Four short, independent pieces on: implications of the EU’s dispute with Poland; zombie companies and the European Central Bank; the hypocrisy of Michel Barnier; integration and compromise. What’s it worth to be rid of Poland? The EU is in serious dispute with Poland; but suppose the Polish decided to leave, how much would the EU … More Can EU Trust Them?
Will it be a Brexit in name only, and what does the name mean anyway? The Prime Minister says “Brexit means Brexit” but Lord Malloch-Brown (Labour peer and former UN Deputy General Secretary) believes it should mean ‘No Brexit’ and that the recent Government defeat gives MPs the chance to reverse it (we expect other … More Transition, Implementation or What?
The Opposition, the Liberal Democrats, SNP and the Green MP, with the help of a few Conservative rebels, defeated the Government last week by demanding a meaningful vote on whatever ‘Deal’ it strikes with the EU on withdrawal. We can argue about how meaningful such a vote can be if the choices are to accept … More Parliamentary Privilege
Questions about the EU-UK Phase 1 Agreement Has agreement actually been reached? David Davis called it “… more a statement of intent than a legally enforceable thing” and Theresa May assured Parliament that, “Nothing is agreed until everything is agreed.” Representatives of the other 27 EU member states have responded with a revised statement, due … More What has been Agreed?
Continuing our critique of the euro and the Eurozone, particularly the effects on weaker economies. The Euro currency was a giant step towards political union, a dangerous one that could undermine the peace that the Union was supposed to ensure. For some countries it would be like being “trapped in a burning building with no … More Zone In or Zone Out?
It is probably fair to say that everyone is a little confused and uncertain about what has been agreed and what it will mean. We can be pretty sure that whatever it is the two sides will interpret things differently, as it suits them. Perhaps the clearest evidence of this lies in the agreement of … More EU-UK Phase I Agreement
The EU is run by a moralistic crew, quite prepared to do harm to members and outsiders for the greater good, as they see it. The UK is being bludgeoned into remaining trapped within its web, a kind of forced conversion in a grand tradition that extends back to the middle ages Europe when the … More Bordering on Madness
Remaining in the EU is an appalling option, we’d be a supplicant with all credibility lost, even more likely to be outvoted on everything. From Malta to Ireland, from Spain to Slovakia and from the EU core in Germany and France, every country feels it can tell us what we must do. The German Social … More Carrying on Voting?
News reports suggest that the Government has agreed to offer the EU a ‘Divorce’ payment of between £40 – £55 billion net, pretty much what the EU was asking for at the start of ‘negotiations’ (the €100 billion often quoted is a gross figure). This is a huge amount of our money, perhaps £800 for … More Appeasement, again
The ideology underpinning the ‘Union’ in EU is all-pervasive. Sometimes the pressure is subtle, at other times overt. As an example of the latter, consider parental leave following the birth of a child. Sweden has extraordinarily generous terms, Spain’s are mean by comparison. Now the EU is considering unifying such provisions across its realm. What … More Union, Unity & Uniformity
This EU Won't Work 