Erstellt am: 28. 6. 2012 - 14:43 Uhr

The Euro crisis could threaten democracy

Reality Check: EU summit, new directive on the music market, Supreme Court rules on Obamacare, Barclays Bank fined for rate fixing, anthropology of football.

Eurobonds, Fiscal Pact, European Stability Mechanism, solidarity, national sovereignty, democracy, bond yields, banking crisis, stimulus, unemployment, summit, treaty, growth, ratification, referendum, debt-sharing … the vocabulary of the Eurozone crisis permeates our news bulletins on a daily basis. The EU summit on Thursday and Friday in Brussels is the 20th in two and half years, yet another gathering of EU heads of state and government in the on-going saga.

The tone in news reporting is pessimistic: “EU summit hopes dim” writes the Reuters news agency; “Real Fix or Just a Lot of Talk?” headlines the Wall Street Journal; Bloomberg says “European Leaders Seek to Overcome Divisions” to mention just a few examples. The implication is that, because it is a summit, we should expect solutions and decisions. But is such an expectation misplaced? Johannes Pollak, head of the department of political science at the Institute for Advanced Studies, and Professor of Political Science at Webster University Vienna, says “there is not one single ‘big bang’ solution”. The European Union doesn’t work like that, the "muddling through" that we are often critical of is the just the way things work.

There are some concrete proposals on the table in Brussels today and tomorrow, like a plan to stimulate growth, which is worth 130 billion euros. The much-debated Eurobonds are very present in news coverage, especially in the wake of German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s “not in my lifetime” comment. But as well as the short term issues, there will also be debate on the more long-term approach, after the unveiling this week of a plan for greater fiscal and political integration. Entitled “Towards a Genuine Economic and Monetary Union”, it was prepared by European Council President Van Rompuy, together with European Commission President José Manuel Barroso in collaboration with Eurogroup President Jean-Claude Juncker and European Central Bank President Mario Draghi.

I spoke to Johannes Pollak of the Institute for Advances Studies and asked him whether the focus at the summit would more on the short term measures or the long term plan:

Opening the music market

Erich Moechel looks at a new EU directive which will open up music markets and allow new ways for people to access music online. Read his full article on the directive here.

Obama's healthcare law

The US Supreme Court will rule today on whether President Obama's healthcare law is constitutional. Priscilla Huff explains the issues and the feeling on the streets.

Banks' "systematic dishonesty"

Major banks around the world are being investigated for manipulation of interest rates, allowing banks to borrow at very low rates from each other, while still charging top rates to customers.

One of Britain's major high street banks, Barclays, has already been fined Euro 360 million for what its former boss, Martin Taylor, calls "systematic dishonesty", and dozens of other banks are under investigation.

Economist, Anne Pettifor, explains the accusations and the issues at stake.

The Anthropology of Football

As Euro 2012 draws to a close, we look at a project that is using the tournament to research why football has a social role that stretches way beyond the stadium. Alexandra Schwell tells Gennie Johnson about the "Free" project.

FM4 Reality Check

Monday to Friday from 12.00 to 14.00, and after the show via Podcast or fm4.orf.at/realitycheck.