The numbers are uncompromising.

The topics of strengthening the transatlantic partnership and advancing economic freedom were brought to the forefront, when we gathered in Brussels at a dinner event of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation in December 2014.

The current president, the former president, and the entire political class must learn to recognize what every Frenchman well knows: Not to act when one faces a crisis, is to condemn oneself.

The events of the last several months have revealed fundamental failures of the state: no effective military, no effective police or security forces, no effective governance structure, no effective macroeconomic management.

Ukraine is beset by troubles. The Russian annexation of Crimea is the dramatic headline, but the economic struggles the country and Ukrainian workers face may prove just as dire.