The BBC call them migrants; the Prime Minister and some other media call them illegal; some Tory MPs and Nigel Farage call them ‘invaders’. They are none of those. They are mostly desperate, destitute, stateless men, women and children fleeing from war, torture, oppression and persecution. Nobody risks their lives across treacherous waters in unsuitable and unsafe boats unless they are deeply distressed and determined, with nothing […]
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 […]
The Hungarian Parliament this week voted by a large majority to suspend democracy and press freedom indefinitely. The reason given is to control the coronavirus. But it’s clear that the real reason is to control the people, and to ensure that the Hungarian government under the authoritarian rule of Prime Minister, Viktor Orbán, is not […]
My last post dates back to early 2016 when I wrote about the risks of David Cameron sleepwalking us towards Brexit. The cataclysm happened. And it then took an agonising four more years of tortuous debate for the UK to actually leave the European Union. Friendships were left strained, relationships broken, investment stalled, and our […]
Can participatory democracy be the solution to the EU’s democratic deficit? This seems to be the European Commission’s intention with launching the Conference on the Future of Europe. If this is to work, the Conference must however itself be democratically legitimate. Based on past experiences, Camille Dobler gives four recommendations for citizens’ consultations. Can participatory […]
24-hours after the EU referendum of 24 June 2016, I posted this on my blog: ‘Just over half of those who voted bought manky lies dressed up as a better life after Brexit. ‘They were told they’d get their country back. Their lives would be transformed. More jobs, homes, schools and hospitals. Less migrants. No […]
Our 2019 international European Studies conference for PhD and early-career scholars brought over 50 delegates to Manchester Metropolitan University to discuss Europe’s future.
Kamila Feddek summarises her key takeaway messages from the UACES Doctoral Training Academy 2018 to help researchers in European Studies engage with audiences outside academia and make their research impactful. Researchers have a wealth of academic knowledge, evidence and expertise that can help inform, design, improve and test policies, and ultimately make a positive impact on people’s […]
Fellow Euroblogger and friend EuroPasionaria started a blog chain to discuss what has happened in EU blogging and social media in the past decade, especially since the 2009 European Parliament elections until the 2019 European Parliament elections. After La Oreja de Europa has posted her views – in Spanish – here are my five cents in English. If you ask […]
So here we are. In little more than one month, Britain is due to crash out of the EU without an agreement as the single outcome a strong majority MPs abhor because of the damage it would do to jobs, tax receipts and relations to European and international partners. The agreement actually negotiated by the […]
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