EU Finance Commissioner, Pierre Moscovici (who is a former French finance minister), asks that the EU should give Emmanuel Macon a chance. He said that his victory was a good signal for Europe because the French had chosen to beat extremism. He didn’t mention that about 11 million French citizens did vote for ‘extremism’ or … More Bonne Chance Avec Ça
Emmanuel Macron has big plans to revive France and the EU. In France he faces many difficulties, not the least of which is getting some La République En March! deputies into parliament in the forthcoming election. More relevant to this blog he has some quite radical ideas for reforming the EU but he will face … More France, Germany & EU
The question is often asked, ‘why is the EU so inflexible in its operations?’ There are no doubt many parts to the answer; one which we have offered is ideology, which permeates the foundations of the project and is held tenaciously by its leaders. A related characteristic of the EU is its constitution. Now the … More Trick or Treaty?
Michel Barnier, the EU’s chief Brexit negotiator, spent two days in the Republic of Ireland, making some attempts to ease concerns there that a hardened border with Northern Ireland will cause major problems. Last Thursday he addressed the Irish Parliament, a rare honour for a non-parliamentarian. He also visited the border and addressed a summit … More Signs of Softening?
Writing in the Daily Telegraph on 9 May, Daniel Korski asks us not to panic, or to get too pessimistic about the outcome of the forthcoming Brexit negotiations. “For all this heat belies the positive progress that has been made over the last six months or so. Working quietly and with none of this week’s … More Messages by Telegraph
Constitutionally Speaking The EU treaties are now in effect its constitution (although rejected by French and Dutch voters the constitution written by Giscard D-Estaing’s committee was incorporated almost word-for-word under the Lisbon Treaty in 2007). This includes financial policies – that’s practically unheard of in comparable countries’ laws. For the eurozone they enshrine German priorities, … More Short Shorts
There is growing evidence that Germany is using its weight to drive the EU in the direction it favours; towards a federalised Europe. We open with thought-provoking advice from Germany: http://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-europe-39705689/son-of-nazi-leaders-warning-on-germany Niklas Frank, son of a wartime Nazi leader, spoke to Stephen Sackur of the BBC’s Hard Talk programme. Frank is not confident that Germany … More Germany calling the shots
Unreality The EU Project is not grounded in reality and does not serve the people. The latter point is clear to those willing to look at what is happening to citizens in many of the nations supposed to be converging on a prosperous future together. For more than half its existence the EU has been falling … More Shorties-9
If, as is generally predicted, Emmanuel Macron wins the presidency of France in the second round, on May 7th, there will be much relief in Brussels, and Strasbourg. The alternative would reduce Brexit to a side show. For at least another week, relief will be at bay as tension remains high, with the possibility of … More French Election, Part 1
This post is a follow-up to our recent one, Dis-integration. We offer some other pieces of evidence that illustrate the contradictions between claims of unity and the reality for citizens, which come from Germany, Hungary, Poland, Greece and Italy. The EU is dominated by Germany and it is disregarding EU rules. Germany’s 9% trade surplus … More Working Together?
This EU Won't Work 