atlantiker.de

Matthias Stephan Fifka: Recent comments made by Mirek Topolanek concerning the US approach to the global economic downturn have cast a shadow ahead of the G20 meeting in London. Finding solutions to the current crisis will not be easy, and Topolanek's remarks may make future agreements even harder to acheive.

Marie Grunert: The US and the EU have strengthened their commitment towards global development. Instead of a pretext to concentrate solely on the domestic scene and resort to protectionism, the economic crisis ought to be used as an opportunity to re-define the development strategies in light of the new challenges.

Parag Khanna: President Obama's administration may need to look outside of its traditional set of allies in order to secure stability in Afghanistan, Pakistan and the surrounding regions. There will be a cost attached to this cooperation, but the cost of failure may be higher.

Czech prime minister Mirek Topolanek adds to transatlantic friction over plan for global economic recovery. by Ian Traynor in Strasbourg guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 25 March 2009 17.03 GMT Czech prime minister Mirek […]

Numerous US politicians, pundits and bloggers complain that Europe (especially Germany) is once again free riding on the United States. This time we are accused of refusing to carry our share of the global economic burden by failing to increase the stimulus to a gazillion euro. We are supposed to throw in the kitchen sink as the Fed did and follow yet another one of Washington's "shock and awe" strategies since the one in Iraq was so successful.

Europe responds with yet another metaphor: Czech Prime Minister Topolanek, who currently heads the EU presidency, called President Barack Obama's stimulus plan "a road to hell." Yep, he attended an AC/DC concert the week before.

It's time to cool down and read James Surowiecki's excellent explanation in the New Yorker (HT: Ben Perry), why the United States needs economic growth more than Europe does. And therefore "it is not surprising that we [=the United States] are going to be the ones who end up paying for it."

I am tempted to call this post "Americans are from Venus, Europeans are from Mars" because the transatlantic buddies seem to have swapped their preferred positions. As Surowiecki explains:

In American politics, "Europe" is usually a code word for "big government." So in the midst of a global recession, with the U.S. and China shelling out trillions in fiscal stimulus, you might expect that European governments would be spending furiously, too. Far from it. While the U.S. is devoting almost six per cent of its G.D.P. to fiscal stimulus, France and Germany are spending a barely noticeable twenty-six billion euros and fifty billion euros, respectively. Whereas the U.S. hopes that the upcoming G20 summit will lead to a global stimulus package, European policymakers have been warning against the dangers of "crass Keynesianism." The U.S. Federal Reserve has been flooding our economy with money, but the European Central Bank has cut interest rates slowly and reluctantly. Far from wild-eyed leftists, Europeans are looking downright conservative.

Yep, Europe is now sooo conservative that even the Wall Street Journal agrees with us now: Old Europe Is Right on Stimulus. Surprise, surprise.

What do you think? Do we have to swap the stereotypes of Europe and the United States? Is Europe once again piggybacking on the US? Or is US policy just making everything worse for the long run?

Marek Kubista: The European elections are fast approaching, yet there is little suspense in the air. Perhaps that’s because the outcome is pre-determined: the PPE will win and Jose Manuel Durao Barroso will be reappointed. In April, the left will be given a final chance to decide on a candidate and strengthen European democracy

Marek Kubista: The European elections are fast approaching, yet there is little suspense in the air. Perhaps that’s because the outcome is pre-determined: the PPE will win and Jose Manuel Durao Barroso will be reappointed. In April, the left will be given a final chance to decide on a candidate and strengthen European democracy

Ira Louis Straus: Bulgaria's former foreign minister Solomon Passy is the best candidate running for the position of NATO Secretary General. His better understanding of Atlanticism stems out of Bulgarian Atlanticism, which unlike most Eastern European Atlanticisms has managed to overcome Cold War attitudes.

[cnn-photo-caption image= http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2009/images/03/25/art.getty.topolanek.jpg caption="The European Union's current president Mirek Topolanek went head-to-head with Washington over the global economic crisis Wednesday."](CNN) - The European Union president went head-to-head with […]

Balkan Action Council. im Parteibuch Lexikon, dem parteiischen Wiki mit wertenden Informationen in deutlicher Sprache. Was jeden klar sein sollte: Diese hoch kriminelle Faschisten Kriegs Bande der Amerikaner, mit ihren willige und ...