In the Sunday media review, Youropa digs into a week of EU coverage and picks up a few pieces that caught our attention. Some of the most interesting stories from international newspapers handpicked by Youropa’s editors.
Start the engines, Angela
The Economist, 9 June 2012
The Economist indeed master the art of making a witty, symbolic and provocative front page – this week is no exception. The world economy portrayed as a sinking ship from where someone raises the question, “Please can we start the engines now, Mrs Merkel?”, sums up the magazines take on the economic crisis in Europe and its wider impact on the world economy. Accompanied by a leader the Economist joins the chorus of commentators, politicians and economists who puts the main responsibility to save us all from economic tragedy on the German chancellor Angela Merkel who is told to start acting.
Like the British prime minister David Cameron who visited Berlin earlier this week and used the opportunity to tell his German colleague about the severity of the economic situation, the Economist loves to lecture in a provoking, self-righteous and pretentious tone. But one point seems important enough to spend time reading the leader: Continued hesitation among Europe’s politicians – including Merkel – will not save the euro.
“It is now up to Europe’s politicians to deal finally and firmly with the euro. If they come up with a credible solution, it does not guarantee a smooth ride for the world economy; but not coming up with a solution guarantees an economic tragedy.”
Süddeutsche Zeitung
So wächst Europa zusammen
Citing the former French foreign minister and a founding father of the European Union Robert Schuman, the editor at Süddeutsche Zeitung Sebastian Schoepp calls for continued European solidarity in times of crisis.
“Europe will not be made all at once, or according to a single plan. It will be built through concrete achievements which first create a de facto solidarity,” said Robert Schumann after the devastating second World War.
In a brilliant opinion piece Sebastian Schoepp writes about the continued misunderstandings and fading solidarity between North and Southern Europe.
“Since the crisis, however, long forgotten stereotypes are back,” writes Schoepp. But instead of widening the gap between North and Southern Europe, people from both ends of the continent should learn from each other. And there are positive effects of the crises as well that needs to be exploited.
“The big migration emerging during the crises brings together North and South. Spanish and Swabian engineers and machine makers have long understood that,” he writes.
Schoepp’s article is an eyeopening account on the value of the solidarity we risk loosing in times of economic despair that before has brought along devastating political consequences.
Financial Times
Merkel insists on two-speed Europe
The Financial Times wrote an interesting story Thursday about the German chancellor Angela Merkel’s acknowledgment of a two-speed Europe. As the British prime minister David Cameron was visiting Berlin, the two state leaders seemed to agree on the necessity of splitting up the European Union in a core eurozone and the more reluctant EU members such as UK and Denmark – who both formally have opted out of the euro.
““We cannot just stop [the process] because one or other doesn’t want to join in yet,” said Merkel only hours before Cameron arrived in Berlin.
It seems clear that the solution to the eurozone crises in the eyes of Merkel is more political integration in Europe and not less.
“We need more Europe. We don’t only need monetary union, we also need a so-called fiscal union,” Merkel said.
“And most of all we need a political union – which means we need to gradually cede powers to Europe and give Europe control.”
That would eventually force skeptic EU countries – not least the UK – to reconsider their relationship the the European Union.