Introduction: Time for a New Debate on Europe

This short editorial note introduces the current issue of the Review with the aim of opening a debate on Europe after the Brexit. Even if many saw the euro as a step towards political integration, there is now confusion and uncertainty over the final aims and objectives of the EU. Increasing popular hostility against the EU makes the current set-up one with which we will have to live for a while, before Treaty changes will be possible again. Alas, the current set-up is a union made up of sovereign countries competing under common uniform rules, rather than cooperating under flexible arrangements. The debate on Europe must proceed in parallel with discussion on the other regions of the world, both for the impact that the latter have on the EU, and for the global consequences of the dire predicament of Europe, which is the largest economic area in the world. In the coming issues, the Review will continue to contribute to the global discussion on all areas of the world; as much as Eurobonds have been expunged from the dictionary, “decoupling” can hardly remain in it.