Francesco Capriglione 
Politics and Finance in the European Union 
The Reasons for a Difficult Encounter

The recent financial and sovereign debt crisis, while turning the spotlight into the degenerating effects of modern-day capitalism, has engendered a series of hard-to-control events that are severely testing the stability of the European institutions. The adjustments, to date, have proved unable to adequately tackle the financial turmoil that is undermining the construction of the EU. Hence the need to identify the reasons behind this situation, which is accompanied by the failure to achieve an osmosis between the member countries of the Union. The objective to be pursued is clarifying the uncertainties and contradictions within Europe, for the purpose of addressing what many see as a “systemic crisis”.