Europe’s Silent Majority Speaks Out

• Project Syndicate
• June 7, 2019

What voters said in last month’s European Parliament election is that they want to preserve the values on which the European Union was founded. But can Europe’s leaders carry out the radical institutional reforms that voters also want? Last month’s elections to the European Parliament produced better results than one could have expected, and for a simple reason: the silent pro-European majority has spoken.

Remarks delivered after receiving the Courage Award at the 16th Annual Ridenhour Prizes event

• Washington, D.C.
• April 15, 2019

Thank you for the generous introduction. It gives me great pleasure to accept this prize. I feel very honored to join the distinguished ranks of past recipients. What is most gratifying to me today is your timing. You make this award at a time when the values of the Open Society are under attack around the world, including the United States.

Remarks delivered at Hispanic Federation

• New York, New York
• April 11, 2019

Good evening, Ladies and Gentlemen. It is a great pleasure to accept this award. I feel honored to be recognized by the Hispanic Federation. But this award really belongs to the Open Society Foundations. The Federation and my foundation have a lot in common and share the same concerns.

Europe, Please Wake Up

• Project Syndicate
• February 11, 2019

Europe is sleepwalking into oblivion, and the people of Europe need to wake up before it is too late. If they don’t, the European Union will go the way of the Soviet Union in 1991. Neither our leaders nor ordinary citizens seem to understand that we are experiencing a revolutionary moment, that the range of possibilities is very broad, and that the eventual outcome is thus highly uncertain.

Remarks delivered at the World Economic Forum

• Davos, Switzerland
• January 24, 2019

Good evening and thank you all for coming. I want to use my time tonight to warn the world about an unprecedented danger that’s threatening the very survival of open societies. Last year when I stood before you I spent most of my time analyzing the nefarious role of the IT monopolies.

A Better Bailout Was Possible

• Project Syndicate
• September 18, 2018

By: Rob Johnson and George Soros Back in 2008, a critical opportunity was missed when the burden of post-crisis adjustment was tilted heavily in favor of creditors relative to debtors. The result was not only prolonged stagnation, but also the Republican Party’s embrace of demagogic populism and the election of Donald Trump.

If the EU Punishes Italy, it Will Reap the Whirlwind

• The Guardian
• June 5, 2018

European leaders must resist the temptation to make Italians pay for the sins of their government. It is smarter to offer help. After the crisis of the past three months, Italy now has a government based on an uneasy coalition between the Five Star Movement and the League.

Remarks delivered at the Trento Festival of Economics

• Trento, Italy
• June 3, 2018

Last week all that could be said about Italy was that it was facing new elections in the midst of a political crisis. Now, instead of elections it has a government based on an uneasy coalition between Luigi Di Maio of Movimento 5 Stelle and Matteo Salvini of Lega Nord.

Remarks delivered at the European Council on Foreign Relations

• Paris, France
• May 29, 2018

It is good to be here. Thank you. I think this is the right place to discuss how to save Europe. The European Union is in an existential crisis. Everything that could go wrong has gone wrong. First I will briefly explain how this happened and then I will explore what can be done to reverse the trend.

I Won’t Butt Out

• February 10, 2018

I am, it seems, a ‘foreign plutocrat’. The considerable sum of money I’ve donated to the Remain side of the Brexit debate is ‘tainted’ and should be handed back immediately. I should ‘butt out’ of British politics. All of this grew out of a dinner party I hosted just a few days ago.