Belonging with Britain
‘Maybe the British stance is not born out of an insular stubbornness-it may, on the contrary, re-invigorate the European idea itself'
Politics, Ideas and the Arts
Letting The Right Ones In
'How hospitable will Germans be now that travel restrictions on Romanians and Bulgarians have been lifted?'
A Gross Violation
Last month the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe declared that male circumcision is a “violation of the physical integrity of children”. This is clear anti-religious prejudice
Crying Wolf And Playing Chicken
David Runciman’s history of democracy occasionally succumbs to a Tocquevillian penchant for paradox, but his argument is brilliantly and convincingly delivered
Assessing Angela
‘At the election in September, Germans will have to decide whether Angela Merkel’s modesty and prudence are proof enough of her virtue’
Hapless Hollande’s French Farce Flops
‘Hollande’s ministers are falling out among themselves and criticism from his left-wing allies is getting ever more strident’
Germany’s Surprising Scepticism
‘Germany is seeing a definite increase in Euroscepticism—and now it’s coming from the Left too’
We’re Good Europeans Yet They All Hate Us
In 1953 Thomas Mann called “not for a German Europe, but a European Germany”. Now we have both—and neither is happy
Italian Insouciance
The over-generous Italian welfare state means that for all the belt-tightening, most people in the country still enjoy la dolce vita
Racing Certainty
The euro's life began in doubt and has ended in crisis; thank god we never threw our pound into the pot
How Brussels Stifles Democracy in Europe
The euro would never have got off the ground if it had been put to national referendums, nor would the bailouts or austerity plans
Euro Soap Opera
Angela Merkel and Jean-Claude Trichet recently attended a premiere of Tannhauser in Bayreuth but their own lives are more like an operatic melodrama