


A banking raid in Europe kicks up an unseemly nationalist defence
Der Italian banking job goes down badly in Germany
Move from one European Union country to another and most of your stuff will continue to work quite well. A car bought in Poland will still be considered roadworthy in Portugal, thanks to a single set of regulations (though new plates and insurance will in time be needed). Much the same appliances are sold in Sweden as in Greece, given standardised plugs and voltages. With a little fiddling, a Spotify subscription can be made to work too. But using a bank account opened in one EU country while living in another is surprisingly troublesome, even if both use the euro. In theory Europeans, like their American cousins, live in one large single market, free to contract services from business based anywhere in the bloc. In practice payment systems sometimes accept only cards issued by local banks—and good luck getting your Finnish bank to fund a Spanish mortgage. Finance is where the European ideal of a seamless union often falls shortest.
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This article appeared in the Europe section of the print edition under the headline “Der Italian job”

Turkey wants the EU to regulate the döner kebab
Germans’ version would not qualify, and they are steaming

Austria’s xenophobic right edges towards victory
The Freedom Party is favoured to win the election on September 29th

Turkey and Central Asia are riding together again
The Organisation of Turkic States is a counterweight to Russia
American long-range missiles are coming back to Europe
The German deployment is part of a resurgence of deep-strike weapons
France’s new coalition yanks the country a step to the right
Can the prime minister, Michel Barnier, bring stability?
Germany’s Social Democrats narrowly escape disaster in Brandenburg
The SPD just edges the far-right AfD in a regional election