum of its parts

Flags are reflected in a window at the European Council building, a day before an E.U. heads of state summit in Brussels March 12, 2008. REUTERS/Thierry Roge (BELGIUM) - RTR1Y6RS ©Reuters May 27, 2013

EU’s future looks Japanese, not German

The process to resolve the crisis will take many years to complete

EU flag ©Dreamstime May 19, 2013

It makes little sense but I’m a eurofanatic

It is better to make the case for the EU on the basis of geopolitics rather than economic efficiency

EU flag ©Dreamstime May 12, 2013

Lawson is right about the UK and Europe

A departure need not be a disaster if the terms are negotiated with skill

Enrico Letta ©AFP May 5, 2013

Italy’s change from austerity is all talk

Germany will not accept a fiscal stimulus for the sake of southern European countries

Enrico Letta, under-secretary of the Democratic Party, gives a press conference at the Quirinale presidential palace on April 24, 2013 in Rome. Italian President Giorgio Napolitano prepared to unveil his nomination for prime minister on Wednesday to bring to an end a two-month deadlock on forming a new government that has stalled reforms and set off alarm bells around Europe. This morning Enrico Letta was named as one of the favorite by the Italian media. ©AFP Apr 28, 2013

Letta needs to push banking union

Italy’s latest prime minister will need all the help he can get

Apr 21, 2013

Perils of placing faith in a thin theory

Reinhart and Rogoff told policy makers what they wanted to hear

Euros ©Dreamstime Apr 14, 2013

The riddle of a currency with many values

The euro is not worth the same across the region – Spain and Germany have different currencies

Apr 7, 2013

ECB priority is to fix southern Europe

Mario Draghi should prioritise the unconventional over the conventional

Mar 31, 2013

Economics will catch up with the euro

In southern Europe the hurdle for a case in favour of eurozone exit is shockingly low

Mar 24, 2013

Eurozone break-up edges even closer

Cyprus is a perfect illustration of the way the region struggles with collective action

Mar 17, 2013

Europe is risking a bank run

Creditor nations will now insist bank rescues must be co-funded by depositors

Mar 10, 2013

Italy must seek generational change

There should be a handover of power to younger leaders, with Matteo Renzi coming to the fore

Mar 3, 2013

Bonus issue marks start of a long battle

It is in the eurozone’s collective interest to stop London from acting as its main financial centre

Feb 26, 2013

The case for a grand coalition in Italy

Partnership among the divergent majorities can break the political gridlock

Feb 24, 2013

Austerity obstructs real economic reform

An article of faith that means different things to different believers

Feb 17, 2013

Expect the unexpected in Italy’s election

One of the safest predictions is that Monti’s coalition will come last among the four major contestants

Feb 10, 2013

Ireland shows the way with its debt deal

Rescheduling of promissory notes is monetary financing in all but name

ABOUT WOLFGANG

Wolfgang Münchau Wolfgang Münchau is an associate editor of the Financial Times, where he writes a weekly column about the European Union and the European economy. Before taking up this position in September 2003, he was co-editor of Financial Times Deutschland for two years.

Before joining FT Deutschland, Mr Münchau was a Frankfurt correspondent and later economics correspondent of the Financial Times, reporting on the preparation for the final stage of monetary union and the launch of the euro.

E-mail Wolfgang Münchau