100 posts
Business backs Cameron's call for a mandate on Europe
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A letter in today's Times from some leading UK business people supporting Cameron's approach:EU reforms must come before any membership referendumBusiness faces ever more burdens from Brussels and the single market in Europe has not yet been fully re...
"David Cameron’s Argument will relegate the EU-UK Relationship to the Periphery" by Julian Priestley
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Julian Priestley takes an in-depth look at David Cameron’s speech on the UK’s relationship with Europe. He finds that that it fell into familiar Eurosceptic fallacies about the EU, ignored linkages between regulation and the internal...
David Cameron’s EU Speech
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Prime Minister David Cameron today promised to hold a referendum on the UK’s position in the EU, if he is re-elected in the 2015 general elections. His much-awaited speech on Europe started off by paying homage to veterans of World Wa...
From outside, it's clear why Britain has to stay in Europe | Timothy Garton Ash
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Cameron's speech could have been a lot worse, but five years of anxious uncertainty are bad news for Europe and the worldSo now we know: Europe will be roiled by internal turmoil for another five years. While Germany, France and others wrestle to bui...
Cameron's poker face?
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No, Europe hasn't collectively turned against Cameron (which you would think from reading headlines like these - seriously?). Though several politicians from around Europe haven't exactly come out celebrating following Cameron's speech - which doesn'...
EU reform: Cameron and Miliband have a duty to act as statesmen | David Owen
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Treaty amendment should not wait until 2015 – and Labour should co-operate, in the spirit of one-nation politicsIt is a reflection of disarray both within his own party and in the coalition that David Cameron has virtually abdicated from the debate...
"Why do the British don’t like the EU?" by Maja Rasmussen
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Watch Dr Maja Rasmussen of the London School of Economics and Political Science discuss the current feeling in Britain towards the EU and possibilities for the future if Britain decides to change its relationship with the EU.
‘For 40 years Britain has benefited’ - SW MEP Watson reflects on 40 years of UK membership of EEC/EU
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Today - 1st January 2013 - marks exactly 40 years since the day the United Kingdom joined the European Economic Community, now the European Union. To mark the occasion, long-serving South West Liberal Democrat MEP Sir Graham Watson has reflected on w...
In an EU referendum, what does NO mean?
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If Shaun Woodward in today’s Guardian is to be believed, it seems some sort of plan is emerging in David Cameron’s mind with regard to an EU referendum in the...
Enlightenment pro-EU, versus values based pro-EU – some thoughts about Garton Ash and an in-out referendum
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So Timothy Garton Ash has nailed his colours to the mast in The Guardian, and stated the case for an in-or-out of the EU referendum in the UK to be held sometime between 2015 and 2020. Loads of people are jumping up and down about TGA’s piece &...
“We’re standing up for Britain” or “We’re all in this together” – ways to explain the EU budget
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A tweet by Emma Burnell pointed me towards this blog post by Tracy Hill about UKIP, and the threat they pose to Labour. You can read the whole blog post to look at the stuff about UKIP, but there is one paragraph I will highlight, for it shows the pr...
LEVESON, BLAIR, EU: a tale of media untruths
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Lawrence Brewer Wednesday, 05 December 2012 The Leveson Inquiry report published last week includes a list of how the British Press misleads the public with regard to the EU and other non-existent bans – like...
"Is Britain sliding into an EU Exit?" by John Palmer
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A remarkable political consensus is emerging both within Britain and across much of the European Union that the UK is heading inexorably towards withdrawal from the EU. Opinions differ about the speed of a potential British exit and also about precis...
UK Labour and the EU
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In Britain, Labour is in a curious spot. After it allied with Eurosceptic Tory rebels to defeat the government on a non-binding motion on the EU budget, Labour Leader Ed Miliband tried to outline a sort of pro-European realism (interview with The Tel...
The real value of the EU for Britain is geopolitical
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Britain is reconsidering its relationship with the continent. The country has never felt fully comfortable with its membership in an EU that has been conceived, after World War II, as aRead more…...
