The Conservative government’s attempt to renegotiate the UK’s terms of membership of the European Union continues to distress Britain’s pro-Europeans, antagonise its anti-Europeans and bamboozle its EU partners. Prime minister David Cameron has realised that there are two cardinal principles of EU primary law which he will not be allowed to breach: freedom of movement… » read more
Posted by Andrew Duff
October 1, 2015
The first time it happened, on 22 November 1989, the German Chancellor outshone the French President. It was under a fortnight since the fall of the Berlin Wall. Helmut Kohl sounded confident and decisive, clear in his call for enlargement of the European Community and commitment to the goal of political union. François Mitterrand, by… » read more
Posted by Andrew Duff
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Enlargement, EU Institutions, Euro & Finance, Global Europe, UK in Europe , Cameron, Hollande, Juncker, Kohl, Macron, Merkel, Mitterrand, Schauble, Schulz |
September 7, 2015
This article argues that the UK government’s renegotiation bid is too feeble to be deserving of concessions by its EU partners, but that the rest of the EU can give the British what they seem to want by pressing on themselves to federal union. Is David Cameron really serious about renegotiating the terms of the… » read more
Posted by Andrew Duff
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EU Institutions, Euro & Finance, UK in Europe , Brexit, Cameron, EU referendum, federal union, Future of Europe |
June 21, 2015
There are still those who assert that everything the European Union needs to do can be done under its existing treaties. Few of these pundits stop to explain why it is that if indeed everything can be done under the existing treaties, everything is not, in fact, being done. So that seems a good question… » read more
Posted by Andrew Duff
June 2, 2015
Because fellow journalists recognize the peril in which many of their Turkish colleagues now find themselves, Sunday’s election in Turkey is getting the full attention of the European media. It is indeed a game-changer of an election, not for the faint-hearted. Its outcome will determine the apotheosis of Recep Tayyip Erdogan or his ruin. And… » read more
Posted by Andrew Duff
May 25, 2015
David Cameron’s campaign to renegotiate the terms of Britain’s membership of the European Union has not got off to a good start. He admitted that his first foray with fellow EU leaders, on the margins of the Eastern neighbourhood summit at Riga last week, was not met with ‘a wall of love’ (whatever that may… » read more
Posted by Andrew Duff
Vladimir Putin’s manoeuvres cast a new light on the state of EU-US relations. If you are American you do not have to be Senator John McCain, who wants to arm the Ukrainians, to question the validity of Europe’s fond belief that reliance on soft power fits the bill for the 21st century. Russia, and for… » read more
Posted by Andrew Duff
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Enlargement, EU Institutions, EU Priorities 2020, Euro & Finance, Global Europe, UK in Europe |
January 7, 2015
Something rather shocking has happened. The European Court of Justice (ECJ) has just confounded its friends as well as its foes by blocking the EU’s efforts to sign up to the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). In Opinion 2/13 delivered on 18 December, the Court ruled that the draft accession agreement between the European… » read more
Posted by Andrew Duff
And why Britain and Turkey may end up in much the same place A longer version of this article may be found on LSE EUROPP at http://bit.ly/Zpjs75 The Great Recession pitches the European Union full tilt into a period of great change. In all probability, a Convention will be called in spring 2015 to install… » read more
Posted by Andrew Duff
February 12, 2013
Reacting to the deal reached at the European Council on Friday, the President of the UEF, Andrew Duff MEP, concludes that the deal is not fit for purpose. In a statement today (Tuesday) he says: “Once again the huge quarrel over such a small amount of money showed the European Union at its worst. Indeed,… » read more
Posted by Andrew Duff
Visiting Fellow, European Policy Centre; Liberal MEP 1999-2014; Federalist.
