To quote the old saw “prediction is very difficult, especially about the future.” And that’s certainly true for the EU. As a complex, multilevel organisation that lacks equivalents elsewhere in the political world, it is already hard enough to understand what has happened, let alone what is happening or what might happen. This is all […]
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My blog last week got picked up by British Influence, a pro-EU pressure group, who asked if they could re-post it on their website. Off the back of that, I got drawn into a Twitter exchange with Iron Lad, a self-professed libertarian and UKIP supporter. Suffice to say that we didn’t agree on much, as […]
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By Louise Thompson Over the last couple of weeks we have seen announcements from Conservative MPs Lorraine Fulbrook and Laura Sandys that they will stand down from Parliament at the 2015 General Election due to family commitments and responsibilities. This comes on the back of Louise Mensch’s resignation last year, telling the press that she […]
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Sunday 1st December 2013. Mass protests in Ukraine. They come just one week before the day when 22 years earlier Ukraine was instrumental in signing the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics into obsolescence; and 20 years – to the day – after the historic Rome meeting of the Conference (now Organisation) for Security and Cooperation […]
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I’ve had a small flurry of late-autumn events of late, including a talk at the Institute of International and European Affairs in Dublin (podcasted here) and a workshop here at Surrey on Croatia’s membership of the EU, organised by CRonEM. In these events, we have talked as much about current events across the Union as […]
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Perhaps it is merely a symptom that Richard Haass’ engagement in Northern Ireland has stimulated widespread debate within the Criminal Justice system in Northern Ireland, or perhaps it is a demonstration of more purposeful choreography. A Criminal Justice Inspection (CJI) report on the costs and impacts for the criminal justice system in dealing with the […]
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