Mail article on EU banning books dismissed as 'nonsense'
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The Mail claims the EU is now looking to ban...the Famous Five:James Chapman explains:Books which portray ‘traditional’ images of mothers caring for their children or fathers going out to work could be barred from schools under proposals from Bru...
Norway highlights need for UK engagement with the EU
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By Conor Brennan Speaking at the All Party Parliamentary Group on the EU on Monday 5 November, Professor Fredrik Sejersted, director of European Law at the University of Oslo said that Norway’s relationship with the EU is based on “dynamic homoge...
David Cameron's chance for real reform of the EU budget
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We need a productive restructuring of the EU budget and David Cameron should attempt to negotiate a 'grand bargain' for a smaller growth-focused budget with other leaders - argues Glenn Gottfried...
Can Angela Merkel talk Cameron into being a more flexible ally? | Katinka Barysch
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As the German leader visits Downing St, she has worries about keeping her economically liberal-minded EU partner in the unionThe vexed EU budget is supposed to be the main topic of discussion when Germany's chancellor, Angela Merkel, meets David Came...
Much ado about little: Britain and the EU budget
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As almost all European governments are cutting spending, it is hardly a surprise that the EU’s budget is under fire. The European Commission has rather optimistically proposed a real terms increase of five per cent in total spending over the next b...
Beyond posturing, Germany knows that the UK is needed in the EU
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We have a piece in today's Telegraph, where we argue,Last week, even as British MPs were voting down the Government’s position on the EU budget, I was attending a European discussion of a very different kind. In a conference room in Berlin – at a...
Britain’s EU bill explained without the anti-European hype
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Mark Reckless, Bill Cash, Douglas Carswell and the other feral Tory Eurosceptics are quite simply wrong on the EU budget. At best they have either not bothered to do their homework or quite simply and naively believe the plethora of … Continue...
Nick Clegg wants “engaged and balanced” approach to the EU
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By Conor Brennan The UK will become “isolated and marginalised” if it is “pulled towards the edge” of the European Union stated Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg on Thursday 1 November. Clegg criticised the “proposals doing the rounds” o...
Merkel’s British Firestorm Comes Early
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A huge effigy of Angela Merkel doing a Nazi salute (with the wrong arm) and bursting out of the Acropolis of Athens was burned during a bonfire and fireworks show in England, in an incident that comes 48 hours before U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron...
UK 'cannot afford' Bulgarian and Romanian immigrants
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In 2014 there will be an unprecedented crime wave in Britain if we do not stop Romanian and Bulgarian citizens having open door access to British borders, claims Godfrey Bloom...
Britain battling 'alone' against EU in Council of Ministers
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The UK's frustration with the EU is reflected in the voting records of the Council of Ministers, where David Cameron's government often battles alone against 26 member states. Not since the Margaret Thatcher era, if ever, has Britain been as Euroscep...
Tories go feminist on europe: IDS says ‘we can have it all’
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Peter Wilding Tuesday, 06 November 2012 Pressed by Andrew Marr on whether he believed that Britain would flourish if it did leave the EU, Iain Duncan Smith said: 'My view isn't that we could do necessarily outs...
Clegg’s instincts are right but his bid to assert himself just looks desperate
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Repatriation of powers from the European Union to Britain remains a thorn in David Cameron’s side. The movement for “Europe Light” initially dreamt up, I believe, by William Hague back in the mists of time, is really causing the Prime … C...
What has Europe ever done for us?
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The UK's main political parties begin to scratch their old itches on Europe again - the budget, the rebate, subsidiarity, and the classic debate on whether we should be in or out of the EU. ARead more…...
Nick Clegg fell for a euromyth
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Last week Nick Clegg presented his vision for the UK in Europe. Of course there could have been a bit more ‘vision’ but well… In an attempt to earn some street cred and to appeal to his coalition partner (yes – hard...
Labour must not let Britain drift into a European exit | Jackie Ashley
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After last week's political opportunism, Ed Miliband has to ensure his party counters the nation's growing anti-EU sentimentEurope has become the place where nothing quite happens. David Cameron goes to Brussels demanding a freeze in the EU budget, w...
