“Scotland has been part of the United Kingdom since 1707 and the old cultural ties to the rest of the British Isles are one of the main arguments made against independence in tomorrow’s referendum vote. Yet if the Yes to independence side is to succeed – the polls narrowed in...
“As members of the European Council look forward to their next meeting on Wednesday 16 July, one of their major tasks is to come up with names to succeed Herman Van Rompuy as President of the European Council, and Catherine Ashton as the EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs.” Read...
My first foray into sports blogging! ““Any chance we can go to a football game?” my oldest friend asked me, when announcing he was coming for a weekend to Berlin. “Sure, Union Berlin are playing FC Ingolstadt 04 in the 2. Bundesliga” I replied.” – read my match report!
“With the European Union struggling to overcome the financial crisis, and the knock-on impact on the politics of the European project, national political classes have been grasping for solutions to the EU’s perceived legitimacy problem. One of the most commonly cited solutions is to seek a greater role for national...
““Our national interest lies in staying in the European Union” says Ed Miliband. Nick Clegg does the same, stating “Liberal Democrats, it falls for us to stand up for the national interest, we will be the party of ‘In’.” Even Cameron states “Leaving the EU is not in our national...
“The PES has selected a candidate for Commission President. That’s good news. However, the entire process falls short of the “democratic and transparent process” that was promised November 6th 2013, with a press release and press conference and rather little fanfare, may nevertheless mark an important step for the future...
“At the TUC conference this week in Brighton, RMT union boss Bob Crow asked his colleagues to back a British referendum on the EU. His call for a referendum was roundly rejected. On the internet, the group Labour for a Referendum has posted three times [1, 2, 3] on LabourList...
“Ed Miliband says the right things when it comes to engagement of Labour party members in selection processes. ‘You’ve got to leave it to party members to make their decisions. And that’s the way it should be’ he said in a recent interview with Mark Ferguson of LabourList. Why then,...
“We need a Labour case for the EU, not a patriotic case for the EU – a response to Fighting for Britain’s future by Glenis Willmott With David Cameron’s long-awaited EU speech taking place later this month likely to promise some sort of European Union referendum, Labour politicians are starting...
“If you are a Labour Party member you have probably received the party e-mails asking you “Could you be a candidate?” for a parliamentary by-election and shrugged your shoulders – of course I cannot be a candidate in Rotherham if I live in Plymouth, or in Middlesborough if I live...
“Lobbyists are part of the everyday political scene in Brussels, location of the main institutions of the European Union. While the debate continues about the exact definition of a lobbyist and hence how many of them ply their trade along the grey corridors of the European Commission and European Parliament,...
“Jobbik. Golden Dawn. Frank Stronach and the BZÖ. Perussuomalaiset. Partij voor de Vrijheid. Movimento 5 Stelle. UKIP. Piratpartiet. The party-political mainstream in Europe can no longer deny that the game is changing. Even if traditional parties do indeed have answers to the political and social challenges that all European countries...