The Swiss have had enough and pulled the plug on almost eight years of negotiations with the EU, aimed at simplifying over a hundred bilateral agreements and combining them into a single framework. The EU insisted on regulatory alignment and the supremacy of CJEU judgements. It has overplayed its hand – again. A benign organisation … More Swiss Cheesed Off
Implementation of the Northern Ireland (NI) Protocol—which is part of the UK’s withdrawal agreement with the EU—has resulted in shortages in the province and consequent protests that risk renewing the civil war. Our title derives from a different context where the evil was intentional and its magnitude not comparable with the ‘Troubles’ in Ireland. A … More The Banality of Evil, in Ireland
We are firm supporters of UK independence from the EU, which faces us with a dilemma over ‘Indyref2’, the Scottish Nationalist Party’s proposed bid for independence from the UK. Is it possible to support the first but not the second? The UK was part of the EU and its precursor, the EEC, for 47 years; … More Scoxit
It‘s been five years since we began our blog in the run-up to the UK referendum on whether to remain a member of the EU. This post marks the occasion. Strictly, a ‘quinquennial’ post would occur every five years but we don’t plan to keep “banging on about Europe“. Prime Minister David Cameron, fed up … More Quinquennial Post
The EU’s response to the covid pandemic has been slow and underwhelming but one of its (many) presidents thinks we should be looking at the bigger picture—the slow train will safely reach its destination. In its tracks citizens’ lives are lost or devastated. Following up our earlier post under this title, we re-focus on the … More Words versus Deeds – 2
The European Commission has published its report on the results of a survey requested and co-ordinated by the European Commission’s and European Parliament’s Directorates-General for Communication. The full report can be downloaded from [1]: Earlier we commented at some length on the preparations for the Conference on the Future of Europe, so we can be … More The Future of Europe
Of the EU’s many shortcomings, which we have detailed in the course of this five-year blog, two ideas are at the root of them. 1. “Ever Closure Union” is a euphemism for a process of planned unification, whereby Europe is to be reduced to a uniform state (a “level playing field”) from a varied, dynamic … More Why the Union Project is Unsound
In the UK there is outrage about lobbying on behalf of private enterprises by ex-prime ministers and top civil servants, Parliament has demanded an investigation and expects to see changes made. Meanwhile MEPs in Brussels have taken a different approach to their own activities.* Quotations are from EUObserver: 16 April 2021 [1] Headline: MEPs reject … More More on Lobbying and Corruption
In this post we come up to date and contrast the ideal version of itself that the EU presents to its supporters, and to the world at large, with the performance of the EU in its practices. (Quotations are in red.) [1] Speculating simply, the EU may be popular because of the goals and values … More Goals and Values
The EU has drawn together all the relevant bits and pieces that have emerged over the years to define its legal authority into a single document. Because the few citizens who were given a choice rejected the idea of a Constitution, a long-winded fudge, called “Consolidated Versions of the Treaty on European Union and the … More What About the Treaties?
This EU Won't Work 