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 […]
Spain appoints its first female Defense Minister, part of Zapatero’s cabinet that’s gender balanced. Time has an article about her (via Liberal Conspiracy), and women in politics in Spain – it’s not easy going, but it must be an optimistic time to be a woman politician in Spain. The Sun, […]
I must say I wasn’t a fan of Kate Hoey when I lived in her Vauxhall constituency a few years ago (mainly because she’s eurosceptic), and it seems that since her stint as a Junior Minister ended in 2001 she’s ended up becoming madder and madder. She’s a Labour MP […]
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 […]
I’ve been thinking about the degree of party-politicisation of the UK civil service for some time and have come to a rather unusual conclusion: the UK needs party-political State Secretaries (equivalents of Secrétaires d’État in France, Staatssekretäre in Germany, Statssekreterare in Sweden). A State Secretary would have a role equivalent […]
So the European Commission is under pressure to publish its list of what can and cannot be carried onto planes. All this has come to light due to one German passenger being banned from boarding as he was carrying tennis rackets in his hand luggage. I’ve had similarly ludicrous incidents […]
