Michel Barnier, having been told not to bother coming to London because there was nothing to discuss if the EU was refusing to compromise now says both sides must compromise. A compromise deal is looking fairly likely but will the UK be compromised by it? Deal or no deal, the UK has already been deeply … More Compromise Deal

A freedom of information law should be a sign of open and honest government so naturally it is included in the EU‘s rules, though not necessarily in its practice. “All Members of the Commission are expected to make public…all the contacts and meetings held in their capacity with professional organisations or self-employed individuals on any … More Freedom From Information-2

It is the habit of the EU to bury both information and misinformation in dungheap-sized mountains of words, which both tell us little about what the EU Project is up to and gives the EU room to do very much what it pleases. The EU is skilled at dishing up propaganda. It’s treaties are not … More Rule of Law for EU

While there is much more that could be said about the remaining Articles, Protocols and Annexes, we pick out just some more general bits; much detail is missed out but nothing that alters what we have written so far—you can always read the original text to bridge the gaps. The treaties are laborious but don’t … More EU Treaties-9: Miscellaneous

Some terms used by the EU are unique to them or may be confusing or mysterious for other reasons. Here we offer a few examples, with our explanatory notes: ‘may’ and ‘shall’, ‘taking into account’, ‘legislative procedures’, ‘approximation’ of laws, ‘consensus’. 1. Instruction v. Permission The treaties often use the terms ‘may’ and ‘shall’ and … More EU Treaties-8: Terminology

Ever closer union requires economic and monetary union (EMU) which in turn requires the merging of economies. Features of the eurozone include: monetary union, a single market and customs union, common agriculture and fisheries, free movement of capital, fair competition and prudent economic practices in all member economies. A key to achieving all this is … More EU Treaties-7: Economics & EMU

Ever closer union is the goal; the advantage for citizens is the pretext; subsidiarity one of the principles promoted to achieve the advantage. The preamble to the TEU sums up neatly what we are expected to believe. Articles on the principle of subsidiarity are diluted with weasel words, for example, “as closely as possible to … More EU Treaties-6: Citizens & Subsidiarity

This post selects from the Treaties and focuses on articles concerning foreign relations and security, proposals for a defence policy. We question the EU’s ability “to promote peace”. We quote Margaret Thatcher’s reservation about a centralised and appointed bureaucracy in Brussels. Defence is to be integrated into the EU’s foreign and security policy but member … More EU Treaties-5: Foreign Policy & Defence

Themes-1: Politics A précis of ten previous posts on this theme. This is the first in a series of posts, each of which gathers previous posts into a single theme. We provide a brief summary of each selected post. This first politics post considers political issues from both the UK and the EU. Themes-2: A … More Themed Post Summaries

In this post we look at some of the more legalistic treaty articles, including: the role of the CJEU, procedure for revising the Treaties, leaving the Union, Union competences, shared competencies, passing control upwards, the subjugation of the European Parliament. CONSOLIDATED VERSION OF THE TREATY ON EUROPEAN UNION (TEU) Article 1: By this Treaty, the … More EU Treaties-4: Law, Agreements & CJEU