He’s the newspaper columnist I have the greatest respect for, so when Will Hutton writes an alarmingly critical column about the EU, you need to listen. You can read the column here. His argument is not so different from ones
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Just bitterness from Schröder
He’s on the way out, and now he just looks bitter. Gerhard Schröder has today had a good rant at the EU in Die Zeit – see an article from EUObserver about it here. Now, I have written positively about
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British obsessions: carpet
Where else in the world would you see as many carpets as in the UK? Now, I don’t mean smart hand woven rugs from Persia. I mean nasty grey or blue acrylic carpets that seem to be found everywhere in
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How do you get to Augustusburg?
It had to happen at some point – delays to Ryanair flights. Considering how often I fly with them, it’s a miracle I am not delayed more often. Anyway, Saturday morning most of northern Europe was covered with fog and
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British obsessions: fire doors
There are some things that strike you as just plain odd in the UK. Have no fear – this entry, and similar ones to come, is not going to turn into generalised rants. It’s just that some things in the
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Consumer power, and a new job
The blog has been a bit quiet over the last couple of weeks – I have started a new job and it takes a bit of time to settle. It feels like a breath of fresh air with a new
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Fischer, the negotiations, and why are the British so insular?
Joschka Fischer has now announced his withdrawal from a formal role in the Green Party, signalling he will not play a role in front line politics unless the Greens stay in government as part of a traffic light or Jamaica
Continue readingGerman Elections – give us a traffic light
It???s about 4 hours after the polls have closed in a remarkable election in Germany. Probably for the first time in a few decades, it looks very hard to presently predict what is going to happen. A quick summary of
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Kroes should just be Trouw to the European ideal
EU Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes has put her foot in it by writing in a newspaper that the Germans electing Merkel would be a good idea. This has led to a chorus of howls from Social Democrat MEPs that she
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Poor Margot Wallström and her blog [UPDATED: 15.09.2005]
I have not always been the biggest fan of Commission Vice-President Margot Wallström in the past. OK, she has a horrible brief – trying to communicate the EU with very little cash and resources. Despite this, I have wondered whether
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The fat blokes are back!
They are back. Or at least they look like they are trying a bit. The fuel protestors that did their best to bring the country to a halt in 2000 are trying to gear up once again. Seems things are
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UK Startling Statistics
In a column in today’s Guardian by Polly Toynbee, on what would happen if a natural disaster hit the UK: Poor London victims would also have nothing more than the clothes they stood in. Nationally 27% of people have no
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