EU institutions & treaties
Issue 21 - 2001
24 November 2000
- NATO's big bang , Andrew Cottey
- Time to abolish the EU's rotating presidency, Steven Everts
- The euro comes of age, Alasdair Murray
Europe needs an avant-garde, but...
02 October 2000
I have always found talk about a European constitution unhelpful, for it is such an ambiguous term. My preferred formula is that Europe should be a "federation of nation states". What ties states together is a treaty.
A new institutional vision
02 October 2000
As the EU prepares to become a club of 30-plus countries, the immense task of reforming its institutions - so that they can work effectivelyand gain some democratic credibility - will be unending.
Issue 14 - 2000
29 September 2000
- European defence: The next steps, Charles Grant, Christoph Bertram, François Heisbourg
- Europe needs an avant-garde, but..., Jacques Delors
- A new institutional vision, Charles Grant
Doing less to do more: A new focus for the EU
01 September 2000
There is a commonly held misconception that the design of constitutions and governments is shaped by logic. It is often forgotten that accident, coincidence and personalities play as great a role in the formation of our political landscape as do the underlying forces of reason or common sense.
Mr Prodi's second chance
01 June 2000
The Commission is no longer the driving force behind European integration. In most of the European Union's growth areas, such as foreign and defence policy, or justice and home affairs, the member-states are in charge. Even in the fashionable area of economic reform, the Commission has been partially sidelined: the...
Issue 12 - 2000
26 May 2000
- Beware the strong euro, Alasdair Murray
- Europe's military ambitions, Klaus Naumann
- Mr Prodi's second chance, Charles Grant
- Federalism's last gasp, Ben Hall
European governance and the future of the Commission
05 May 2000
No body has been so central to the development of the European Union as the Commission. It has been the architect and driving force behind the EU's greatest achievements, from the single market to the single currency.
A new economic model
03 April 2000
Slowly, and somewhat reluctantly, the EU is beginning to embrace economic reform. For years America's equity-orientated, shareholder-value-driven economic model appeared anathema to much of the continent.
Europe's revolving door
03 April 2000
The rotating presidency of the Council of Ministers is one of many issues not on the agenda of this year's inter- governmental conference. But the EU's forthcoming enlargement will gravely weaken the presidency.
The right charter
03 April 2000
The rise of Austria's far-right freedom party has stirred a debate about the EU's commitment to human rights. The EU treaties say that the Union shall, in principle, respect the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).
Issue 11 - 2000
31 March 2000
- A new economic model, Alasdair Murray
- Europe's revolving door, Ben Hall
- The right charter, Ben Hall
- Europe and missile defence, Charles Grant
The treaties need radical reform
01 December 1999
Inter-governmental conferences (IGCs) are insufferably tedious and complex affairs. Each drawn-out negotiation helps to reinforce the popular impression that the EU is irrelevant to ordinary peoples' lives.
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
Commissioning reform
01 October 1999
For most ordinary members of the public the European Commission is the European Union. The fall of the Santer Commission amidst allegations of corruption and mismanagement plunged the EU into crisis.
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 golden opportunity for reform
02 August 1999
It is easy to forget that the Eurosceptical mood of many EU countries is a recent phenomenon. In the late 1980s, when the EU's prime task was the creation of a single market, its popularity grew in every member-state.
Issue 7 - 1999
30 July 1999
- A golden opportunity for reform, Charles Grant
- Entrepreneurial Europe, Kitty Ussher
- Needed: An EU energy tax, Nina Marenzi
- A single market in crime, Ben Hall
Why Europe needs a constitution
01 June 1999
Europe cannot survive as a political entity without being a working democracy. Here are three simple propositions about how it can become one. The first is that nothing which is too complicated for the ordinary voter to understand can ever be democratic.
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