February 25, 2007
by Nosemonkey
5 Comments
As you may have noticed, I’ve spent a fair amount of this week highlighting the lack of British involvement in the ever-increasing moves towards reviving / revising the EU constitution. Now, via Iain Dale, it seems that the (anti-EU Rupert … Continue reading
February 24, 2007
by Nosemonkey
1 Comment
It’s all kicking off. Again… Ever more people are starting to come to the opinion that 2007 is going to be one of the EU’s most important years. I’m not one of them… One of the driving forces increasingly seems … Continue reading
February 21, 2007
by Nosemonkey
Comments Off on Britain and the EU constitution
Something from me over at The Sharpener…
February 13, 2007
by Nosemonkey
1 Comment
OK, so what have I missed while I’ve been busy? The Centre For European Reform blog has been discussing the failure of the EU constitution and the need for a new kind of “pro-Europeanism”, in relation to that “Europe’s Story” … Continue reading
January 31, 2007
by Nosemonkey
2 Comments
I’m still mired in an intensive real-world project (all revolving around clarifying the insane complexity of post-Soviet Russian politics, which anyone who’s looked into it even briefly will know is a tough – if fascinating – gig…), so continued light … Continue reading
January 17, 2007
by Nosemonkey
5 Comments
Finally, someone with some influence is calling for something I’ve reckoned is a (the?) way forward for the [tag]EU[/tag] for a while (and some other loosely pro-EU types agree): a complete re-think of the [tag]European Union[/tag], reformulating it along a … Continue reading
December 28, 2006
by Nosemonkey
5 Comments
The EU’s going to be having a hard time once again in 2007 – but will it be enough to finally kick off the radical reforms that are needed? Although the Economist notes that “in 2006 the large continental economies … Continue reading
December 5, 2006
by Nosemonkey
3 Comments
I was going to do something on the EU constitution again the other day, as Angela Merkel’s recently reiterated her intention to use the German presidency of the EU to kick-start the stalled talks when she takes over the reigns … Continue reading
November 28, 2006
by Nosemonkey
4 Comments
Everyone’s focussing on the collapse of the talks about Turkish entry (Guardian, Independent, Times, Financial Times, Le Monde (in French), Le Figaro (in French), EU Observer, Deutsche Welle (German press review – in English), EurActiv) – but, let’s face it, … Continue reading
August 30, 2006
by Nosemonkey
Comments Off on “Une sorte de maladie de langueur, de fatigue generalisee”
Thus spake France’s Minister for European Affairs, Catherine Colonna, giving her opinion of the state of the EU to the assembled ranks of the French Ambassadorial elite. Packed with (if we’re honest, fairly astute) criticisms of the current way the … Continue reading
August 29, 2006
by Nosemonkey
9 Comments
Colman is spot on about Angela Merkel’s suggestion that God should have a place in any new EU constitution. Merkel contests that “[the constitution] should be connected to Christianity and God, as Christianity has forged Europe in a decisive way” … Continue reading
July 6, 2006
by Nosemonkey
5 Comments
Had I gone to some press junket as I was supposed to, rather than head home to watch the France/Portugal game (fairly tedious), I would have been within easy assassination distance of Margaret Thatcher last night. I have failed in … Continue reading
June 1, 2006
by Nosemonkey
19 Comments
It has been a full year since the rejection of the EU constitution by France (29th May) and the Netherlands (1st June) – and still the European “political elites” (their phrase, not mine) can seemingly agree on only one thing: … Continue reading
April 6, 2006
by Nosemonkey
2 Comments
Mandelson in “words distorted” shocker. Yep, Mandy’s said something vaguely sensible about the scrapped EU constitution only to find himself selectively quoted to make it look like he’s a delusional nutjob. (Which he normally is, it must be admitted…) Blair’s … Continue reading