January 24, 2014
by Nosemonkey
12 Comments
I mean yes, we know that in this era of coalitions and compromise, manifesto pledges are not what they once were. But it’s often in the details that you can get a proper grasp of what a party truly stands … Continue reading
January 23, 2014
by Nosemonkey
9 Comments
The pictures coming out of Kiev yesterday (decent galley here) gave me – and no doubt plenty of others – a bit of a flashback to November/December 2004’s Orange Revolution. The riots are in protest against the same president and … Continue reading
January 22, 2014
by Nosemonkey
4 Comments
In an EU election year, the current polutics of France is always an important factor in predicting the futre makeup of the European Parliament. Not only is France one of the largest countries, so with one of the largest delegations … Continue reading
January 21, 2014
by Nosemonkey
2 Comments
It’s an important question in a European Parliament election year – especially one where many seem to be planning on punishing the EU for the perceived failures of its leadership and conception during the Eurocrisis (even though, y’know, the European … Continue reading
January 20, 2014
by Nosemonkey
27 Comments
No matter your political persuasion, this is not as easy a decision as you may think. I supposedly know my stuff on this, and I haven’t decided yet. First things first – what are we voting for? To answer this … Continue reading
January 9, 2014
by Nosemonkey
Comments Off on Britain: Hiding under a duvet of doubt and debt
Genuinely superb column by Mary Riddell in the Telegraph today. Read in full. Considering the Telegraph’s decades of hostility to the EU (it’s the paper that employs the hard anti-EU Tory Tea Partier Dan Hannan, after all, and owners the … Continue reading
January 9, 2014
by Nosemonkey
Comments Off on The EU and global economic growth / convergence
One of the criticisms that still gets leveled at the EU is that the Common Market is a rich kids club, and that the Common Agrigultural Policy and free movement of goods and services within the EU puts non-EU (and … Continue reading
January 6, 2014
by Nosemonkey
10 Comments
The lack of a clear public sphere or demos across the EU has long been used as a stick to beat down any suggestion that there could one day be proper pan-European democracy, as well as to decry the EU’s … Continue reading
January 4, 2014
by Nosemonkey
8 Comments
Sock it to ‘im, Prof Evans! http://zite.to/1cr5zxb “‘ How can you possibly claim that Britain was fighting for democracy and liberal values when the main ally was Tsarist Russia? That was a despotism that put Germany in the shade and … Continue reading
January 3, 2014
by Nosemonkey
1 Comment
George Soros is usually worth a read, even if you don’t agree with him. To mark the new year, he’s fired off a piece on The World Economy’s Shifting Challenges, which includes these gloriously optimistic passages: “Future [European] crises will … Continue reading
January 3, 2014
by Nosemonkey
5 Comments
A review of a book I’ve been meaning to pick up (Danubia: A Personal History of Habsburg Europe, by Simon Winder) has some useful passages: “Austria-Hungary seems rarely to be taken seriously, appearing as ‘genial, backward and ineffectual, in a … Continue reading
January 2, 2014
by Nosemonkey
4 Comments
Nicely depressing piece for the start of the year. “As in previous years, the fundamental problem haunting the global economy in 2013 remained a lack of global aggregate demand. This does not mean, of course, that there is an absence … Continue reading
January 2, 2014
by Nosemonkey
3 Comments
One of the more useful pieces I found over the festive period, thanks to Craig Willy – a rare outsider to the European system who actually understands how it works, and as such an excellent guide who comes with limited … Continue reading
January 1, 2014
by Nosemonkey
2 Comments
What is ostensibly a review of Tony Judt’s astounding Postwar ends up something rather wonderful: http://m.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2013/12/the-myth-of-western-civilization/282704/ “Nations seem to require myth… the European super-nation has long needed to believe itself above the world, above native America, above Asia, and particularly … Continue reading