The original blog: commentary about everything except transport
I’ve spent the last three days in Barcelona, observing the 1st October independence referendum, not in any sort of official capacity, but as an interested politics nerd. Political tourism if you like. After my fascinating trip to Scotland prior to
Continue readingEvery cloud has a silver lining, and for me personally so it has been with Brexit. In the week a year on from Brexit I toured right across Germany talking to all sorts of audiences, in English and in German,
Continue reading
A story caught my eye in The Guardian this morning. “Former candidates sue Conservative party after missing out on MEP posts” it is titled. Remember that MEPs are elected on regional lists, and each party puts up as many candidates
Continue reading
(Part 1 of this remembrance story explaining the background can be found here. This blog entry recounts the trip.) The train from Kortrijk to Poperinge rumbles its way through little villages and across the potato fields and pastures of West
Continue reading
(Part 2 of this remembrance story about the trip itself can be found here. This blog entry explains the background.) This coming Sunday I will travel from my home in Berlin to West Flanders in Belgium for a very special
Continue reading
Timothy Garton Ash, in a column for The Guardian about the task facing Macron after his election on Sunday, sums up the new French President’s challenges in the EU thus: it’s great that Macron also wants to reform the EU,
Continue reading
My earlier post about immigration in the UK and Labour’s response to it prompted this reply from Rob Ford at the University of Manchester: [tweet id=”803884593510223872″] At one level this is right – my post does not propose any reform
Continue reading
Back on Sunday I wrote this tweet about François Fillon winning the first round of the centre right primary in France: [tweet 800444200089042944] Then, out of the blue and without asking me anything, four days later I get this: [tweet
Continue reading
The European Union has been trying to get rid of roaming charges for mobile phones for years, first for calls and for SMS, and then subsequently for data. One aspect of it is a so called “Fair Use Policy” –
Continue reading
“Was it really a year since the last one?” you’re perhaps asking yourselves. Yes, just as Brussels eases itself back to work after the summer break, Jean Claude pops up to tell everyone why everything is going swimmingly (or not)
Continue readingTime since polls closed in the UK’s EU Referendum Time since the UK triggered Art 50 at approx. 1200 BST on 29th March 2017 Time the UK still has in the EU – NOW WITH Article 50
Continue reading
Oh TTIP. That great hope to rescue the transatlantic alliance. Or that scary fear of deregulation. Or both. Or neither? Juncker is worried, apparently. The Commission is putting pressure on the USA, supposedly. New Austrian President Van Der Bellen says
Continue reading