Britain & EU member-states
The unholiest of alliances
01 December 2000
Yes, there really are some people who believe in a federal super-state. They want the EU to evolve into something like the USA, with a strong central government responsible to the European Parliament.
EU2010: An optimistic view of the future
01 September 2000
The European Union's principal task in the first decades of the 21st century is to spread peace, stability, security and prosperity to the entire European continent. The chief mechanism for achieving this end is the enlargement of the Union.
Europe's new political flexibility
01 August 2000
First Joschka Fischer and then Jacques Chirac have sought to frame the terms of the debate on the future of the EU. Mr Fischer's "centre of gravity" and Mr Chirac's "pioneer group" are the subject of earnest discussion in think-tanks, foreign ministries and newspaper columns.
Issue 13 - 2000
28 July 2000
- Europe's new political flexibility, Steven Everts
- Reforming the euro club, Alasdair Murray
- The EU and world trade, Julie Wolf
Corruption in Eastern Europe
01 February 2000
Perhaps the greatest obstacle to the integration of Eastern Europe into the European Union - but the least discussed - is corruption. The problem is not absent in Western Europe or the EU institutions, of course, but in many parts of Eastern Europe bribery is endemic.
One cost of corruption...
One cost of corruption...
How to help Russia
01 February 2000
Almost ten years after the collapse of Soviet Communism, most Russians accept that power should change hands through the ballot box, and that they need some sort of market economy. And yet their view of the world is very different from that of most Europeans or Americans.
Issue 10 - 2000
28 January 2000
- How to help Russia, Charles Grant
- Corruption in Eastern Europe, Liz Barrett
- Open the US defence market, Alexandra Ashbourne
Issue 15 - 2000
26 November 1999
- Set a date for enlargement now, Heather Grabbe
- The unholiest of alliances, Charles Grant
- The "open method of co-ordination": Innovation or talking shop?, Kirsty Hughes
Britain in Europe
01 October 1999
The history of Britain's troubled relationship with the European Union has been far too repetitive. Every time that the continental countries want to deepen their union, the British hold back and predict failure; and later, when they see the venture working, they grudgingly join and accept rules written by others.
Issue 8 - 1999
24 September 1999
- Commissioning reform, Ben Hall
- Britain in Europe , Charles Grant
- Don't forget the shopkeepers, Bernard Hughes
- The case for "Mr Euroland", Steven Everts
A mandate for convergence
01 June 1999
The government is missing a trick by failing to encourage the Bank of England to play an active part in ensuring Britain's economic convergence with the euro-zone.
The prime minister has repeatedly said joining EMU requires the UK's "sustainable convergence with the economies of the single currency". This doesn't mean exchange-rate...
The prime minister has repeatedly said joining EMU requires the UK's "sustainable convergence with the economies of the single currency". This doesn't mean exchange-rate...
What next for Kosovo?
01 June 1999
Although the guns have yet to fall silent, there is an urgent need to sort out the rehabilitation of Kosovo. Even under the best of scenarios, this is going to be an expensive and excruciating business.
Issue 6 - 1999
28 May 1999
- The EU needs defence convergence criteria, François Heisbourg
- A mandate for convergence, Kitty Ussher
- What next for Kosovo?, Michael Maclay
- Why Europe needs a constitution, Andrew Marr
Europe's uncertain identity
05 February 1999
The launch of the euro is a success of historic proportions. It is also the ultimate vindication of the method first sketched out nearly fifty years ago in the Schuman memorandum.
Vision please
01 February 1999
This year will be crucial both for the development of the European Union and for Britain's position within it. Outside EMU, Britain cannot be one of the leading players. It will have to run to keep up. That means that the government must actively engage in a public debate about Europe's future.
Give on the rebate to gain elsewhere
01 February 1999
At their special summit in March, EU leaders are due to settle the Union's finances for the next seven years. The British government is adamant: the budget rebate won by Mrs Thatcher in 1984 is not up for negotiation.
The end of EADC
01 February 1999
A little over a year ago the political leaders of Britain, France and Germany launched their plan for a European Aerospace and Defence Company (EADC).
Issue 4 - 1999
29 January 1999
- Give on the rebate to gain elsewhere, Kitty Ussher
- Vision please, Ben Hall
- The end of EADC, Charles Grant, Alexandra Ashbourne
- The myth of tax harmonisation, Kitty Ussher
Issue 3 - 1998
27 November 1998
- What next for Russia?, Rodric Braithwaite
- A new model of European integration, Ben Hall
- EMU must go further, Kitty Ussher
- Reshaping Europe's defence, Charles Grant
Can Britain lead in Europe?
02 October 1998
Britain should join France and Germany in forming a triple alliance to lead the European Union, suggested Gerhard Schröder, the German Social Democrats' candidate for Chancellor, in April 1998.