Battle is being joined on what happens next with the Lisbon Treaty following the irish No. The Irish are saying that there can be no quick solutions. The French and Germans are calling for everyone other than the Irish to ratify. The Czechs are saying that the Treaty is dead. […]
Let’s look a bit more closely at Will Hutton’s arguments on the EU Treaty as published yesterday in the Observer. He denounces ‘Eurosceptic’ celebrations at the Irish vote as a farrago of lies and disinformation. OK. Let’s proceed. WH v CC. WH: The reality is that Ireland’s ‘no’ voters have […]
Is Kosovo moving towards ‘functional partition’ (or more likely dysfunctional partition)? The nub of the international problem in Kosovo is that on the one hand the EU/US claim to rule out on principle partition on ‘ethnic’ lines, while on the other they claim that the independence of Kosovo is not in […]
Crack open the Guinness! Behind all the lamentations about the end of European civilisation as brought about by a selfish micro-number of Irish voters, there will be lots of secret smiles. One of the key issues in the whole Treaty saga has been reweighting the voting as between EU member states. […]
Irish voters! Read this terrifying piece describing how the Culture Committee of the EU Parliament wants to deal with Bloggers "with malicious intentions or hidden agendas" who "pose a danger". Then go and vote. You know which way.
The EP Culture Committee blogging menace nonsense (below) points up a factor in the Lisbon Treaty which is not really discussed. Namely that as more and more ‘areas’ become subject to voting rather than consensus at the EU level, member states lose two things: the right to block at the […]
Imagine you are the Foreign Office in London. A bit of a wildcat in your youth. Yet still squeaky keen to show Relevance and Cleverness. Egad! An idea dawns. Let London lead the praise for the sybaritic delights of latter-day Western personal freedom! British Embassies should all fly the LGBT […]
Busy times in the ever-complicated relationship between Poland and Germany. Robert Kubica becomes the first Pole to win a Formula 1 Grand Prix race – driving a BMW in Montreal. Then Germany beat Poland 2-0 in Euro 2008, with Polish-born Lukasz Podolski scoring twice – for Germany! Before the match […]
Let’s hear it for the EU’s success in promoting high-level Diversity Targets in the foreign policy area.
Today I listened to a good BBC Radio Five discussion on the vexed issue of MEPs allowances/salaries, possible abuses thereof (see eg Guido). A commendable airing of some basic facts, plus sensible discussion between various experts/pundits and two MEPs. The subject ended up with a ‘what if’ exchange on the […]
