European Commission

25.05.2021 EU Politics

What’s up with this 9th European Parliament?

It’s two years since the 2019 European Election, marking the start of this 9th term of the European Parliament. And for a while I have had this nagging feeling that something is not right about the Parliament in this term.

03.09.2018 EU Politics

Candidates for Commission President 2019 (Spitzenkandidaten)

Prior to the 2014 European Parliament elections I examined all the runners and riders for President of the European Commission and other EU top jobs (2014 posts on President of the Commission: EPP, PES, Others | President of the European

08.10.2015 EU Politics / Technology

Commissioners on Twitter – countering the critique

So, having taken apart the behaviour of European Commissioners on Twitter earlier this week, the critique has poured in – most of it to me personally in private, and some of it on Twitter. In this blog entry I am

06.10.2015 EU Politics / Technology

European Commissioners seem to have missed the social aspect of Twitter and use it for one way, bland PR instead

In Gartner’s hype cycle, users of a technology encounter a trough of disillusionment after the initial peak of inflated expectations. The use of Twitter by the 28 Members of the European Commission (Twitter list here) feels like being in such

29.05.2015 EU Politics

Security theatre at the European Parliament: letting the terrorists win

This afternoon I tried to go into the European Parliament. The EU institution that is supposed to represent people like me – citizens of the European Union. I am not a lobbyist or a journalist or an employee of another

15.07.2014 EU Politics

Candidates for the new European Commission – where we stand 15.7.2014

So Juncker is now certain. 26-2 in the Council, 422 of 751 in the European Parliament. I have analysed the High Rep and President of the European Council positions at the LSE EUROPP blog here. But who has been nominated

15.06.2014 EU Politics

How Juncker shines the light on Britain’s problematic, unitary pro-Europeanism

I am not a fan of Jean Claude Juncker, the person and the politician. I am a lefty, he is a christian democrat, and he – ideologically – stands for a future of the European Union that I, as an

09.06.2014 EU Politics

Reinfeldt, Merkel, Cameron and Rutte in a boat – a roundup

So embattled Swedish PM Reinfeldt invited Merkel, Cameron and Rutte to Harpsund and took them out in a small rowing boat (news summary here), and let photographers take pictures of this. Here’s the original: The Junckermonster – my own effort

08.06.2014 EU Politics

What does “EU reform” actually mean?

A tweet by Philip Oltermann caught my eye: https://x.com/philipoltermann/status/475592040278138880 David Cameron is doing his best to spin himself, and his opposition to Jean Claude Juncker as Commission President, as being the ‘reformer’ versus a defender of the status quo, or

28.05.2014 EU Politics

Where now for the Spitzenkandidaten process after EUCO? Keep calm

So the European Council last night did not back Jean Claude Juncker as Commission President, instead inviting Herman Van Rompuy to consult about who should become Commission President between now and the end of June. He should, to use Merkel’s

15.05.2014 EU Politics

Why the Spitzenkandidat process is the best thing to happen to EU-level representative democracy for years

Let’s get the caveats out of the way first. I know the way the parties selected their Commission President candidates was imperfect. I know that none of the candidates has really shone. I know this process has not been dealt with with

21.04.2014 EU Politics

The parties have their Commission President candidates. TV channels, it’s over to you: 15th May debate on prime time TV please.

I write this blog entry as a convinced EU democrat. By that I mean that, faced with the options about how to solve the many problems the EU currently faces, actually trying to make democracy work at EU level is