Europe needs to reconcile its two faces

EU institutions resemble a Janus head with two faces looking in opposite directions - one calls for more budgetary discipline and austerity, the other warns of the dramatic social consequences and risks of a deep recession of just such austerity. The two faces must urgently be reconciled.

A simple comparison of conclusions by different ministerial meetings makes this very clear. While finance ministers call for tougher fiscal consolidation by cutting unemployment benefits, empl...