Making the eurozone fit for the challenges of the 1990s
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British economist Jonathan Portes remembers the UK’s exit from the Exchange Rate Mechanism: We argued that the fundamental problem was that we’d joined the ERM at the wrong rate; sterling was overvalued, meaning that we were stuck with a...
Trains, boats and planes - Britain and the EU
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As I wrote recently, a question raised recently by Alexander Stubb, Finland's Europe minister was that of whether Britain is drifting away from the EU (http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/10/18/us-eu-britain-finland-idUSBRE89H19J20121018).In doi...
To get the best deal on the EU budget we must engage with our natural allies
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Although the Commons vote on the EU budget isn’t binding, the Government is now under pressure to make demands that simply cannot be met. Calling for a real-terms cut in the EU budget would not only be unrealistic, but would … Continue re...
This latest Tory rebellion was not just cynical, it was completely bogus | Andrew Rawnsley
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The result of the unholy alliance between Tory Europhobes and Labour will be to increase the cost of the EUMy congratulations to Mark Reckless – you couldn't make up a more splendid name for a Conservative MP – and the 52 other Tory rebels who te...
The referendum
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Some thoughts on a EU referendum in the UK (scribbled down a couple of weeks ago – the debate is so annoying so I thought I publish them without turning them into a fully thought through article) (1) First of all we should not fool ourselves: P...
“Barmy EU plans for hair salons” as the Sun says? Or hair salons themselves asking for EU legislation?
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Number of View: 84Here we respond point by point to the Sun’s article from 28 October 2012, headlined: “Hairdressers are battling barmy EU plans to outlaw high-heels and jewellery at work” The “plans” were put forward not by the “barmy EU...
German, Austrian and UK media on Britain in EU
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On 1 November British prime minister David Cameron announced that he plans to obey the will of his parliament at the EU budget summit at the end of November and use his power of veto if the result is not in the interests of the UK. While some comment...
Eurosphere roundup: Swiss army prepares for euro unrest (!), “Britain has become an open prison to migrants” and more…
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Swiss army prepares for euro unrest from FP Passport by Joshua Keating Greek Journalist Arrested for Publishing List of Alleged Tax Evaders from Global Voices Online by Asteris Masouras Greece: Public TV Journalists Fired After Criticizing Min...
Nick Clegg’s opposition to renegotiation could risk the UK’s EU membership
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Following Nick Clegg's Europe speech at Chatham House yesterday, we argued on the Spectator's Coffee House blog,Nick Clegg this morning fell into the usual ‘all or nothing’ fallacy on Europe. He said: ‘As soon as we start talking about repatri...
"Labour's shameful EU budget vote" by George Irvin
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The Labour Party was congratulating itself yesterday on having joined with Tory rebels to defeat the Tory-led government by voting to cut the EU budget. In truth, this was sheer opportunism. While the two Eds (Miliband and Balls) may believe that sup...
Labour, you've made your point about the EU – now make the case for it | Polly Toynbee
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In tough times it is only right that the EU budget be trimmed, but the left must never forget the benefits of membershipPolitics is often a rough trade, everyone knows it and the public despises its practitioners for it. It was ever thus, back to anc...
Labour’s approach to EU budget reform is all wrong
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If anyone in the Labour Party should know how the European Union works it’s Peter Hain. A member of the Convention of the Future of Europe in the early 2000s, Hain will have seen how sensible proposals, compellingly argued, can lead to results...
Commons defeat on EU budget
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The House of Commons recently voted against the government on the issue of the EU budget (by 307 votes to 294), demanding that the EU budget for the next 7 years be 'reduced in real terms'.Naturally the eurosceptics have been overjoyed by this news.
Clegg on Europe: the details are complicated, the overall message is clear
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So, Nick Clegg wants the UK to stay part of cross-European anti-crime arrangements and will do so by agreeing to opt out of them all. Plus he isn’t happy with plans to increase the EU’s budget and wants to block them by opposing cuts in the budge...
EU budget: Ed Miliband twisted the knife but the Tory right held the handle | Richard Seymour
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On Europe, Miliband has shown that he can be opportunistic, but that's all he can hope for from his side of the houseIn yesterday's parliamentary debate, Ed Miliband pointedly compared David Cameron to John Major. He knew what he was doing. In a few...
