Whisky’s great. The Highlands, when it’s sunny, are great. Castles are great. Getting up at 6am and not going to bed until past midnight for several days in a row (and having to maintain the public face of the company … Continue reading →

For some people, the General Election went all Return of the King, as the damn thing just refused to end despite all known dictates of good taste and common decency. For some reason though, Nosemonkey gave up his live-blogging in … Continue reading →

I’m off to Scotland. It’s always cold there, so should be much better. I’m going to spend the next few days touring whisky distilleries, getting pissed and staying in castles. My job occasionally has its perks… See you Monday.

Tony Blair: “Ich bin leidenschaftlicher Europ�er” Pffft… German always sounds rude. Tony’s a leidenschaftlicher… heh! And it remains nearly as amusing when you find out that translates as “passionate” (according to Babelfish, at any rate – my German’s terrible…) If … Continue reading →

German Chancellor Gerhard Schr�der’s on a bit of a rant: “There is a special European social model to protect that has developed on the continent… Those who want to destroy this model due to national egotism or populist motives do … Continue reading →

EU Rota – EU Agriculture: Modern and Dynamic – Blair’s figures over the CAP have been challenged, now so have Chirac’s assertions (with the aid of graphs and everything).

International Herald Tribune – The wages of fundamentalism – Western Europe has overtaken the US in scientific research and how this shows Turkey shouldn’t join the EU. Erm… Okaaaay…

The BBC – European press review. Some interesting stuff today, including: “Austria’s Die Presse accuses British Prime Minister Tony Blair of misleading the public in his attack on EU agricultural spending… “According to the paper, if all public expenditure in … Continue reading →

The BBC – Blair says EU rebate ‘has to go’: Mr Blair said: “We have made it clear all the way through that we are prepared not just to discuss and negotiate upon, but to recognise that the rebate is … Continue reading →

Third Avenue has a post at the Sharpener on defining anti-Americanism. Interesting stuff, with some points well-made. TA’s main contention is that “anti-Americanism” is actually “anti-Bushism”, but that many of Bush’s critics have a tendency to refer to “America” rather … Continue reading →

European Democracy – Idea crisis or leadership crisis?: “the French and Dutch votes were directed against this EU, not against the EU”

Le Figaro – La diplomatie europ�enne sous tutelle anglo-saxonne: (approx. translated highlights) “the limit of Europe’s credibility in the world has been reached… the sordid battle on the budget between Jacques Chirac and Tony Blair… tarnishes the image of the … Continue reading →

The Times – Blair plans to scupper Chirac: “Under the British plan the Government would agree to scale back its �3 billion-a-year rebate in return for a fundamental review of EU spending in 2008, leading two years later to substantial … Continue reading →

EU Trade Commissioner and former dodgy UK minister Peter Mandelson has a comment piece in today’s Guardian following the budget summit last week. Sensible point: “This spells more than an unseemly squabble over money. It goes to the heart of … Continue reading →