As certain Commissioners-designate have pointed out, parliamentary hearings are a “true exercise of democracy”. During the hearings, MEPs demonstrated commitment, in-depth knowledge of the issues, and political vigour. They gave the new Commission their approval in principle. As expected, widespread broadcasting – or, to be more accurate, Twittering – of the hearings did lead to occasional witch-hunting and grandstanding on the part of certain MEPs. After all, why are they there, if not to be (...)

The impact of the economic crisis on industry has been severe and the rise in unemployment considerable. Thanks to policies supporting banks and economic recovery packages, we can hope for an end to the recession by the end of 2010. However, a sustainable recovery will only be achieved if we are able to establish the conditions of a new growth model, and if the costs of dealing with the crisis are properly managed.
On June 23 2009, on The climate package: a way out of crisis , we examined (...)

An Open letter to Europe’s leaders from Philippe Herzog.
It is hard to predict how the crisis will develop, but there is a real risk that it will be deep and long lasting. After the general ballooning of debt and speculative profits over a long period of time, the debt reduction and balance clearance processes will impact the whole world and be of substantial scale in the United States and most European countries. The rush on liquidity has generated a risk of deflation, which the central (...)

Numerous emerging countries are demanding nuclear plants but how can these demands be met without endangering world safety? What role can the European Union play?
These questions are no longer the preserve of experts; they are reaching a wider public thanks to the Entretiens européens organised by Confrontations Europe in partnership with the French nuclear safety authority (ASN, Autorité de Sûreté Nucléaire française) which brought together 180 delegates from widely-differing backgrounds on (...)