The Unfinished History of European Integration: Second, Revised Edition (English Edition)

When the Treaty of Lisbon went into effect in December 2009, the event seemed to mark the beginning of a longer phase of institutional consolidation for the EU. Since 2010, however, the EU has faced multiple crises, which have rocked its foundations and deeply challenged the narrative of 'the end of the history of integration'. The military crisis in eastern Ukraine and the refugee crisis call for a joint approach, but in practice reveal the difficulty of maintaining even the appearance of European solidarity and political unanimity. The financial and socio-economic crisis in southern Europe and Brexit present the EU with the latest set of challenges. If seventy years of European integration have taught us anything, it is that fundamental crises as well as moments of rapid institutional change form integral parts of its history. 'The Unfinished History of European Integration' presents the reader with historical and theoretical knowledge on which well-founded judgements can be based. …

A system reset seems imminent. The world's financial system will need to find a new anchor before the year 2020. Since the beginning of the credit crisis, the US realized the dollar will lose its role as the world's reserve currency, and has been planning for a monetary reset. According to Willem Middelkoop, this reset will be designed to keep the US in the driver's seat, allowing the new monetary system to include significant roles for other currencies such as the euro and China's renminbi. Prepare for the coming Reset In all likelihood gold will be re-introduced as one of the pillars of this next phase in the global financial system. The prediction is that gold could be revalued at $ 7,000 per troy ounce. By looking past the American 'smokescreen' surrounding gold and the dollar long ago, China and Russia have been accumulating massive amounts of gold reserves, positioning themselves for a more prominent role in the future to come. The reset will come as a shock to many. 'The Big Res…