Could the new “Eastern Partnership” and Union for the Mediterranean be a sign of EU ambitions to come? Continue reading
December 4, 2008
by Nosemonkey
1 Comment
Category Archives: EU Reform
November 28, 2008
by Nosemonkey
1 Comment
The EU after the credit crisis
Journalists seem to be contacting me almost daily at the moment. Below the fold are my full answers to the following questions from the UK Correspondent of Brazil’s biggest newspaper O Global about the EU’s response to the current financial … Continue reading
November 22, 2008
by Nosemonkey
2 Comments
A bit of weekend reading
A few bits and bobs that have caught my eye over the last week or so: Robert Amsterdam on Donald Rumsfeld’s legacy to Europe: he was the original master artist of disaggregation – a man who saw and skillfully exploited … Continue reading
November 21, 2008
by Nosemonkey
4 Comments
A distinct lack of transparency
Following the progress made on Common Agricultural Policy reform the other day (and it was progress, even if not as much as many would have liked), there remains much confusion. As CAP Health Check asks, who voted for what? The … Continue reading
October 29, 2008
by Nosemonkey
14 Comments
Thatcher, Bruges and future Tory EU policy
20 years after Maggie Thatcher’s notorious Bruges speech, time for another look… Continue reading
October 28, 2008
by Nosemonkey
6 Comments
Mandelson and EU openness
Yes, I’ve gone quiet again of late. Sorry. Illness and work have conspired to make me feel like poo. Still, an interesting tidbit from the whole “did Peter Mandelson get up to anything dodgy with Russian oligarchs?” thing that’s been … Continue reading
September 11, 2008
by Nosemonkey
4 Comments
The Irish are stupid, apparently
I don’t even have to check the usual eurosceptic sources to know how the Irish government’s research into the reasons for the rejection of the Lisbon Treaty is likely to be interpreted. Because, you see, they’ve found that the reason … Continue reading
August 6, 2008
by Nosemonkey
7 Comments
What is the EU for? (Part 2)
This started off as a reply to comments on this post, but got a bit lengthy… The Convention on the Future of Europe (which drew up the failed EU Constitution) was, in its early stages, a step in the right … Continue reading
August 5, 2008
by Nosemonkey
Comments Off on The Czech Republic and the Lisbon Treaty
The Czech Republic and the Lisbon Treaty
Handy overview today from the EU Observer – worth a look for UK-centered readers as well, as these guys are the closest that Tory leader David Cameron’s got to allies on the continent, so may just provide a hint as … Continue reading
August 5, 2008
by Nosemonkey
6 Comments
“We cannot do business like this in future”
Thus spake Tony Blair, echoing Gerhard Schröder, following the negotiations for the shoddy Treaty of Nice back in 2000. And yet the last eight years have seen the European Union do business in exactly the same way, time and time … Continue reading
July 21, 2008
by Nosemonkey
2 Comments
Deal ‘will slash EU farm subsidies’
Potentially promising stuff for those of us who dislike the CAP – though worrying news for Europe’s beleaguered farmers: Europe’s farmers will be “major losers” from a new world trade deal, EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson has admitted. He told … Continue reading
July 17, 2008
by Nosemonkey
Comments Off on Belgium as role-model for the EU
Belgium as role-model for the EU
An interesting discussion’s kicked off in the comments to that history of Belgium piece, looking at how the current Belgian crisis could prove a very useful case study and model for future EU reform. It kicks of with this from … Continue reading
July 1, 2008
by Nosemonkey
8 Comments
A quick case study of the EU’s problems
Today marks the start of the French presidency of the EU. Sarkozy’s task as president? To guide the union from the post-Irish referendum confusion into a fresh new dawn of harmony and mutual appreciation, to an EU both truly united … Continue reading
June 26, 2008
by Nosemonkey
1 Comment
Habermas and the EU
Nanne highlights a piece by the man who must surely now be Europe’s last great public intellectual, Jurgen Habermas (let’s face it, most of the rest are dead now… Not that Habermas wouldn’t deserve a place in the top five … Continue reading