He’s had a rant at Commission officials, and then been caught naked on a beach with his chef de cabinet, and yesterday European Commission Vice President Guenter Verheugen was at it again – this time stating that: “A small member state would benefit more from providing a deputy commissioner in […]
In a few hours Romania and Bulgaria will become member states of the European Union, and I am very proud and happy about that. I can still remember so clearly being stuck on a train at the border between Lokoshaza and Arad (Hungary to Romania) in 1999 and realising how […]
I went online this morning with the intention of writing a blog post about 2006 in politics. Yet the news on BBC that Saddam Hussein was executed today has entirely distracted me. How can we find ourselves in the situation where we have invested so much time and energy in […]
There are plenty of rivalries that you could argue have some sort of justification, yet the ongoing disputes over the name Macedonia strike me as totally ludicrous. I’ve come across few issues in EU politics that contain such fire as when you tell a Greek that ‘Macedonia’ wants to join […]
Brendan Barber, General Secretary of the TUC, has today released a statement calling for a national debate about the level of Chief Executives’ pay – read the full statement here, and a news summary from The Scotsman here. (Worth noting that top public sector workers in the UK seem to […]
The blogging world is a complex and interesting place. Thanks to Technorati, I have today discovered that my blog has been syndicated by the Danish multi-blog site Progressivt.dk EU Section. Quite a privilege as my posts are there together with syndicated feeds from Dan Jørgensen, Margot Wallström and Ã…sa Westlund. […]
Politicians have the reputation of being boring and grey, and also predominantly male. So how does the UK cabinet shape up? And what might there be on the horizon? If you read until the end of this entry you’ll find the table of stats but – in short – the […]
Step by step people are waking up to the potential of expat voters in elections, or at least realising that the formalities of organising elections need to be improved. According to EUObserver, the European Commission is looking at the issues around getting nationals of other EU states to run, and […]
Only now have I had the opportunity to download and do something with my pictures from the weekend in Lisbon and Porto after the PES Congress. Overall the Portuguese are a stylish bunch, but somehow they manage to let all of their worst tendencies escape when it comes to how […]
I’m now back in the UK after 4 days away in Portugal. I spent yesterday afternoon watching the sunset over the waves of the Atlantic and this morning I was drenched on the way to my office – a dire 1950s building. Feels like a hangover, only without any alcohol […]
The PES Congress in Porto has steadily drawing to a close; the fringe meetings are over, and the final session is about to start. So what are the overall impressions, and what should happen now? First and foremost it has been a fascinating experience to be present here. I do […]
Poul was re-elected as leader of the PES in Porto. This has allowed him to make plenty of speeches on the podium. It’s the first time I have seen Rasmussen perform in the flesh, and he’s actually quite impressive. He comes across as honest, as expressive, and almost emotional in […]
