From Political Crisis to Europe’s Second Renaissance? An interpretation of recent events and some ideas for the future

This paper provides a brief synopsis of Europe’s recent development and derives some ideas for future policy. It explains the case of the Greek crisis in more detail and uses it to show why it is part of a larger European malaise. The final chapter argues that European unification still can continue if some rather radical changes in the institutional framework of the EU are envisaged. Though the odds currently are against such a relaunch of the European pilot project, the pressure from the streets of Europe can rapidly increase and can thus – with appropriate vision-building from progressive intellectuals – lead to a civilized transition towards a second European Renaissance