Politicians do not know when to let go. Their best days might be behind them, their opportunities for future office slim. But like boxers who think that their next bout might result in a favourable result, they do not give up, calling on the old contacts to be able to...
I was in the audience for Declan Ganley’s presentation at RUSI in London yesterday. It was one of the most interesting and civilised debates about EU matters I have attended in London in recent times. If you’re interested to hear what Ganley said the full film is here: For people...
Due to a short Twitter debate with @huettemann I have promised to write this post. As far as I am concerned, social media will have at best a marginal effect on the 2014 European Parliament elections. Here’s why. First though I will mention the major caveat: there are some parties...
Sometimes I am old fashioned. Despite all its flaws, I still see no better way of governing a country than representative democracy. Almost all of the advanced societies in the world use that system. These representative democracies of course need to evolve as times change, with periodic reassessments of the...
I’m not sure how to write this blog entry, for it relates to something that has been on my mind for a long, long time. Yet, unlike most of the things have have been on my mind a while, it is the first time I have blogged directly about this...
The bottom line remains this: Greece leaving the Eurozone will have catastrophic economic consequences for Greece and the rest of the EU. That is as true now as it was a year ago. Everyone from Syriza to Juncker understands this. Here then are a few bits and pieces I have...
One of the things that has, over the years, helped me maintain some faith in the functioning of the European Union was that – if push came to shove – you could find out what was going on within the walls of the institutions, and find out what the EU...
You don’t mess with Monica Macovei. I’ve met her, and she strikes me as one of the most strident and outspoken politicians to be found in the European Parliament, building upon a two year stint as Romania’s Minister of Justice during the period prior to accession. So when Macovei says...
On Tuesday this week I was on Eurostar 9161, the 1952 departure from Bruxelles Midi to London St Pancras, with stops in Lille Europe, Calais Fréthun and Ebbsfleet. Shortly after departure from Lille the train manager made an announcement, telling us that a control of tickets and identity papers would...
A few weeks ago at a meeting in London, one of the Labour Party’s best known bloggers literally snorted at me when I said that Labour had much to learn from the Pirate Party. But I’m undeterred by that, and having spent the last week in Germany, I’ve been looking...
I’m at re-publica in Berlin, appearing at 1315 on a panel about the European public sphere online. You can follow the panel here (Stage 5). This morning we started debating these issues with a speech from Euroblogger Ronny Patz, whose ideas are summarized (in German) on Spiegel Online. Ron’s approach...
Here we go again. Today Steven Hill has laid out his institutional vision for the European Union on Social Europe journal. His plan – with a bicameral European Parliament – is not too distant from ideas raised by Denis MacShane in the past. Binding national MPs into EU decision making...