Michel Aglietta is an emeritus professor at the University of Paris X-Nanterre and a scientific adviser at the French Centre for Prospective Studies and International Information (CEPII) and Groupama-AM. He is the author of numerous works, many of them published by Editions Odile Jacob.
Thomas Brand is project officer in the Economics and Financial Department of the French Centre for Strategic Analyses. A graduate of the Ecole Normale Supérieure of Cachan, he is currently completing a thesis on European budgetary policies.

This book poses a burning question: is European construction still a common goal, shared by all the E.U. states and legitimised by their citizens?
Michel Aglietta and Thomas Brand propose a three-pronged reply. First, they examine the present crisis and offer a diagnosis that is both precise (they show that the euro remains a foreign currency, for cultural and institutional reasons) and original (they argue that public debt is not the cause of the European crisis). Secondly, they denounce a series of errors, committed since 2010, from austerity measures that pit citizens against one another to timorous efforts to strengthen bank balance sheets. Finally, they propose solutions closely linking reforms in European governance with a solid project for economic growth.
A firm conviction underlies this book: the euro’s sovereignty may depend on European federalism but without a new social and economic contract Europe’s citizens will remain suspicious of all forms of federalism. Redefining the Central European Bank’s mandate and setting up a banking union are both highly necessary but also completely insufficient measures. Europe must share its industrial policies and set up common regional projects. Only then will a real European Union come into existence.

• A book that denounces many received opinions: about the causes of the European crisis, about budgetary policies, competitiveness.
• A reflection that allies detailed analyses with an unusually all-embracing viewpoint.