EU budget rebellion: David Cameron is now stuck in a corner | Paul Goodman
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In the process of trying to dampen the revolt, the prime minister merely inflamed it further. It's typical of his European policyDavid Cameron was beaten by his backbenchers on the EU budget even before he lost Wednesday evening's vote. During prime...
Labour’s anti-EU vote
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The Labour Party was congratulating itself yesterday on having joined with Tory rebels to defeat the Tory-led government by voting to cut the EU budget. In truth, this was sheer opportunism. While the two Eds (Miliband and Balls) may believe that sup...
Britain in Europe #6: Should David Cameron veto the EU budget?
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Last night, the British government suffered a “stinging defeat” in the House of Commons after more than 50 Conservative rebel backbenchers joined forces with opposition Labour MPs to demand a real-term reduction in the EU’s budget...
Why David Cameron can threaten to veto the EU budget
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Over on the Spectator's Coffee House blog, we argue,When in 1996 the US Congress threw out Bill Clinton’s Federal budget they precipitated a partial shutdown of the US Government. However, anyone looking at the growing prospect of a UK EU budget...
A shameful night for British politics
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David Seymour Thursday, 01 November 2012 The headlines and speculation which followed last night's Government defeat over its EU budget strategy were predictable and certainly justified over the precarious posi...
Labour and the Commons vote on the EU Budget
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The UK government was defeated in a non-binding vote in the House of Commons yesterday, with rebel Tories being joined by the opposition Labour Party to call for a real terms cut in the EU Budget (307 votes for, 294 votes against). Though David Camer...
The EU Budget: The Truth
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The raging europhobia of the Tory right, now in unholy tandem with Labour after the Opposition’s shamelessly cynical move to vote along with them simply to embarrass the Prime Minister, means that there is a lot of mindless chatter in Britain ...
MPs have remembered their role – that's the real significance of tonight's vote
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'The issue of Europe has come back to haunt the Conservative Party' was how the News at Ten introduced the story of the government's defeat. 'The bastards are back', was Newsnight's retro take on the event. Almost every pundit is determined to cover...
My message to British Eurosceptic parliamentarians: “Those who despise the euro the most have the highest moral duty to help fix it!”
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Last Monday (29th October) evening, I had the opportunity to address a meeting convened by the European-Atlantic Group in the British Parliament. Later on that night, I was also honoured with an opportunity to deliver the after-dinner speech at the C...
‘The Veto’
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A brief one this week, but just a linguistic observation. David Cameron talks about ‘using the veto‘ a lot these days (and it will be said a lot more in the days to come). However, it’s never clear what this ‘veto’ is. T...
European Union: Why Britain should be at the EU table
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Many commentators forget the fragile economic and financial environment in which we currently live, which is often compared to the difficulties faced by European countries during the 1930s. Ever since the collapse of the US housing market in late 200...
David Cameron compared to John Major over Europe
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Today’s PMQs saw Ed Miliband reprise the attack used by Tony Blair on John Major during the dying days of Major’s leadership. In 1997, Tony Blair slammed John Major on his failure to unite the party over Europe and project a consistent message t...
"Reforming the EU and the difficult Role of the UK" by Gerhard Schroeder
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Watch former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder talk about the future of the European Union and the increasing distance between the UK and the Continent. This talk was held at the ‘Europa nach der Krise’ conference organised by the Nico...
Britain's budget battle
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David Gow Wednesday, 31 October 2012 Forty years ago, when Britain joined the then EEC, the CAP accounted for up to 90% of the EU budget and the “highlight” of the year was the farm price marathon in which...
EU Budget Factsheet
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Wednesday, 31 October 2012 Negotiating positionThis is an opportunity to use the proximity of our negotiating position to that of Sweden, Germany and the Netherlands to call for a reform of the EU. To do that we must offer practical solutions in B...
Interview with Richard Whitman
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In the fifth of European Geostrategy’s interview series, James Rogers speaks to Richard Whitman about the Financial Crisis’ impact on European integration, European enlargement, British relations with the rest of the European Union, and demograph...
