Poverty in America in 2014

The Atlantic has a great piece on what it means for America that more than half of the members of Congress are millionaires.

America's Waning Power

The Washington Post has an interesting piece about President Obama's speech at West Point - the prestigious American military academy. He said American leadership would persist for the next 100 years. China, on the other hand, didn't seem to agree to that statement.

But it is impossible to say. No question, the U.S.A. will continue - and also probably for the next 100 years - to be highly influential. But as THE dominant power America will most likely see its power diminish dramatically.

Examples of American powerlessness

Right now the U.S. still has the strongest military, the most innovative businesses, and a strong economy. But how does that influence America's ability to dictate what happens in the world? Let's look at some examples. Syria, the Central African Republic, Iran, North Korea, Nigeria, Crimea. In which of these has the U.S. gotten its way? The U.S. is already seeing its power wane. So how will it look a hundred years from now?

Moving toward an even more multi-polar world

After the Second World War the U.S. led a unipolar world up until the Cold War when it became a bi-polar World. After that, the U.S. became the leader, but of an increasingly multi-polar world. Now, the U.S.A., the E.U. and China probably shares 3/4 of the power with the rest shared among the rest of the world. A hundred years from now the U.S. and the E.U. may just have 1/4 while Asia will be the most dominant. This is based on the simple premise that both the U.S. and the E.U. will have reached its natural limit in terms of people and economic output.

A hundred years ago - in 1914 - the contours of a new world order were just in the making. In 2014 it is impossible to predict how it will look in 2114.

Info on the European Parliament elections

The European Parliamentary elections are coming up. Here's a few links to other websites covering the elections:

The BBC (as always): http://www.bbc.com/news/blogs/eu/
The European Parliament's own: http://www.elections2014.eu/en
The EUobserver: http://euobserver.com/eu-elections
For younger (and first time) voters: http://www.myvote2014.eu/en/home/index
The Guardian: http://www.theguardian.com/politics/european-elections

I apologize for having a dedicated post on this myself, but I am working on it :) Until the, I hope you will find lots of good stuff on the above-mentioned websites.

 

A good piece on German Euroscepticism by the BBC's Gavin Hewitt

Gavin Hewitt, the BBC's Europe editor, has a good piece on German Euroscepticism. Read on the BBC's website here.

Book Recommendation: 'Europe in the Global Age' by Anthony Giddens

Anthony Giddens is one of the world's most prolific authors in social science and the former director of the London School of Economics. He is probably most know for his theory of structuration and his role as advisor for former British Prime Minister Tony Blair and the political direction of The Third Way, which has inspired social democratic politicians around the world, especially in Denmark.

Europe in the Global Age deals with the challenges facing Europe in, well, the global age characterized by intense globalization and competition with a particular emphasis on the Northern European welfare state and how it must be reformed in order to continue to inspire future European development.

Giddens is a supporter of the welfare state. I, too, believe that a Scandinavian style society in many ways should serve as an example to be followed by all European countries that aspire to have low levels of unemployment, relatively high growth rates, stable and safe societies with emphasis on equality and a high quality of life. The model truly is the best way to ensure a sound compromise between economic competitiveness and social security.

You can purchase the book from Amazon via the link below.

New artists in the E.U.: The European Border Breakers Awards

Culture-wise, the E.U. has a program called 'The European Border Breakers Awards'. It's a program intended to bolster the careers of young, European artists. Read more about it here at the European Commission's website for culture.

The winners for the 2014 awards were:

Gugabriel from Austria
Lukas Graham from Denmark
Woodkid from France
Zedd from Germany
Asgeir from Iceland
Kodaline from Ireland
Jacco Gardner from the Netherlands
Envy (who have since changed their name to Nico and Vince) from Norway
Icona Pop from Sweden
Disclosure from the United Kingdom

I must admit that I only know Lukas Graham and Icona Pop, but I will do my best to check them all out.

You can also see videos from these artists at this site (my music blog): The Good Music Blog.

Enjoy the music!

EU affairs sites just in time for the weekend: EUobserver, BBC News, and The New York Times

To get your daily update on EU affairs I recommend that you go check out the following sites:

EUobserver
Great news site dedicated to EU issues and current events.

