Coppola Comment

In the latest of his excellent reports for the BBC on the refugee crisis in Europe, Feargal Keene focuses on the plight of children. A baby, only a month old, makes the hazardous crossing from Turkey to the Greek island of Lesbos. Little children, freezing cold and wet through, climb the muddy path up from the beach. Volunteers from many nations provide food, blankets and medical care for these tiny lives. But Lesbos is only the start of their journey, And in Europe, it is winter . Across the continent, refugees - including many children and babies - huddle round camp fires at the borders, waiting to be admitted. But the signs are up everywhere. "No room....." At this time of year, Christians sing carols about a baby born in a stable, because there was no room in the inn. A baby born to a migrant mother, in freezing conditions in the middle of winter. "Behold a silly tender babe, in freezing winter night, in homely manger trembling lies. Alas, a piteous sight...

I am temporarily departing from my usual finance & economics slant to write about something that I consider utterly shameful: the response of European countries, including my own, to the refugee crisis on their borders. This photo was taken on the Macedonian border today: : Herbert Mayrhofr tweeted this with a comment, "This is not the Europe that I want to live in". I wholeheartedly agree. What kind of society is it that will threaten toddlers with police batons? Many argue that Europe cannot afford to accommodate the number of "migrants" currently streaming in. But the countries of the EU are by-and-large rich countries. They can always find resources for the things that are politically important. My own country found the resources to fight wars in Libya and Afghanistan - but apparently is now so poor that it must repel with razor wire and tear gas the refugees from the war zones it has created. What appallingly skewed priorities. Others say that ...

Photo credit: Getty Images At Pieria, I reflect on the centenary of the outbreak of war in 1914. It is not enough to remember World War I. We must learn from it. On Monday August 4th 2014, the British people remembered the words of  Edward Grey : “ The lamps are going out all over Europe; we shall not see them lit again in our lifetime.” And at 11 pm, the time at which World War I started on this day a century ago, they turned out all but one of their lights..... Read on here . 

Scott Sumner has been reading Piketty . And in the first of (apparently) several posts he picks Piketty apart, starting with this passage: "In my view, there is absolutely no doubt that the increase of inequality in United States contributed to the nation’s financial instability. The reason is simple: one consequence of increasing inequality was virtual stagnation of the purchasing power of the lower and middle classes in the United States, which inevitably made it more likely that modest households would take on debt, especially since unscrupulous banks and financial intermediaries, freed from regulation and eager to earn good yields on the enormous savings injected into the system by the well-to-do, offered credit on increasingly generous terms." "Where does one begin?" cries Sumner. And he then proceeds to give five reasons why this particular passage is wrong: "1.  In my view there is plenty of doubt as to whether inequality contributed to the crisis...

Europe is like a Russian doll. Really. But that doesn't mean Russia is part of Europe. And what about its former satellites? The Baltics are part of the European Union, so they are now firmly "in Europe" - but the future of Ukraine is not so clear. Here is my attempt to explain how Europe, the European Union and the Euro differ from each other but are all related to each other. And all are subject to change. Related reading (suggested by Twitter followers): The Tragedy of Central Europe - Kundera  Does Central Europe exist? - Timothy Garton Ash The puzzle of Central Europe - Timothy Garton Ash At stake in Ukaine's drama is the future of Putin, Russia and Europe - Timothy Garton Ash (Guardian) Centre of Europe is possibly Lithuania - Wikipedia Europe: A History - Norman Davies (book) Europe Europe - Enzensberger (book) Also Patrick Leigh Fermoy's books.