Goodbye to cardigan and slippers Europe

9 May 1950 – 9 May 2010, "Papa's Europe" lasted exactly 60 years. From the Schuman declaration to the latest "stability package" approved by the 27 member states to protect the euro from speculative attacks, the European project has notched up some successes but can make no further progress in its current form, argues Courrier International. The French weekly enumerates critically important elements which "are wholly lacking in today's EU:" these include "comprehensible institutions, leadership, a minimum of democratic process, and a clear vision of Europe's vital interests." According to the newspapers quoted by Courrier, the euro, which "should be the driving force behind European integration," is "an unmitigated failure." The euro crisis prompted by the prospect of Greek sovereign debt default has highlighted many contradictions without clarifying a viable definition of what the "new Europe" should be.