Current Affairs

The referendum question was unbalanced because it pitched a known outcome with an entirely unknown outcome. The referendum question asked if the United Kingdom should remain a member of the European Union or leave the European Union? ▪ REMAIN A MEMBER OF THE EUROPEAN UNION □ ▪ LEAVE THE EUROPEAN UNION □ We all knew what remaining […]

So, only the 6 months until Brexit is done. Or possibly not. The passing of the deadline for an extension of the transition period at midnight on Tuesday means that on a chilly Thursday night on 31 December, the UK will pass out of that period into, well, something. What that something might be isn’t […]

Britain and the European Union entered a critical round of ‘intensified negotiations’ on June 29th. The UK’s lead negotiator, David Frost, is now in Brussels for face-to-face meetings – the first since mid-March. There is a heightened sense of urgency due to the timeline and differences between the two sides. Furthermore, the Johnson government recently […]

Even before the Covid-19 pandemic, the euro area slowdown was the result of EMU-induced domestic deflation. EU3D researcher Simona Piattoni offers a different reading of Italy’s disappointing economic performance.  Since 2011, Italy has been considered the single largest threat to the stability of the euro. Italy’s high and growing debt (€2300 bn, some 135% of […]

The Franco-German Covid-19 recovery plan marks a shift in Germany’s EU policy, but the German public might not be on board, argues EU3D researcher Dirk Leuffen. The European Covid-19 recovery plan jointly proposed by Emmanuel Macron and Angela Merkel on May 18th is widely considered to mark a turning point in Germany’s more recent EU […]

The German Constitutional Court is stuck on an ideological position that prevents it from understanding the substantial difference between the German situation and European integration, argues Sergio Fabbrini and takes a closer look at some of the court’s rulings over the last decades. The judgment on 5 May by the German Constitutional Court (Bundesverfassungsgericht or […]

The accusation of Michel Barnier, the EU’s chief negotiator on Brexit, that the Prime Minister is backsliding on his commitments rests on a false premise: it assumes that Boris Johnson knows his back from his front. In fact, the Prime Minister has slid into a half-circle position that is 180 degrees distant from that of […]

Hospital cleaner, Hassan Akkad, pulled at the nation’s heartstrings when he Tweeted a video in May with an urgent message to the Prime Minister, Boris Johnson. In the video, shot in his car wearing his NHS hospital scrubs, an emotional Hassan complained to Mr Johnson that he felt “stabbed in the back”. Why? Because the government had […]

Because of Brexit, Britain is rapidly propelling away from Europe, involving the loss of free trade, and free movement of people, with our neighbouring countries. Is that really what Britain wants? The UK government seems determined to close all possibilities of a successful new relationship with our closest countries on our continent. Instead, we’re moving away from […]

In a celebratory Tweet, Home Secretary Priti Patel has announced the end of ‘free movement’. She wrote: ‘We’re ending free movement to open Britain up to the world. It will ensure people can come to our country based on what they have to offer, not where they come from.’ Her Tweet is an insult to […]