The declared purpose of the European Union is to unify the continent: economically, socially and politically. Unification has gone a long way but EU leaders do not believe they have achieved their ambition yet. Without unification the EU has no rationale (see Enlightenment). On the surface the EU might appear an enlightened project, and many … More Themes-17: Unity and Unification
If it looks like money and behaves like money then it is money. The picture here shows a mocked-up, Italian mini-BOT (Buono Ordinario del Tesoro), the proposed parallel currency that the Italian government is threatening to introduce to create the liquidity (spending power) that it needs to stimulate its economy. We’ve discussed mini-BOTS before (Italy … More To BOT, Or Not?
In June 2015 the presidents of the five major divisions of the European Union, led by Jean-Claude Juncker, President of the European Commission, published their report, titled Completing Europe’s Economic and Monetary Union. We reviewed the report in three posts, the second of which covered economic and monetary union. The presidents proposed four strands to … More Themes-16: EMU-Euro
Over the three years we’ve been writing this blog democracy has been close to the centre of our attention. The issue of democracy highlights, perhaps more than any other theme, the gap between the values that the EU declares it holds and the absence of such values in practice. It also shows up at its … More Themes-15: Democracy
We’ve come across an old document that helps us to understand what Remainers, and other EU-philes, see in the Project that excites them to want Britain to stay in it. When we say ‘old’ perhaps we shouldn’t, though a little less than 18 years is quite old by EU standards, if not by European ones. … More Aspirations and Outcomes
When we were young we believed in ‘enlightened’ political theories, since then we have taken better notice of what was revealed during The Enlightenment period in Europe – that ideas are a starting point but evidence is the test of their validity. We now believe that outcomes matter more than high-minded ideals. Even a good … More Enlightenment
The only agreement that matters is the final one, which hasn’t begun to be negotiated, yet alone put ‘on the table’ or agreed. What has been agreed, between the EU and the UK Government, and then dismissed by the UK Parliament, is covered in the last two posts in this theme. We think there is … More Themes-14: Withdrawal Agreements
Each year since 2015 we have reviewed the annual presentation to the European Parliament (EP) given byJean-Claude Juncker (J-C hereafter), the President of the European Commission. These speeches, though they are largely public relations exercises, give us insights (not always intended) into EU thinking and planning. For us our reviews form a theme, which we … More Themes-13: State of the Union
Whatever the outcome of a second Referendum it is unlikely to be so decisive that it resolves the national divide on Brexit. A General Election would at least change a few bottoms on the green benches at Westminster but how do voters choose given that it could change a lot of things apart from EU … More Party Politics
In ‘Briefings for Brexit’ (20 May 2019) Professor David Blake, of the Cass Business School, has a long and fascinating article comparing the EU in practice with a German Plan for a European Economic Community, which was developed at the University of Berlin in 1942. There are striking similarities with the European Economic Community that … More Revealing History: The War Plan
