Eurozone Crisis: Is the Union at Risk?

Abstract

ABSTRACT On October 8, 2013, the NCAFP sponsored a conference on the troubles of the euro currency and the larger problems of the Union itself. The first speaker, Nicolas Véron, stated that the euro crisis is not over. There is likely to be a return of market instability in the near future; and in a broader sense, we are far from resolving some institutional problems. The need is for progression from a banking union to a fiscal union and, finally, for a more effective political union probably requiring treaty changes. It is impossible to predict, however, precisely when or whether the necessary changes will occur. The second speaker, Joseph Quinlan, dealt with the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (T-TIP) as a game changer. It would create greater efficiency on both sides of the Atlantic and send a message to the rest of the world that the United States and Europe still matter and can work together. The third speaker, Christiane Lemke, called attention to some political ramifications of the euro crisis: the split between the more prosperous North and the less prosperous South, and the increase in political unrest and mass protest everywhere. There is a growing sense that the Brussels institutions lack political legitimacy. Intensive inter-governmentalism cannot alone resolve the financial crisis. There needs to be a new definition of what it means to be European: shared prosperity and solidarity across the whole continent. In the lively discussion that followed each presentation, all of the above points were further analyzed by researchers and specialists.