April 12, 2007
by Nosemonkey
Comments Off on Another reason for the lack of British politics here of late
An unsolicited email from the “Labour Supporters Network” (to which I have found myself signed up, despite not being a Labour supporter), purporting to be from General Secretary Peter Watt, and encouraging the Labour party’s members to follow their Chancellor’s … Continue reading
April 11, 2007
by Nosemonkey
2 Comments
First round this weekend, but most people outside la belle France still don’t know much about what’s at stake, or what it all means. The best place to start is probably French Élection 2007’s the French election for dummies and … Continue reading
April 8, 2007
by Nosemonkey
Comments Off on Euroblog roundup 2
It’s Easter, I’ve got chocolate coming out of my ears and a big shoulder of lamb (smothered in garlic and rosemary) slowly roasting in the oven, and a huge vat of decent European blog posts wating in the wings. So, … Continue reading
April 5, 2007
by Nosemonkey
1 Comment
From the Financial Times: The European Union yesterday offered to open its huge market fully to poor countries that signed bilateral trade deals this year. Brussels is proposing to scrap tariffs and quotas on sensitive products such as beef, corn, … Continue reading
April 3, 2007
by Nosemonkey
1 Comment
It’s not just in Ukraine that things are happening. All around Europe’s eastern fringe, people seem to have become a tad unsettled by the onset of Spring. In fact, the most stable country on Europe’s eastern edge seems to be … Continue reading
April 2, 2007
by Nosemonkey
7 Comments
I’ve been keeping a loose eye on Ukraine ever since liveblogging the Orange Revolution back in November/December 2004 (starting from a position of complete ignorance about the country, let alone the events taking place – but since when did ignorance … Continue reading
March 28, 2007
by Nosemonkey
15 Comments
How much happier is it possible to make our anti-EU chums than this little story, just a few days after the EU’s damp squib birthday celebrations? Mass dawn raids over EU ‘Mafia links’ More than 40 dawn raids were carried … Continue reading
March 25, 2007
by Nosemonkey
1 Comment
Welcome to the inaugural Euroblog roundup on this, the 50th anniversary weekend of the Treaty of Rome. Now, how this is normally going to work is as follows: every other Sunday the Euroblog roundup will compile the best blog posts … Continue reading
March 22, 2007
by Nosemonkey
4 Comments
I know that as a good pro-EU type I should find this pathetically awful farce depressing, rather than amusing, but it’s tricky. The Berlin Declaration, for those of you who are lucky enough not to know, is the agreement German … Continue reading
March 21, 2007
by Nosemonkey
Comments Off on “The French have lost much” and become “the sick man of Europe”
So, at least, thinks Maurice Faure – France’s Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs 1956-8, and the last surviving original signatory of the Treaty of Rome. In an interview with Spanish paper El Pais, as the 50th anniversary of the … Continue reading
March 20, 2007
by Nosemonkey
9 Comments
2007 Inflation 2.8% Unemployment 5.4% 25 years of solid economic growth (the longest sustained period of economic growth for 150 years), currently at 2-3% 5th or 6th largest GDP in the world 1973/4 (the year Britain joined what is now … Continue reading
March 18, 2007
by Nosemonkey
2 Comments
Two days ago marked the 100th anniversary of parliamentary democracy in Finland. Today they’ve got an election. Polls close in about an hour and a half, so it’s about to get interesting. (Well, possibly…) Thanks to the way this is … Continue reading
March 18, 2007
by Nosemonkey
1 Comment
(A quicky, as I’m still insanely busy…) With the overdue exit, stage centre-right, of Chirac it looks like France could have its first change in forever of fundamentally shifting its relations with its fellow EU member states. Pretty much since … Continue reading
March 15, 2007
by Nosemonkey
2 Comments
And then he flew a flying saucer – fuelled only by the power of CHEESE – all the way to Pluto, where he made merry with the happy band of six-legged elephants that inhabit the former planet for nigh on … Continue reading