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Blog Team

April 25th, 2014

Brussels blog round up 19 – 25 April: Portuguese debt, ‘techno-pessimism’, and is there a way back from violence in eastern Ukraine?

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Estimated reading time: 5 minutes

Blog Team

April 25th, 2014

Brussels blog round up 19 – 25 April: Portuguese debt, ‘techno-pessimism’, and is there a way back from violence in eastern Ukraine?

0 comments

Estimated reading time: 5 minutes

The EUROPP team take a look at the week in Brussels blogging

Across Europe

Will Hutton at Policy Network writes on the impact of new technologies on economics. He argues that whereas so called ‘techno pessimists’ might see a threat from new technology, such as the loss of jobs through greater use of robots and automation, technological changes also create opportunities for centre-left political movements.

Portuguese Prime Minister Pedro Passos Coelho, Credit: European People's Party (CC-BY-SA-3.0)
Portuguese Prime Minister Pedro Passos Coelho, Credit: European People’s Party (CC-BY-SA-3.0)

Suvi Turtiainen at the European Council on Foreign Relations assesses Sweden and Finland’s foreign policy in light of the situation in Ukraine. She notes that despite the crisis both Finland and Sweden remain reluctant to move toward NATO membership.

Elsewhere, Open Europe discuss Portugal’s return to the bond markets, noting that much like the experience in Greece, demand was fairly strong. They also write that the European Central Bank provided Portugal with an extra helping hand by virtue of a change in its collateral rules last month.

The EU centre

Charlemagne’s notebook takes a look at the issue of corruption in EU spending. The article argues that the EU should be more transparent about revealing instances of corruption where they occur, even if it provides ammunition for Eurosceptic parties.

Meanwhile Thomas Fillis at European Public Affairs pays tribute to Daniel Cohn-Bendit, who has been one of the most prominent members of the Greens in the European Parliament, but is stepping down from frontline politics.

The European neighbourhood

With the situation in eastern Ukraine deteriorating, Rasmus Nilsson at the UCL SSEES Research Blog asks whether there is a way back to stability and peace.

Elsewhere, Judy Dempsey at the Strategic Europe blog writes on Germany’s ‘strategic blindness’ when it comes to Russia. She argues that German politicians have been guilty of overlooking the threat that Russian influence poses to Europe’s post-war political order.

Away from Ukraine, Maja Davidovic at the e-international relations blog assesses how ‘international’ forms of international criminal justice really are. The article argues that truly international justice is incompatible with US ‘exceptionalism’.

And finally…

Andrew Smith at the Manchester Policy Blogs writes on the cultural relevance of the statues of historical figures which decorate British streets and parks.

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Note:  This article gives the views of the author, and not the position of EUROPP – European Politics and Policy, nor of the London School of Economics.

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