Welt ohne F?hrung
Obama's China-Visit was more than an episode: it symbolises the end of a long era of global US leadership. The power vacuum will have to be filled by stronger global institutions. A piece in German.
ECFR Alumni · Former Senior Policy Fellow
Thomas Klau used to work for ECFR as Senior Policy Fellow and Head of the Paris office.
Obama's China-Visit was more than an episode: it symbolises the end of a long era of global US leadership. The power vacuum will have to be filled by stronger global institutions. A piece in German.
The Lisbon Treaty makes the EU neither efficient nor democratic enough. But it was the best available deal under the outdated and foolish unanimity rule. A piece in German.
Two predecessors illuminate how Guido Westerwelle could leave his mark on German foreign policy
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EU leaders must change gear…
As part of the ’Reinventing Europe' project, ECFR is publishing a series of papers on the national debates within EU member states over the crisis and the future direction of Europe. In the fourteenth of the series Thomas Klau analyses the situation in France.
On Thursday EU leaders will meet in Brussels to discuss the EU budget for the next seven years. ECFR experts in Spain, the UK, Bulgaria, Denmark, France, Germany and Italy tell us what to expect.
The implosion of Greece's party political landscape and the victory of François Hollande in France transformed the political debate in Europe. Moreover, both events act as a catalyst for a political reinvention of the eurozone and an emergence of a transnational political space.
The prospect of a victory by François Hollande may be causing nervousness in Berlin and elsewhere, but the socialist candidate in the French presidential elections is a natural compromise-builder, and Europe should have no real reason to fear his victory.
As France votes in the first round of its presidential elections, the French people have been denied an analytically, politically honest and comprehensive engagement by the politicians with the real issues at hand in France and Europe.
The economic crisis is now at a critical point, and Europe's leaders must chose between a federated eurozone power or yielding to the power of the markets and economic and political disruption.
Throughout the Eurozone crisis, France has been well served by its decisive presidential system. But as thoughts turn to reforming the way the Eurozone works, France must come to terms with the power implications of a more federal system.
In this contribution to an online Economist debate on the future of the euro, Thomas Klau argues that the single currency is indispensible if Europe is to punch its weight on the global stage in the 21st century.
The longer term challenges for Europe's politicians are to contest real power at a European level and be honest with voters about the issues confronting the continent in the 21st century.
As EU leaders gather in Brussels for the European Council meeting, they need to remember that their efforts to save the euro do not just affect their impact at the next elections, but also their long term legacy. Buying time and muddling through are no longer enough.