At the last election the main parties offered election manifesto promises to respect the Referendum vote but the wreckers, thinking only one move ahead, are determined that we don’t leave or only pretend to leave, with a Brexit so soft that it is meaningless. If we leave but cannot reach a fair agreement with the … More Euro Sloth
On Thursday November 9 Michel Barnier, lead Brexit negotiator for the EU, gave a speech at a conference in Rome. He spoke in French so we rely on the translated text, which can be found among the European Commission’s press releases, here. Much of the speech is bland and unexceptionable (unless you are annoyed, as … More Deadlocked Mandate
The EU says it is a firm believer in the benefits of globalisation: “While globalisation brings huge benefits and opportunities, it also means that Europe has to face increased competition in all traded goods and services. “Through globalisation, EU firms receive easier access to new and expanding markets and sources of finance and technology. EU … More Globalisation or Regionalism?
This week The Economist’s Europe columnist (‘Charlemagne’) describes how the UK has largely lost any influence in Brussels and how smaller nations particularly feel more exposed to French and German hegemony (read the original article here). Without challenge from Britain it will be far harder for other member states to resist pressure to join the … More Influence or Impotence?
In a fully-fledged, federal union – such as the USA – goods, people, services and money have unrestricted freedom to move where they wish. This has been a prime ambition for the EU and its forerunners from the start, hence the high status of the Four Freedoms. But they are far from complete: goods move … More The Famous Four
A collection of four short, independent pieces on various topics. A European Union was (and is) a good principle, taken up by people with bad ideas, inherited by others with priest-like faith and self-interest. The EU jihadis intend us harm in retaliation for our apostasy. This demonstrates a deep lack of confidence in their project; … More Shorties-11
Donald Tusk, President of the European Council, has said, in response to a House of Commons statement by Theresa May, that both the EU and the UK may need to start planning for the negotiations to fail to reach an agreement – the ‘no deal’ outcome. He said that there is no chance that the … More Negotiating – really?
A deliberate typo might have this as ‘Barniers to Exit’ but that would not only be a bad pun but also unfair on the man, who is only the mandated mouthpiece for an organisation that cannot win hearts and minds but believes that it does not need to, because it will suffice to win the … More Barriers to Exit
A miscellany of topics on EU-UK relationships. The final topic describes how the international road transport convention (TIR) allows consignments to cross a border without checks at the point of entry. “No country will have to pay more” (Theresa May in Florence): this is an important statement. Countries like Poland share many of Britain’s concerns … More Snippets (1)
This post is the fifth and final of our series in which we extract evidence from ten EU documents. This post focuses on the Brexit negotiations and why we believe that while the UK is negotiating the EU is not; it has a different agenda. Overtime Lords was the first in the series, Democracy or … More Negotiations
This EU Won't Work 