Latest posts
The euro crisis
Site’s still screwed (some kind of issue in the database, by the look of things – a legacy of this place having been around too long), but thought I’d try and cobble something together, what with 2011 – with just … Conti...
Site’s screwed, bear with me
The dangers of having a blog approaching its 9th birthday – there’s lots of stuff going on in the back end, and things seem to have broken with the latest WordPress upgrade. Hence reversion to a more simple theme than … Continue rea...
The constitutional position of referendums in the UK
Ahead of today’s Commons vote on a possible EU referendum, some basic points that many are overlooking (originally posted as a comment over at Jon Worth’s place): Referenda have a decidedly unclear position within the UK constitution. The...
Not dead, honest – or, why the eurozone crisis demonstrates that the nation state is no longer politically/economically viable
Just insanely busy in the real world. For ongoing EU / eurozone crisis comment (etc.) from me, your best bet is to follow me on Twitter. That said, this post’s original, short title (“Not dead, honest”) could refer to the … Co...
Polish PM Donald Tusk: New EU visionary?
The way the (pro-EU) Guardian portrays it, he might well be with his speech as Poland took over the rotating EU presidency* yesterday: Assuming the rotating presidency of the EU for the first time, Donald Tusk rounded on the leaders … Continue...
The euro crisis: What next?
Random thoughts – because, let’s face it, no one knows what’s going to happen and most economic predictions over the last few years have proven utterly mistaken. To note: I’ve always been euro-sceptic. Yes, that was deliberate...
Why Britain leaving the EU for the EEA or EFTA will not solve any of the anti-EU crowd’s complaints
“Let’s leave the EU and join the EEA or EFTA – Norway and Switzerland are doing fine without EU membership!” It’s a perennial argument of a surprisingly large number of anti-EU types, and I’ve been meaning to do a...
The People’s Pledge campaign: More lies, irrelevancies and distortions from the British EU referendum campaign
Alerted by a rather simplistic, often factually inaccurate article over on Liberal Conspiracy, I’ve ended up checking out the new British campaign for a referendum on continued British membership of the EU, The People’s Pledge. More to th...
Europe Day apology and analysis
Forgive me, father, for I have sinned – it has been pretty much three months since my last post. This is the longest I’ve gone without updating this place since mid-2004. Why? Mostly the real world – I’ve just got … Cont...
UK-EU trade, services and regulatory costs
Just found an interesting response to my UK-EU trade post from a couple of months back, from what is a new blog to me, Brittopic. It’s worth reading in full to see a few objections and some issues raised – … Continue reading →...
European Parliament Prize for Journalism 2011
I won it last year – there’s no reason why (if you have a blog on EU affairs) you couldn’t win it this year. From the press release: The European Parliament Prize for Journalism will be awarded for the fourth … Continue readin...
The European Union and British Sovereignty
Following this week's first reading of the European Union Bill, designed to protect British sovereignty, a look at just what this means in the context of the British constitution...
The EU in the UK media: Event videos
Sorry – no time to write up yet, so beneath the fold are the videos of the event I spoke at earlier this month, looking at how the EU is portrayed in the British media and blogs. The first panel (on which I sat) looked at the EU in the media, a...
Nosemonkey speaks: The EU in the UK media (and blogs)
As long-time readers will know, one of this blog’s lasting obsessions is the portrayal of the EU in the British media. Hell, the rampant bias and distortions (from both the pro- and the anti- camps) were pretty much what got me interested in th...
UK trade, the EU, and the Rotterdam Effect
As many of you know, I spend far too much of my (increasingly limited) spare time arguing with eurosceptics on the internet. Some are professional eurosceptics (recent discussions have included ones with Declan Ganley, founder of anti-Lisbon Treaty p...
France, the Roma, and the Divine Right of States
In the 17th century, Britain fought a civil war over the principle that no one – not even the King – should be above the law. This conflict resulted in the destruction of the concept of divine right in Britain and the gradual emergence of...
France, the Roma, and the Divine Right of States
In the 17th century, Britain fought a civil war over the principle that no one – not even the King – should be above the law. This conflict resulted in the destruction of the concept of divine right in Britain and the gradual emergence of...
We are experiencing technical difficulties
I’m currently being migrated to a new server / hosting company, and upgrading to the latest version of WordPress at the same time – it appears that this is causing a few issues along the way. Apparently the RSS feed has gone weird, a few...
