A collection of six short, independent pieces on various topics, with links to many related posts. Friends Like These After two years of zero concessions by its negotiators we can justifiably say of the EU Commission, “With friends like these, who needs enemies?” We think they are driven by outrage that anyone would want to … More Shorties-17
An academic study examined whether joining the Common Market/European Union increased Britain’s economic growth. This post reviews the paper’s evidence and conclusions. This post presents a brief summary of part of a report by Cambridge economists – mainly Remainers – entitled, ‘How the Economics Profession Got It Wrong On Brexit’. They analyse the models and … More Did the EU Bring Us Growth?
It is too early to dissect the agreement made by (or imposed on) May’s Cabinet at Chequers last Friday but our initial impression was that it’s another case of a UK government managing decline. This morning (Monday) Jacob Rees-Mogg gave exactly the same judgement. He’ll vote against it in Parliament, so will some other Tory … More Cabinet Kerfuffle
As in many other technical subjects, the Brexit debate uses common words but with specialist meanings and this can be confusing for non-specialists. For example, most people think ‘gutter’ has to do with drainage but a printer thinks of it as the extra margin space that will stop the binding … More The Brexit Lexicon (Part 1)
ECU No, not the European Currency Unit (now the euro) but Ever Closer Union, still the main ambition of the EU bureaucrats and other supporters. The euro is under attack from Italy and if it succeeds in freeing itself then Greece, Spain and Portugal are likely to follow; the goal of Ever Closer Union cannot … More Quickies-2
Softly, Softly: The British people voted to leave the European Union. To argue as most Labour and rebel Tory MPs are doing that they didn’t vote to leave the Single Market and Customs Union is equivalent to saying they voted to leave the European Parliament, the European Council and the European Court of Justice so … More Quickies-1
The EU’s bank settlement scheme (TARGET2) is too unbalanced ever to reach equilibrium. Capital is flying out of Italy’s banks since the recent election there, to the extent that a crash landing is now looking probable. Don’t panic because the EU has a mechanism to solve this so that the money comes flooding back to … More Italy Missing the Target
Thus spake, Michel Barnier, the chief negotiator for the EU on Brexit, in a US news documentary*: https://youtu.be/3SP9mhof9Es These are his first words about Brexit in the 8-minute film – he revealed everything we need to know, and should have learnt by now, in that single sentence. He went on to say that all the … More Négociation sur le Brexit
The EU continues to pursue its ambition to achieve – and to run – a supranational state in Europe: “The euro is more than just a currency. It is a political and economic project. All members of our Monetary Union have given up their previous national currencies once and for all and permanently share monetary … More Multiple Visions
In 1975 Australia’s Prime Minister, Gough Whitlam, was dismissed by Governor-General Sir John Kerr, Australia’s de facto President. (although formally the Queen’s official representative, the Palace was clear that this was a sovereign issue, as indeed is the appointment of Governor-Generals in reality). The Australian government didn’t have enough Senate support to get its budget … More It’s the Wrong Way to Tackle Merkel
This EU Won't Work 