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The EU’s double standards on reform agendas are hugely damaging
Once again, France got several years extra for getting rid of its excessive deficit. Once again, Greece was held up to its reform promises and given not a respite. The Commission is applying double...
View ArticleHow the European Union works: the media perspective
One of the usual attacks on the European Union, is that it is so intransparent. Rules are designed and discussed behind the scenes, nobody knows what’s going on except for some eurocrats, and then the...
View ArticlePress release: EU to unlock potential of obese citizens
In my work I am seeing several press statements on a daily basis, mainly from the European institutions and from ‘stakeholders’ like NGOs and lobby organisations. There seems to be a pattern in the...
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George Soros: ‘Europe’s way of life is in danger’
The politically active billionaire George Soros payed a visit to Brussels on October 22, promoting a new essay on the relations with Ukraine. His organization Open Society Foundations (OSF) has been...
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Launch of Next Europe
My new book Next Europe is now officially launched. Of course this comes with a modest campaign to create attention for the book. I published several opinion articles, on news sites as well as in the...
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OUT NOW: Next Europe
Next Europe – How the EU can survive in a world of tectonic shifts After many months of interviewing, research and writing, I am happy to announce the launch of my fourth book: Next Europe. It is...
View ArticleBook Launch of Next Europe in September
Next Europe – How the EU can survive in a world of tectonic shifts E-book publication in September 2014 After many months of interviewing, research and writing, I am happy to announce the launch of my...
View ArticleDe Europese verkiezingen zullen niets uithalen
Dit opinieartikel verscheen in NRC Handelsblad van 10 april 2014 De komende verkiezingen voor het Europees Parlement draaien uit op een flop. De miljoenen stemmen voor eurofobe partijen vertalen zich...
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Rem Korteweg: ‘Europe is a resource-poor continent’
The last interview for my book project Next Europe was on exactly the same spot where I had my first: the Press Club in Brussels. Several months on the road, mostly in The Hague, Brussels and Paris, I...
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Jonathan Holslag: ‘Europe will be the world’s playground’
It happens rarely that I write ‘Dear Mr/Mrs…’ to people younger than me. But with Professor dr. Jonathan Holslag, that is the case. He is only 32 years old, professor of international politics at the...
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Youth entrepreneurship can save Europe
With 5.6 million unemployed young people (under 25) in the EU – and this figure will only rise the coming years – the necessity for drastic labour market improvement becomes enormous. One of the...
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Philippe Legrain: ‘The EU has made disastrous policy mistakes’
One of the last interviews for Next Europe is with Philippe Legrain, a British economist who worked for BEPA – the Commission’s own think-tank – until this year. He published several books on...
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A less liberal Europe? The impact of the elections on the EU
With three months until the next elections of the European Parliament, it is time to consider the possible impact on Europe’s business climate. The outlook is anything but rosy. Here is an overview of...
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Claude Grunitzky: ‘Europe faces an identity crisis’
Getting to meet Claude Grunitzky was quite a challenge. It took us months to set a date and a place, and once at Brussels Midi Station I had to change the location three times, with just one hour...
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Daniel Keohane: ‘Europeans can be confident about the future’
Daniel Keohane is research director at FRIDE, a European think-tank for global action. I talked with him about the position of Europe in the world, the current economic crisis and the rise of the...
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Francois Heisbourg: ‘Walk back the euro to save the EU’
For a couple of (off-the record) interviews I headed off to Paris. There I met Francois Heisbourg, the ‘ardent European federalist’ who has sparked controversy with his latest book La fin du rêve...
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Robert Madelin: ‘The world lacks effective political leadership’
To get to speak Robert Madelin, director-general at the European Commission for DG Connect, you have to go to a more unappealing part of the Brussels. Far away from the quartier européen the final stop...
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Roland Freudenstein: ‘The EU is on the right track to overcome the crisis’
The fourth interview for Next Europe takes place in the heart of the eurobubble – the European quarter of Brussels. Roland Freudenstein is the Deputy Director of the Centre for European Studies (CES),...
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Jan Techau: ‘We are no longer the coolest dudes on the planet’
Jan Techau is the director of Carnegie Europe, a think-tank in Brussels that focuses on Europe’s foreign policy. I had a fascinating interview with him, because the discussion focused on precisely the...
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Margriet Krijtenburg: ‘The basis for European integration is completely...
For the second interview for ‘Next Europe’ I travelled to The Hague. At the Campus of the University of Leiden, I spoke with Margriet Krijtenburg about her research on Robert Schuman, the Père de...
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