When any part of Europe is hit by a natural disaster, the country where the disaster strikes can appeal to the EU for assistance – these solidarity arrangements were put in place after the 2002 central European floods. So when parts of the UK were flooded last year it seemed […]
Apparently the rules for what ingredients you’re allowed in bread are more precisely determined in French law than European law. As a result, a bakery in Barnsley is managing to sell baguettes to that very French institution – SNCF. I’ve tried to look into this is more depth, and via […]
So Labour took a beating in yesterday’s local elections; as I write the Mayor of London results are not public, but it looks bad for Ken. I’m not going to write anything here in the traditional vein – Labour on the ropes, bla, bla – but instead reflect on the […]
Selection processes are nearing completion to determine the party lists for the June 2009 European Parliament election in the UK. For Labour (more here) and the Conservatives, whose internal party procedures prioritise sitting MEPs, it’s already possible to name more than half of the MEPs that are due to be […]
Seems that my previous post about outgoing Italian PM Romano Prodi trying to stitch up the Italian Commission nomination was wide of the mark – it seems mortadella tried but was ultimately not successful (and he subsequently sounds bitter – as in this EUObserver article). So what happened, and is […]
Presumably a bit wounded by the defeat of the left in the recent Italian elections, and the fact that he had to see Berlusconi-ally Franco Frattini strutting his stuff as EU Justice & Home Affairs Commissioner for 2 years, Romano Prodi seems to playing one final card – to stitch […]
So the ‘debate’ about the future President of the European Union advances apace. According to EUObserver today some sort of behind-the-scenes deal has been struck between France, Germany and the UK meaning that no country will pursue a nomination opposed by one of the other two. So curtains for Blair […]
As the Olympic torch passed through Paris a protester tried to steal it from parolympic athlete Jin Jing. She has subsequently stated how she thinks the torch is sacred and has become a bit of a celebrity in China as a result. So what happened then? There has been a […]
Shock horror! Scandal! Collusion! British officials have been conspiring with their Irish counterparts to help stitch up the referendum in Ireland on the Treaty of Lisbon, and a note about it has been leaked… Open Europe, Bruno Waterfield and Iain Dale have been getting in a lather about it. Of […]
How the hell has the Italian electorate once more elected this man? While in Italy we can expect an alliance with post-fascists and even greater media control in his hands, the international scene can wait with baited breath for more of those excruciating foot-in-mouth moments (such as regarding Finland and […]
There are two problems with the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy as I see it. First, it eats up 40% of the EU’s budget, and I’m none too keen to subsidize farmers. But I could live with that if it was not for the second problem: the fact that CAP buggers […]
This has been quite a week for posts about internet gadgets, stats, surveys and politicians’ strategies for using the internet. Today some diligent folks at BBPR had searched for ‘italian politics blog’ in Google UK and came across this post of mine about Silvio Berlusconi, and sent me a press […]
