Politics & Public Policy

Lots of people have lots of problems with the Maastricht Treaty, and I’m not one to change that. Instead I’ll throw another issue onto the pile: its lopsidedness. If you’ve read the text – and really, you should have – you’ll notice that there’s a huge difference between the sections relating to the first pillar […]

I find I’m not writing all that much these days about Brexit, either on blogs or on Twitter. It’s not because there’s nothing happening, but rather that all the stuff isn’t amounting to much. Let me give you an example. On my daily walk today, I remembered I’d producing something a while back about why […]

What are Research Infrastructures and what roles do they play in the European integration process? These and other questions are addressed in recently published book Big Science and Research Infrastructures in Europe, edited by Katharina Cramer and Olof Hallonsten. In this Q&A with Europe of Knowledge blog, they explain origins, key concepts and findings of […]

The EU relies on networks of representatives from national institutions to assist in the implementation and enforcement its policies. Two recent studies show that there are multiple clusters on the welfare and healthcare networks, with implications for the effectiveness of this governance tool. Based on these studies, here the authors Dorte Sindbjerg Martinsen, Reini Schrama, […]

Yesterday saw Michael Gove and David Frost, the UK leads for the current negotiations with the EU, give evidence to Parliamentary committees. They were very upbeat about it all, pointing to the increasing chances of a deal and sounding conciliatory about compromises on state aid, even as they acknowledged the continuing problems elsewhere. I noted […]

In the last decade, the EU’s foreign policy practices have grown increasingly complex. For instance, despite the centralisation envisaged by the Lisbon Treaty, informal groups of member states shaped the Union’s policy on Kosovo and Ukraine. Ten years after its ratification, some believe that the Lisbon Treaty failed to strengthen the EU activities in international […]

Brexit politicians have sold to the nation that Britain must have 100% sovereignty – a key reason for leaving the European Union. But wiser politicians know better. Former Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher, was one of them. In a Parliamentary session back in December 1989, about her latest conference with the 11 other leaders of the […]

This is the big question of late 2020 in Brexit-land. All summer and into the autumn, we’ve have multiple briefings, this way and that; some setting us on the road to a rapid settlement, others pointing towards whatever euphemism-of-the-day we might have for a no-deal outcome. So which is it? Rather than try to list […]

The European Union recovery fund could greatly increase the stability of the bloc and its monetary union. But the fund needs clearer objectives, sustainable growth criteria and close monitoring so that spending achieves its goals and is free of corruption. In finalising the fund, the EU should take the time to design a strong governance […]

Believe it or not, Conservatives used to be the party of Europe. Indeed, it was: The Conservatives that joined the UK to the European Community. The Conservatives that advocated and helped to design the EU’s Single Market. The Conservatives that encouraged the former Communist countries to join. It was also one of the Tory party’s […]