Hmm. Is the UK going to try to ‘repatriate’ powers from Brussels? And if so, what are the chances of success?

It isn’t clear to me why the other EU member states would go along with this, unless we block something horribly important to them (such as the next Budget) and then get wildly accused of being anti-European.

The real problem here is that we seem to end up in a narrow self-absorbed way articulating a status suited just to us – we need to look ahead to the emerging radical centralisation of powers needed by Eurozone countries and define a better, lighter status for everyone who does not want to be part of that. Such a ‘two-tier’ Europe could help integrate eg Turkey and Ukraine without the tedious impossibility of them joining the ‘inner’ Eurozone space.

Aaaargh. A ‘two-speed’ Europe would be bad for the UK! But why should the ‘inner’ zone be ‘faster’? A good case can be made that the ‘outer’ zone would stand to do much better as it will be better run and more democratic.

Oh, and if we are serious about repatriating powers, the smart and simple thing to do is pass a law that allows UK law to have supremacy over EU law, much as the Germans themselves have achieved. Then odious new rules emanating from Brussels can be simply struck down, an outcome that might well influence the people drafting them.