In the current debate on the reasons and implications of the Greek and Irish euro crisis, the intra-European current account imbalances have gained rising attention. Whereas Greece and Ireland struggle for austerity in private and public spending, Germany is urged to reduce its current account...

For hundreds of years, European states have waged war with one another. Only since the XIX century, more than 40 wars (including 3 global wars) have devastated the continent and decimated its population. The European Union has provided the longest period of peace and prosperity that the citizens...