Britain & EU member-states
EU 2010: A programme for reform
03 February 2006
The European Union is suffering from a profound malaise. There have been difficult times in the past – such as the 'empty chair' left by General de Gaulle in the mid-1960s, the rows over the British budget contribution in the early 1980s, and the struggles to ratify the Maastricht treaty...
The Austrian EU presidency and the future of the constitutional treaty
24 January 2006
Austrians heaved a sigh of relief when the UK presidency brokered a last-minute deal on the EU budget in December 2005. The Austrian government hoped that the agreement would free its hands to focus on more rewarding issues during its presidency.
Germany's foreign policy: What lessons can be learned from the Schröder years?
02 September 2005
The German general election on September 18th 2005 is of massive interest to people all over the world. Because Germany is a large and influential EU member, its foreign policy matters not only to other European countries, but also those further afield, such as the Americans, the Russians and the Chinese.
A bad European dream
01 August 2005
On a grey Thursday morning in June 2006, Lee Barker, a 29-year-old Midlands businessman, was packing his bags to go to Germany.
Liberal versus social Europe
01 August 2005
Europe is in the grip of a fundamental debate about its economic future, or at least that is what some politicians and many journalists would have us believe.
Europe’s social dilemma
01 August 2005
Of all the items on the agenda of the British EU presidency, perhaps the least expected is a debate on ‘social Europe’. Tired of being crudely caricatured as ‘neoliberal’, Tony Blair has invited EU leaders to an informal summit in October to discuss the future of Europe’s social model.
Issue 43 - 2005
29 July 2005
- Liberal versus social Europe, Katinka Barysch
- A bad European dream, Daniel Keohane
- Europe’s social dilemma, Alasdair Murray
Issue 42 - 2005
27 May 2005
- Europe beyond the referendums, Charles Grant
- Unshackling services is the key to Europe's economic future, Digby Jones
- When the dust settles, Alasdair Murray
What happens if France votes No?
02 May 2005
In just over two weeks France will hold a referendum on the EU constitutional treaty. The outcome of the 29 May 2005 referendum remains on a knife-edge with the latest polls suggesting the country is split down the middle.
A French lesson for Europe? A guide to the referenda on the EU constitutional treaty
01 April 2005
On 29 May 2005 France will hold the second of ten national referenda on the EU constitutional treaty. The 25 EU governments have until November 2006 to ratify the treaty.
Will the French vote 'Non'
01 February 2005
President Jacques Chirac recently declared that the French referendum on the EU's constitutional treaty would take place "before the summer", and not in the second half of 2005 as previously planned.
Europe's transformative power
01 February 2005
Type the words 'Europe' and 'crisis' into the internet search engine Google, and more than four million entries come up. The media use these two words so frequently that they have become interchangeable.
But historians detect an enduring success behind the journalists' superficial sense of failure. They describe a continent that...
But historians detect an enduring success behind the journalists' superficial sense of failure. They describe a continent that...
What happens if Britain votes No?: Ten ways out of a constitutional crisis
01 February 2005
If the rest of the EU adopts the constitutional treaty but the British vote against it, the Union faces crisis and instability. Charles Grant looks at what may happen next. Would there be a second referendum, or an attempt to renegotiate the treaties?
Issue 40 - 2005
28 January 2005
- Europe's transformative power, Mark Leonard
- Making multilateralism work, Lord Hannay
- Will the French vote 'Non', Aurore Wanlin
Three cheers for EU democracy
01 December 2004
When José Manuel Durao Barroso - under intense pressure from the European Parliament - was forced to withdraw his proposed Commission in late October, many journalists were quick to portray the event as yet another EU crisis.
A new era in European democracy
01 October 2004
The era of European integration by stealth is over. At least nine EU countries are committed to holding a referendum on the new constitutional treaty.
Issue 38 - 2004
24 September 2004
- Learning to live with the new Russia, Charles Grant
- Energy security: A new agenda for Europe, Nick Butler
- A new era in European democracy, Steven Everts, Daniel Keohane
The peculiarities of the British
02 August 2004
In most European countries, those who dislike the EU tend to be the poor and the less educated, who fear for their future and travel little. The politicians who speak for such people tend to come from the far left or far right.
If Britain votes no ...
01 June 2004
Some people claim to know what will happen if a British referendum defeats the European constitutional treaty. Michael Howard, the Conservative leader, points out that the treaty cannot enter into force unless it is ratified by every member-state.
Jobs for the boys
02 February 2004
Last year may have been an annus horribilis for the EU, but 2004 looks set to be just as divisive. In between negotiating a new EU budget and a possible starting date for Turkey's accession negotiations, EU leaders have to choose a new Commission president.