http://www.project-syndicate.org/series/european_economies <p>Can entrepreneurship be encouraged in Europe if the continent’s social welfare policies remain unchanged? Is the European Central Bank too focused on inflation? Is Italy the new "sick man of Europe"?</p> <p>These types of questions are the focus of Project Syndicate's monthly commentaries on European economics, edited by one of the continent's leading economists, Niels Thygesen of the University of Copenhagen.</p> en 2012-02-10T06:00:48+01:00 webmaster@project-syndicate.org webmaster@project-syndicate.org 1994-01-01T00:00:00+01:00 4 hourly http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/marzinotto3/English <a href=http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/marzinotto3/English>E ECONOMIES: Behind the ECB’s Wall of Money</a> The "wall of money" that the ECB unleashed to markets just before Christmas will have a huge influence on Europe's economy, and an even larger impact on its politics. This approach to ending the eurozone's sovereign-debt might work, but it could also destroy the single market. Benedicta Marzinotto 2012-01-16T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/kochladze1/English <a href=http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/kochladze1/English>E ECONOMIES: Greening the European Investment Bank</a> The European Investment Bank can help countries worldwide to make vital progress on reducing greenhouse-gas emissions at a time when political solutions based on international agreement remain elusive. Unfortunately, the EIB’s lending priorities and energy-investment portfolio are making the problem worse. Manana Kochladze 2011-12-23T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/legrain2/English <a href=http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/legrain2/English>E ECONOMIES: The ECB Fear Factor</a> Exceptional times demand exceptional measures, and the ECB will inevitably feel obliged to act if the eurozone is pushed to the brink. But the longer it delays, the greater the hit to people's jobs and savings, the deeper the damage to investors' confidence in the eurozone financial system, and the bigger the risk of a catastrophic mishap. Philippe Legrain 2011-12-13T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/farano1/English <a href=http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/farano1/English>E ECONOMIES: The Italian Exodus</a> Roughly 90,000 people leave Italy every year – almost a million in the last decade, from a country of 60 million. Silvio Berlusconi's departure won't stem the tide, for it is rooted in the ambiguous legacy of Italian unification in the nineteenth century. Adriano Farano 2011-11-23T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/berglof7/English <a href=http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/berglof7/English>E ECONOMIES: Cross-Border Banking in the Balance</a> Eurozone leaders must aim to preserve not just the single currency, but also the gains from financial integration in Europe. No region has benefited more from cross-border banking, yet these achievements are now at risk – and with them the European banks themselves. Erik Berglof 2011-11-14T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/soros73/English <a href=http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/soros73/English>E ECONOMIES: A Path through Europe’s Minefield</a> Eurozone leaders' next move will have fateful consequences, either calming the markets or driving them to new extremes. All agree that Greece needs an orderly restructuring, but, when it comes to the banks, the eurozone’s leaders are contemplating some inappropriate steps. George Soros 2011-10-12T00:00:00+02:00 http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/flandreau1/English <a href=http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/flandreau1/English>E ECONOMIES: Getting to Yes (Again) with Germany</a> Europe’s slow-motion sovereign-debt crisis may appear unique, but it is not. Just a few decades ago, Europe had the Exchange Rate Mechanism, which collapsed during a crisis very much akin to the one afflicting the eurozone today. Marc Flandreau 2011-09-19T00:00:00+02:00 http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/frieda1/English <a href=http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/frieda1/English>E ECONOMIES: The ECB’s Moment of Decision</a> It is not too late to resolve the current eurozone crisis, but an effective response must be immediate, overwhelming, and free of the ideological rivalries that have enfeebled the common currency since its launch. The European Central Bank is the only institution that can generate such a response. Gene Frieda 2011-09-16T00:00:00+02:00 http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/tilford2/English <a href=http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/tilford2/English>E ECONOMIES: Eurobonds or Bust</a> The eurozone’s institutional weaknesses have been laid bare. The attempt to run a common monetary policy without a common treasury has failed. Investors do not know what they are buying when they purchase an Italian bond – is it backstopped by Germany or not? We now know that the best credit must stand behind the rest, or else bear runs are inevitable. Debt mutualization alone will not save the euro, but, without it, the eurozone is unlikely to survive intact. Simon Tilford 2011-08-08T00:00:00+02:00 http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/godement1/English <a href=http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/godement1/English>E ECONOMIES: Europe for Sale</a> In Bulgaria last March, one of Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao's ministers quipped that “there will always be someone pointing fingers at us whether or not we buy.” But, as Wen’s recent trip to the UK, Germany, and Hungary showed, China is indeed buying – and EU leaders are eagerly selling. Francois Godement 2011-07-08T00:00:00+02:00