In this week’s news on Friday, we’ll be discussing the prognosis for eurozone reform in the context of the new Italian government, the comments of the US ambassador in Berlin, human-trafficking from Romania to Sicily, and more Brexit news.
The point Varoufakis is trying to make however is that, to say democracy is deficient in Brussels is to utterly understate the crime. Rather, democracy has never been at the centre of the European construct, and as such has only been an obstacle to negotiate in the minds of the men in power who built it. As Brussels has acquired more power, this fact has only become more evident in the way Europe has dealt with challenges against it, and more present in the minds of its citizens. The problem exploded in the wake of the Sovereign Debt Crisis, to the point that it can no longer be ignored. Left unchecked, it is now killing Europe.
There is a common thread in these votes, even if when we get into the details we find several differences. That is that there are strong forces across Europe pushing highly disruptive, anti-establishment messages and ideas.
The European Union is among the most profound achievements of the last century; in many ways, it has changed the face of Europe and its place in the world, from one of violence, strife and oppression, to a beacon of ‘peace…democracy and…prosperity’. By the fin-de-siècle, commentators were hailing the ‘New European Century’ and a ‘beacon of light in a troubled world’. The latter commentator also argued that Europe’s aim was to seek ‘harmony, not hegemony’. This raises a key question, namely, the nature of Europe’s relationship with Imperial power.
Yanis Varoufakis made his way to Britain recently as part of his tours of the continent, aiming to mobilise support for DiEM25 and its Progressive Agenda for Europe. During his visit over the weekend, Yanis and some other leading DiEMers hosted dicsussions in London. A lesser known event also took place earlier that Friday, as Yanis Varoufakis came to King’s College London and spoke to a room of over 200 students and staff to discuss Europe’s Crisis.
Martin Schulz has proposed the conversion of the Commission in a ‘real European government’. An analysis and discussion of this proposal and its meaning for Europe.
In Search of Europa 