EU budget: Britain's race to the bottom | Editorial
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The balancing act between domestic and European priorities is often a precarious one, but David Cameron is danger of making a serious blunderTensions between domestic political imperatives and the wider European interest are in the warp and weft of t...
David Cameron's pro-EU charade cannot go on much longer | Simon Jenkins
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The PM talks tough on the European Union but claims to support it. His position is hopeless. A new deal is neededAfter Wednesday's vote in the House of Commons, David Cameron could find himself the last "pro-European" in Britain. He will leave for Br...
Cameron’s EU budget veto is a powerful tool for change
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Over on the Telegraph blog, we argue:Labour has joined the battle over the EU’s next long-term budget. The budget, to run between 2014 and 2020, will be discussed at an EU summit on 22 and 23 November. David Cameron wants a “real terms freeze
EU to UK: budget rebate “no longer warranted”
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Britain's Cameron, left, talks with EU Commission president José Manuel Barroso at May's summit. With last night’s release of new numbers by Cypriot negotiators, the debate over the EU’s seven-year budget is beginning to heat up, with...
Cameron Pressed on EU Budget
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U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron is facing pressure at home to take an even more stingy approach to negotiations over the European Union's next multiyear budget.
German insecurity, UK vacillation, Europe's loss
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David Gow Monday, 29 October 2012 Modern Germany used to feel secure by being anchored in western Europe and Nato. But, in the two decades since the country was unified after the collapse of communism, that cer...
Carswell's damp squid
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David Seymour Monday, 29 October 2012 Not with a bang but a whimper. That was the much-trumpeted attempt by Douglas Carswell to introduce a Private Member's Bill in the Commons to pull the UK out of the Europea...
Signs of the logic of Economic and Monetary Union at last - Part 2
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I'm delighted that there were more than 160 views of this post and thanks for your comments.It's also clearly necessary to consider if the office holder will also have responsibility for budget monitoring and budgetary control ie what would happen if...
Quoted in BBC-article
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A while back I was quoted in a BBC-article: “In a German-language post on blogactiv.eu entitled “Without you then!”, Andreas Sowa says a “less formal link between Britain and the EU seems to be a necessary evil on the way to a...
Cameron to Van Rompuy: No Negotiation on E.U. Budget
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Just days before the House of Commons debated whether Britain should secede from the E.U., Prime Minister David Cameron and his deputy, Nick Clegg, met with Herman Van Rompuy, President (or chair) of the European Council, to discuss Cameron’s threa...
Anti-Federalist Britain: South Carolina on Steroids
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If Douglas Carswell, a member of the House of Commons, had his way, Britain would secede from the E.U. before Prince Charles could say, “hip hip!” Carswell's Private Member's Bill, submitted for debate in late October 2012, would repeal the...
The death of distance?
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Long-time favourite of this blog, Daniel Hannan MEP, likes to argue that globalisation is making membership of the EU unnecessary because distance is ceasing to matter. When it comes to globalisation, the clue is in the name. Why worry about a co...
Peter Mandelson: Government putting UK interests at risk
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Peter Mandelson argued passionately for greater British engagement in Europe at a debate last Thursday on the implications of further Eurozone integration for the UK. He criticised David Cameron for threatening to veto the upcoming EU budget, which h...
Falling on dumb ears...
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There's not an awful lot of point in the UK government conducting 32 reports into aspects of EU membership if its not going to heed the advice it already gets on matters European. Britain's foreign secretary William Hague announced the initiative ye...
On the British EU debate (and on Germany)
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In the Telegraph today, Ambrose Evans-Pritchard writes that: "Britain has left the European Union in all but name". Worth a good read. Here is my take on the subject: 1) Are these self-fulfilling prophecies promoted as fact? But if it happens,...
Kosmolinks #22
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Cameron at the Mercy of European Events Excellent piece by Simon Nixon on David Cameron, the Tories and Europe. The lack of any coherent EU strategy and the focus on short term gains has left David Cameron at the mercy of events – and in the ha...