BBC News
As always, high quality all the way. Good features and analyses.

The New York Times
Pretty much the same high standard as the BBC, although - for some reason - the U.S. media still seem to underestimate the importance of Europe. But when they do get around to it 'over there', it's classy journalism (and the new website is simple, elegant, and quite user-friendly).

Honorable mentions: Euronews and European Voice. Admittedly, these might as well be in the above category, but especially European Voice seems very EU-nerdish. But of course, that is only a good thing. Beware of the pay-wall, though.

Have a nice weekend!

Book Recommendation: The Choice for Europe by Andrew Moravcsik

One of the best and most thorough books on the E.U. I believe is Princeton professor Andrew Moravcsik's The Choice for Europe. Accessible in its style, it is still comprehensive and takes into account the development of the union as well as the challenges.

You can buy it at Amazon.com (disclaimer: Across the Pond is a part of Amazon's affiliate program and therefore receives a referral bonus). Follow the link below.

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'Sorry' seems to be the hardest word

A good piece on the whole spying controversy. It seems the U.S. owes the E.U. an apology if the ambitious trade agreement is to become reality.

The Candidates

Who will be the next High Representative for EU Foreign Policy? Or President of the European Council? Jon Worth writes good pieces on the subject. Go to his blog and see why.

Political Procrastination: Jimmy Fallon, Carly Rae Jepsen, The Roots, and Pema Levy join forces

Been trying to find some funny blogposts or tweets regarding American or European politics, but for some reason it's hard. Why isn't Jimmy Fallon a hard-core pol blogger? While looking for the before-mentioned, I was led to this (don't ask how):

Alright, enough procrastination. Pema Levy's actually pretty funny in her tweets, so do check her out. She's done nice work for The American Prospect and Talking Points Memo, too. Plus she's cute.

Building Bridges

I had actually decided to write about the prospects of further E.U.-U.S. cooperation, but it seems that Foreign Affairs beat me to it. An excellent piece here: For Transatlantic Trade, This Time Is Different.

Needed: Reasonable Republicans

Now that the dust has settled from the recent American presidential election it's time for the Republican Party to think about where to go from here.

This time around they chose a fairly mainstream candidate with a right-pandering sidekick. Pretty much like last time when Senator John McCain ran partnering up with then Alaska Governor Sarah Palin. In fact, the GOP has moved so far to the right that not even Ronald Reagan would receive his party's nomination were he to seek it today, according to Jeb Bush and Chuck Hagel.

While choosing a vicepresidential candidate that creates a lot of excitement among the base has been the strategy since 2008, we can conclude that it hasn't worked. Substantial losses in both elections forces the GOP to rethink its strategy for 2016.

So who should they choose next?

Bobby Jindal was mentioned by Time Magazine as a potential VP candidate in 2008. Now, he is mentioned as a pick for the presidential ticket for 2016. Recently, he critized his party for being 'stupid'. Maybe a candidate who refuses to pander to the right will be a more effective strategy that will win over moderates.

Jeb Bush - whose name may be his biggest liability - is another choice. His major strength is his rapport with the Latinamerican community, which is widely regarded as becoming more and more important.

Chris Christie scored good points with moderates when he applauded President Obama's handling of hurricane Sandy.

On paper, Mitt Romney was a middle-of-the-road Republican: white, self-made, and a Harvard graduate. Yet, he  failed. It might be time to follow a different path.

A deserving winner of the Nobel Peace Prize

The EU gained some well-needed recognition when The Nobel Committee announced that it was giving the Nobel Peace Prize to the European Union.

Critics are already mocking the decision, but rarely based on any knowledge of the EU. Right now the EU is strugling with economic difficulties (obviously!), but one needs to look at the big picture - namely that there haven't been any wars or noteworthy conflicts between EU members since its inception, and that the EU has directly and indirectly spurred democratic movements in Portugal, Spain, and Greece (which were all - not too long ago - military dictatorships) and Eastern Europe. Besides, an economic crisis doesn't say anything about the EU's ability to create - and keep - peace in a troubled region over a period of sixty years.

