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Europe, in thou we put our faith

From The Atlantic, has Europe reached its Articles of Confederation moment? From NPR, Heather Rogers on why Germany needs a strong Europe. Europe, in thou we put our faith: Germany has benefitted from decades of European integration — now we are tasked with the defense of the EU. What advice might Chairman Mao and Lee Kuan Yew give Mario Monti? The opacity of consensus: Stephanie Novak on decision-making at the Council of the EU. How Brussels stifles democracy in Europe: The euro would never have got off the ground if it had been put to national referendums, nor would the bailouts or austerity plans. Has the euro crisis killed off social democracy for good? Across Europe, we used to say "never again" to the threat of war — today, we say "never again" to the danger of debt. The euro crisis summit has caused a deep split in the European Union — Britain has been sidelined, and other member states feel steamrolled by Germany and France; the future of the common currency is as uncertain as ever. Roya Wolverson on why Britain and the EU still need each other. L'etat c'est toi: Jean Monnet was not only a visionary, he was also a realist — achieving a true integration would take many sacrifices and quite a bit of courage. Stephen Kinsella on what the EU should learn from Ireland's austerity fiasco. If we diverge from the path of integration, there is only one outcome: the marginalization of Europe as an infighting and inward-looking region. From the United States to a Federation of Europe: Why unification works. From BIG Map blog, here is a map of Europe: John Bull and His Friends (1900). The New Europe in 2021: Niall Ferguson peers into Europe's future and sees Greek gardeners, German sunbathers and a new fiscal union — welcome to the other United States.