The Trouble with Europe: Why the EU Isn't Working - How it Can Be Reformed - What Could Take Its Place - Hardcover

Bootle, Roger

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1857886151 ISBN 13: 9781857886153

Publisher: Nicholas Brealey Publishing, 2014

Synopsis

One of The Week's Best Business Books of 2014

The European Union was a brilliant stroke of political and economic engineering when it came into its current form, averting major wars and reducing social tensions among member states. But as Europe moves into the second decade of the twenty-first century, problems are multiplying—problems that arose due to the EU's very existence. In The Trouble with Europe, Roger Bootle, winner of the 2012 Wolfson Economics Prize, tackles the uncomfortable truth that the European Union might be going down—and could take the global economy with it.

Bootle expertly outlines the factors that gave birth to the European union of the twentieth century, from the collective Euro-spirit that initiated a solution to the region's various problems and the subsequent unforeseen consequences of the compromises nations made in order to create a sustainable organization. Bootle examines how the euro has hindered independent actions of member nations, both economically and politically, before envisaging how a post-EU Europe might come about and how it would affect the United Kingdom, along with other member states and the world at large. Is a full dissolution the only answer or could the United Kingdom's withdrawal be a viable course of action? With EU elections looming in May 2014, The Trouble with Europe is a compelling read for anyone interested in the economic, political, and social future of the United Kingdom and all of Europe.

Roger Bootle is an economist and a weekly columnist for the Daily Telegraph. He is currently the managing director of Capital Economics, an independent macroeconomic research consultancy. Bootle is the author of several books, including The Trouble with Markets and Money for Nothing.

About this title

About the Author

Roger Bootle is a British economist and a weekly columnist for the Daily Telegraph. He is currently the Managing Director of Capital Economics, an independent macroeconomic research consultancy. Bootle is the author of several books, including The Trouble with Markets and Money for Nothing.

From the Inside Flap

Six decades ago Europe’s leaders had a noble dream: to prevent another terrible war, and to act as a beacon of co-operation rather than conflict.
The European Economic Community eventually became the European Union, and so began a seemingly inevitable march towards a federal super-state, culminating in the creation of the totemic single currency: the Euro.
The European Union is now at a crossroads. Its original objectives, the logic of existing relationships and monetary union, are pushing it towards full political union – some sort of United States of Europe, at least of the Eurozone. In other words, more Europe; deeper integration.
But the EU is no longer working well in today's world – let alone tomorrow’s.
The EU needs fundamental reform, Roger Bootle argues. It was conceived in a world of large blocs, before globalisation and the rise of the emerging
markets. Its agenda of harmonisation and integration inevitably leads to excessive regulation and the smothering of competition. It hasn’t delivered the prosperity and growth it promised.
The clearest example of the EU’s tortured politics producing poor economic performance is the formation of the Euro, which was undertaken for political reasons intrinsic to the European project.
It has turned out to be the problem rather than the solution. What is more, if nothing changes, the EU’s share of world GDP is set to fall sharply and, with it, Europe’s influence in the world. Furthermore, the EU has a profound identity
crisis, Bootle says. No one is clear what the EU is for, or how ‘ever closer union’ can be matched with expanding geographical horizons and huge disparities of income and culture.
The EU has ineffective and often undemocratic institutions. It is the most important thing that stands between Europe and success. We can – and should – attempt to reform the EU. Cut down to size, renationalized, limited and
properly controlled democratically, the EU could prosper. But there are serious political barriers.
Without fundamental reform, some countries may withdraw – or the EU may even break up. Bootle offers a bracing and rigorous analysis of alternatives: different models for political and economic relations between the UK and Europe,
and most importantly alternative political and institutions that could serve Europe – and the world – better in the future.
Leaving the EU would not be pain and risk free, but nor is the only option to stick with the current institutions. It’s time to raise the level of debate, examine the options, and tackle the trouble with Europe.

Edition details

• Publisher: Nicholas Brealey Publishing
• Publication date: 2014
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1857886151
• ISBN 13: 9781857886153
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 224