In the European summit of Brussels, Franþois Hollande pursued the balancing act begun during its election campaign. Promising more federalism and transfers of power, would he have forgotten that any new European approach in the crisis is subordinated to the preliminary and irrevocable implementation of the golden rule? | By Paul GOLDSCHMIDT, former Director at Goldman Sachs International, former Director at the European Commission (1993-2002), member of the Advisory Board of the Thomas More Institute | Published in French on Atlantico.fr, on May 26th, 2012 | Available in French

By Paul GOLDSCHMIDT, former Director at Goldman Sachs International, former Director at the European Commission, member of the Advisory Board of the Thomas More Institute  | Article published in French in La Libre Belgique, on Saturday, May 26th, 2012

Politicians, experts and the media are drowning public opinion under a deluge of proposals, the content of which is often totally incomprehensible to the citizen at large. The declarations issued in the wake of the Brussels Summit of Wednesday, May 23rd are no exception ! Let us try to be precise...

1 | “Eurobonds”... including “Project Bonds” and EIB financing

We are aware that President Hollande is “for” and that Chancellor Merkel is “against”! Neither, (...)

By Paul GOLDSCHMIDT, former Director at Goldman Sachs International, former Director at the European Commission, member of the Advisory Board of the Thomas More Institute 

In a landmark interview, published in the Libre Belgique (15/05), Guy Verhofstadt expresses with great clarity the conditions needed to exit the crisis in which the European Union is engulfed since 2008. He stresses that, rather than a financial and economic crisis, Europe is facing, first and foremost, a serious political crisis. His proposed solution is: a “federal” European Union (or at least a federal EMU).

This premise is inescapable and is the necessary precondition to any solution of the financial crisis (both of the banking sector and of the (...)

By Paul GOLDSCHMIDT, former Director at Goldman Sachs International, former Director at the European Commission, member of the Advisory Board of the Thomas More Institute 

There is a broad consensus over the fact that the crisis is far from over even if – courtesy the electoral propaganda of the outgoing President– some wish to believe that the worst is over. Similarly, recognition of the need for “growth” is also widely shared even if – courtesy the electoral propaganda of the incoming President– one deliberately overlooks the underlying significant divergences in its interpretation.

Growth is a concept that can be as readily agreed upon as “Motherhood and apple pie” as the saying goes; it is therefore (...)

All the European leaders congratulated François Hollande for his victory in the presidential election. All wait henceforth for the next European terms to be able to evoke with him the future of the Union. Jean-Thomas LESUEUR, CEO of the Thomas More Institute, wonders about the means which the new president of the Republic has to impose his views to his partners | Broadcast Allô Bruxelles, RFI, on Monday, May 7th, 2012 | In French

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