Another economic crisis could hit us. We would not be prepared. It could go something like the film The Road. There could be unimaginably cruel circumstances, come the next bust.

Ireland has finally secured a foothold at the summit of European central banking following the appointment of Central Bank governor Philip Lane to the six member executive board of the ECB, as chief economist.

The post-Second World War generations let the good times roll too long, and John Lloyd asks if younger people will be forgiving if a myriad of threats aren’t taken seriously.

Europeans must find solutions to shared problems, with Germany and France leading the way as they did in the past, says Guy Verhofstadt.

Germany has the confidence and capacity to lead Europe, but, ahead of Angela Merkel’s expected re-election, that doesn’t mean its partners have to like it, writes John Lloyd.    

The UK has strongly dismissed the the idea of a customs border in the Irish Sea, writes Elaine Loughlin and Daniel McConnell.

The UK has strongly dismissed the the idea of a customs border in the Irish Sea.

A six-year push to impose a tax on financial transactions in the EU may have run its course, with Germany and France hesitating as they prepare for Brexit and a redrawing of the financial map.

French president’s idea is to move beyond idle optimism by gaining German consent to turn the eurozone into a state-like entity — a federation-lite, writes Yanis Varoufakis.

The EU looks to be leaving the door open for a deal that could avoid some of the major downsides of a ‘hard’ Brexit, writes Oliver Mangan

Mario Draghi called on Germany to be calm as the ECB keeps pumping stimulus into the eurozone, saying rising inflation will eventually bring higher interest rates for savers.

Plans are still up in the air on immigration controls, access to the single market, as well as passporting rights for financial services, writes Daniel Gros

In the wake of non-enforcement of fines for failing to hit fiscal deficit targets Daniel Gros discovers that EU member states prioritise domestic political imperatives over common rules

They may yet transpire to be the cause of the intermittent financial bubbles that have shaken the global economy since 2008, as they were in the late 1920s, says Eddie Hobbs

Whatever the outcome of the EU referendum financial expert Eddie Hobbs believes it will leave a deep divide with serious implications for Ireland.

Have you ever noticed that when politicians or economists want the Central Bank to become involved in the housing/mortgage market they call on them to “intervene” but when they don’t want the bank to become involved they warn them not to “interfere”!

Rather than scraping together insufficient funds year after year to deal with the refugee crisis, it is time to engage in ‘surge funding’, writes George Soros    

Despite a slowing Chinese economy, decelerating inflation, and a stronger euro, ECB president Mario Draghi has said he will do more to support eurozone growth only “if necessary”. 

Many of Germany’s top figures have a history with the car industry, including the chancellor, Angela Merkel, and regulations have been lax as a result, writes Noah Barkin.

Europe will be able to handle future economic crises without the help of the International Monetary Fund, the head of the eurozone’s bailout fund told German magazine Der Spiegel yesterday.

China’s central bank cut interest rates and lowered the amount of reserves banks must hold for the second time in two months yesterday, ratcheting up support for a stuttering economy and a plunging stock market that has sent shockwaves around the globe.

Grexit no longer represents the potential catastrophe that it once did. After all, the main short-term cost has already materialised, writes Daniel Gros.

The Greeks, credited with creating western civilisation, may have saved it in a near cataclysmic moment for Europe, more profound than the aftermath of 9/11.

Greece’s bailout deal is in line with previous bailouts, only worse. It will lead to further deterioration of the Greek economy and debt, writes Pat Cradock

German politicians have overwhelmingly backed a new bailout plan for Greece after chancellor Angela Merkel argued that the cash-strapped country would face chaos without a deal.

One of the IMF’s former European chiefs has claimed Germany should leave the eurozone after breaking the political taboo of suggesting a member state could exit the common currency.

Greek prime minister Alexis Tsipras is fighting for his political life, having agreed to a bailout that analysts predict will drive the country into two years of recession.

While 80% want to stay in the EU, many also profess to be socialist. A balance of free-market ideals and privatisation, tempered by debt relief, is the best compromise, says Paul Glader

A harsher austerity programme than any that has gone before for Greece will be studied by troika officials today before going to eurozone ministers tomorrow.

Angela Merkel can and should offer Greece a fresh start because it is the right thing to do and accords with Germany’s experience and history, writes Jeffrey Sachs.

Jubilant Greeks celebrated their democracy last night as they voted overwhelmingly against the austerity of the past five years but insisted that it is a vote for Europe.

In the wake of the Greek referendum Kostas Karkagiannis, the foreign business editor of Kathimerini newspaper, looks at how Greece was treated by the eurozone and Tsipras

“If you break it, you own it,” former US Secretary of State Colin Powell warned President George W Bush before his invasion of Iraq.

JUST as the details of our ECB bail out — or as it was so very delicately termed, “a facility” — were until recently almost as remote as the details of the third secret of Fatima, the minutae of what is being offered to the people Greece, or what is being rejected by their government, are not entirely clear.

The Greek government returned to many of the original austerity measures to save money including cutting pensions, privatising airports and ports as well as new laws to tackle tax evasion and fraud.

Greece’s international creditors yesterday signalled that they were ready to compromise to avert a default even as Athens warned it might skip an IMF loan repayment due tomorrow.

German finance minister Wolfgang Schauble said yesterday the Greek government’s optimism about clinching a cash-for-reforms deal with its lenders within days was not backed up by negotiations and he could not rule out Greece becoming insolvent.

British prime minister David Cameron said restricting EU migrant access to Britain’s welfare system was a red line in his negotiations with the bloc, ahead of an EU summit he wants to use to launch informal talks on the issue.

Greece repaid €750m to the IMF a day early, just as eurozone finance ministers sounded upbeat on negotiations to complete changes to the country’s bailout programme.

Frustrated finance ministers for the first time broke the taboo of talking about a “Plan B” for Greece at a fraught meeting in Riga.

Greek prime minister Alexis Tsipras yesterday said he was “firmly optimistic” his government would reach a deal with foreign creditors by the end of April despite friction over issues such as pension and labour reform.

Finance Minister Michael Noonan could have an extra €1.5bn to spend in this year’s budget, but he may have to overcome objections from the ECB and Germany first.

Russian Tu-95 bombers with a nuclear weapons payload flying along the Irish coastline should be a wake-up call that “neutral” Ireland is seen by Russia as a de facto member of Nato. EU leaders attend Nato meetings and, by EU membership, Ireland is no longer seen as a neutral country. 

Greece has been cast as Europe’s bad boy, with other states happy to deliver a kicking, but in fact it fulfilled many of its troika commitments, writes Europe Correspondent Ann Cahill