Brexit, European elections, new EU Commission: 2019 will be a year of radical change for Europe – or of a hard break. The outcome is still open; the fog is not likely to clear until spring. Until then, the EU will try to spread some calculated optimism. Mehr
Euro crisis, refugee crisis, Brexit: The EU has already been through a lot. In 2018, things should finally be going up again. But instead a new problem has emerged: the decline of power – in the member states. Mehr
Russia is pleased, France is worried, the EU is silent: With his announcement to withdraw US troops from Syria, President Trump has once again ignored his Allies. Trump also plays solo in Kosovo. Mehr
It was the last EU summit before the start of the European election campaign. Five months before the vote in May 2019, the heads of state and government wanted to show that the EU works – and that it works for the citizens. But the proof is hard. At best, there are sham solutions. Mehr
How they celebrated themselves, the 27 EU countries. In all friendship, Brexit-Land was offered the “best possible” deal, the leaders said two weeks ago at the special Brexit summit in Brussels. Now it turns out: this deal is unacceptable, Prime Minister May pulls the emergency brake. Mehr
After the massive protests of the “yellow vests”, the government in Paris has started the retreat. The eco-tax on petrol is put on ice, electricity and gas are not to become more expensive either. For President Macron it is a debacle – but Chancellor Merkel should also be on her guard. Mehr
Hardly a week passes without President Macron and Chancellor Merkel appearing in public together. Finance Ministers Scholz and Le Maire also present themselves as a team. But that’s misleading, says a French author. Macron is fooling himself (and us). Mehr
