URL: Latest posts
Why not shrink the European Commission?
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The online edition of German weekly Der Spiegel reports on "secret" plans by EU heads of state and government to stick to the 'one country, one EU Commissioner' principle, despite the number of Commissioners being set to rise to 28 following Croatia'...
EEA plus: a model for the future of the UK in Europe?
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For all the noise about Europe in the UK, British sceptics (with some exceptions) aren't necessarily great at thinking outside the box. We have previously looked at the existing models used by countries that have decided against/...
The UK electorate is in the market for something more than the false choice of status quo or exit
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When it comes to the question of whether the UK ought to stay in the EU there are two key considerations. Is continued membership the best solution from an economic perspective (trade, regulation etc) and also is it democratically sustainable? (Other...
Howarth: It's Crunch Time for Britain and the EU
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Open Europe's Christopher Howarth wrote the following article for Ireland's leading business paper the Sunday Business PostWith MPs in the UK passionately discussing holding a referendum on the UK’s membership of the EU you could be forgiven fo...
This is welcome stuff: David Lidington says national parliaments could be given a 'red card' over EU proposals
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National Parliaments' should be allowed to show the EU the red cardThis is an idea that's very close to our hearts - and an idea that we have promoted for a very long time.The first bits of UK Europe Minister David Lidington's interview with German d...
Hollande goes on the offensive - two years to achieve political union in Europe
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The French media called it François Hollande's "grand oral exam". The French President has just held a big press conference at the Elysée palace marking his first year in office. And he said a couple of very interesting things about his...
James Wharton MP wins the lottery to take on the EU referendum Bill
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Now the Conservatives have published their EU Referendum Bill there only remains the small question of how it could become law. It will not be a Government Bill but will now be taken forward as a "Private Members Bill". As such its chances of surviva...
Where do EU member states stand on bank bail-in plans?
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It’s been pretty tough to follow where countries stand on the latest proposals for the EU’s Recovery and Resolution Directive, not least because the debate has lasted three years with people mostly talking past each other.But the Cypriot...
Nick Clegg: EU referendum a question of "if not when"
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With David Cameron away in the US, Nick Clegg took to the dispatch box for Prime Minister’s Questions today. Unsurprisingly, there was no shortage of references to EU referendums, most of them of a hostile nature. Ahead of today’s de...
Cameron: Before the 2015 election, we will do everything we can to make an EU referendum the law
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David Cameron just sent out this note to Conservative members and activists: In January, I set out our party’s position on Europe. I made clear that the EU needed fundamental, far reaching change - and that Britain would lead the way in negotia...
"Do you think that the United Kingdom should remain a member of the European Union?” - the Tories publish their EU Referendum Bill
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The Conservative Party has just published their EU Referendum Bill which will provide for a referendum before 31 December 2017.The Question will be:“Do you think that the United Kingdom should remain a member of the European Union?” Doesn...
Lord Leach: EU reform is the best option
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Open Europe’s chairman Lord Leach of Fairford has an op-ed in today's Times, where he argues:Fifteen years ago, when a handful of businessmen set up Business for Sterling to stop Britain joining the euro, we were cold-shouldered by the BBC, pat...
Splits in Germany (and beyond) over banking union?
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It’s been a week of 'splits' over Europe and it looks like another one may be emerging – although this time in Germany. German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble had an article in the FT arguing:"While today’s EU treaties provi...
Number of MPs backing referendum amendment grows - we see where they're coming from, but what are they backing?
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47 MPs have now put their name to an amendment to the Queen's Speech that begs "leave to offer our humble thanks to Your Majesty for the Gracious Speech...but respectfully regret that an EU referendum bill was not included in the Gracious Speech."Thi...
Going global: Germany is slowly shifting its trade away from the EU (or why German growth alone cannot save the eurozone periphery)
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On top of the release of UK trade data, Germany has also put out its latest trade statistics. As this is Germany we're talking about, the figures are interesting on all kinds of levels. As the graph above shows German trade has recovered since the st...
New ONS Figures show the trade deficit with the EU is widening - but total volumes show the EU market is still important
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The ONS has today released its latest monthly UK trade statistics. They show that despite growing UK trade and a slight narrowing of the trade deficit, the problems in the eurozone are still hampering UK exports to the rest of the EU.Here’...
EU referendum: What will the Tory backbench motion actually achieve?
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Unlikely to care if her speech is amended - but will anyone else?Politicians do not as a rule like other politicians amending their speeches especially after they have been delivered. The Queen is not a politician and is usually spared this...
When ideology meets economic reality (Part III): Opposition to the FTT grows at the heart of Europe
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As we noted recently with the exclusive release of internal documents on the Financial Transaction Tax (FTT), even amongst those who are championing the proposal, there are a huge number of concerns. Well, those concerns are growing by the week...
The real Europe question: how to kick-start growth
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We appreciate that Westminster and the media are occupied with the Queen's speech and internal tory divisions over Europe (be them real or overblown), but real story in Europe lies elsewhere: where will the EU's and UK's growth come from?Well, we kno...
Is Lord Lawson's intervention likely to be a game-changer?
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The big political news of the day happens to be strongly EU related – former Chancellor Lord Lawson’s piece in the Times (£) in which he argues in favour of a UK exit from the EU. So what to make of the piece – is it a game-ch...
