A few vague thoughts towards predicting a new global geopolitics Continue reading
October 27, 2009
by Nosemonkey
6 Comments
Category Archives: EU
October 25, 2009
by Nosemonkey
19 Comments
On “the President of Europe”
The proposed President of the European Council is very far from being “President of Europe” – either in terms of profile or power. Whoever lands the job (and it’s highly unlikely to be Tony Blair) will have practically zero influence … Continue reading
October 4, 2009
by Nosemonkey
114 Comments
Why it’s hard to take eurosceptics seriously
How eurosceptics are damaging their cause, and what they can do to win more converts Continue reading
October 3, 2009
by Nosemonkey
23 Comments
Ireland’s “undemocratic” second Lisbon Treaty referendum
In last year’s Irish Lisbon Treaty referendum, turnout was 53.1%, with 53.4% voting No and 46.6% voting yes. That’s 862,415 No voters – 28.3% of the Irish electorate, and just 0.17% of the EU’s population – holding up the ratification … Continue reading
September 11, 2009
by Nosemonkey
25 Comments
A cost-benefit analysis of the EU and the Lisbon Treaty?
A comment I left over at The Devil’s Kitchen a couple of months back that I recently stumbled upon bears resuscitating as a quick post in its own right, as debates about the EU resurface ahead of the re-run Irish … Continue reading
September 7, 2009
by Nosemonkey
Comments Off on Apologies for absence…
Apologies for absence…
All kinds of real-world excitement of late, including some very good news on the job front just this morning, has kept me off blogging for a bit. However, I’ve been informed that if anyone fancied leaving comments in support of … Continue reading
August 22, 2009
by Nosemonkey
1 Comment
EU regionalism on the decline?
Following my recent posts on national vs European identity and regionalism and the EU (as part of a vague attempt to get an idea of the nature and importance of geographical/cultural identity), this may be of interest – Why the … Continue reading
August 20, 2009
by Nosemonkey
23 Comments
British citizenship vs European citizenship
Why EU citizenship is the best thing that has ever happened to the people of Britain Continue reading
August 17, 2009
by Nosemonkey
44 Comments
Nation states, regionalism and the EU
In the comments to my National identity vs European identity post, where I’ve been arguing that it’s perfectly possibly to have a sense of belonging to multiple different groups, and thus to have multiple different identities, commenter WG notes: I … Continue reading
July 2, 2009
by Nosemonkey
13 Comments
UKIP’s new Europe of Freedom and Democracy group
The old eurosceptic Independence/Democracy group in the European Parliament was kept more or less respectable largely thanks to the influence of its former joint leader Jens-Peter Bonde, who stemmed from the relatively moderate lefty side of euroscepticism. Now, however, Bonde … Continue reading
June 30, 2009
by Nosemonkey
44 Comments
German Constitutional Court Lisbon Treaty ruling
Including some genuinely fascinating interpretations of the nature of the EU Continue reading
June 25, 2009
by Nosemonkey
3 Comments
Increasing disquiet surrounds new centre-right EP group
After yesterday’s confusion – with one MEP leaving and another joining, exposing this new British Conservatives-led group as a fairly fragile alliance – now we again have renewed concerns being voiced: This time from among the British Conservatives themselves. Many … Continue reading
June 24, 2009
by Nosemonkey
5 Comments
The Conservatives’ new European Parliament Group: On the brink of collapse already?
Only a couple of days after its formation, and already David Cameron’s new European Parliament political grouping (the brilliantly-named Conservatives and Reformists) have lost a member. Considering that you need MEPs from seven member states to form an EP group, … Continue reading
June 22, 2009
by Nosemonkey
5 Comments
New centre-right political group
David Cameron’s Conservatives have done it – just… Splitting from the EPP was always a gamble – but with the near-certain collapse of the Independence/Democracy group (headed up by UKIP leader Nigel Farage) after a poor election showing from some … Continue reading