Below, I have collected some responses to the decision.

http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2012/10/why-the-european-union-deserves-the-nobel-peace-prize/263560/

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/ezra-klein/wp/2012/10/12/five-reasons-why-the-e-u-deserved-the-nobel-peace-prize/

http://blog.heritage.org/2012/10/12/the-eus-nobel-peace-prize-not-just-a-laughing-matter/

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/10/12/us-nobel-peace-eu-crisis-idUSBRE89B0YP20121012

http://www.forbes.com/sites/timworstall/2012/10/12/european-union-peace-prize-nobel-committee-jumps-the-shark/

http://world.time.com/2012/10/12/nobel-peace-prize-sows-discord-and-laughter/

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/10/12/the-eu-won-what-europe-reacts-to-nobel.html

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/oct/12/european-union-nobel-peace-prize-joy-derision?newsfeed=true

Defending Europe

Despite all the talk about sluggish growth and high debt levels, there are still good reasons to appreciate Europe. Here's a good, short piece from Remi Adekoya from The Guardian: Europe is still the closest thing to Paradise on Earth.

The Danish presidency: A job well done

A while ago I wrote a post highlighting the possibility of a succesful Danish presidency of the E.U. So, as the Danes are handing over the wheel to the Cypriots, forgive me for gloating a little over my excellent foresight ;-)

While this presidency didn't draw huge headlines - until the last moment, at least - it certainly achieved important results, and at least one with long-term, positive consequences for Europe.

It seems that the Danes managed to solve a problem that has existed for roughly thirty years, namely that of a single European patent.

Boring stuff, many would agree. But in the long term it very well turn out to be a decisive factor in the E.U.'s ambitions to be one of the leaders in innovation.

As of today, one of the reasons that the U.S. has kept its lead for so long is that American entrepreneurs and businesses have only had to file for its patents in just one place to get protection on a market of more than 400 million people. This has meant low costs and little administration.

Europeans, on the other hand, have had to go through up to 27 government agencies to achieve the same protection, which has been enormously costly and complicated.

In other words, it now means that independent engineers, computer wizzes, business people, etc., will no longer have to borrow about 35,000 euros to make their ideas come to life. Not to mention the advantages of handling just one patent in stead of 27.

So, congratulations for solving a problem that for decades has stifled innovation and job creation in Europe.

Mrs. Schmidt goes to Washington

The Danish Prime Minister and current President of the EU talked to U.S. President Obama. Take a look:

The Danish Presidency - will it matter?

Denmark is currently holding the rotating presidency of the EU. It's one of the smaller countries in the Union, and it has opted out of the euro. Plus its prime minister, Helle Thorning-Schmidt, a social democrat, is new at the helm of Danish politics (and now the EU). These facts might cause people to diminish the importance of this particular presidency.

But maybe all of the above works to Prime Minister Thorning-Schmidt's advantage. After all (bearing in mind Denmark's surprising win in the 1992 European Championships in football), Denmark is a country that thrives at being an underdog. So maybe a political upset is in the making, too.

Thorning-Schmidt is a skilled analyst (who holds an M.Sc. in political science and an M.A. in European studies from the College of Europe) who's is quite underrated despite her impressive resumé and ability to ride off a storm (she was falsely accused of tax fraud and met by a crowd of agressive journalists in the Copenhagen Airport without as much as a blemish or a stutter).

Nobody really expects much of this presidency (or any other due to the fact that the union now also has a permanent president in Herman von Rompuy). But maybe the Danes' ability to prepare professionally and punch above its weight might result in competent stewardship.

Drifting away from the continent that truly matters?

Will England's influence in the EU and in the world dwindle after Prime Minister Cameron's veto of the European attempt to stabilize the euro like some suggest? One might be inclined to think that England's influence on the world's political scene will soon resemble that on the soccer pitch: vastly overexagerrated.

Maybe it's for the better? England has never really seen itself as being part of Europe anyway. 'Europe', when used by English politicians, more often than not means continental Europe and not, God forbid, the British Isles.

'Keep your eyes on the money, Mr Berlusconi'

Even during times of great financial turmoil and crucial decision-making, Italian Prime Minister Berlusconi finds time to check out the ladies, i.e. the Danish Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt.