Europe
Apart from a few years in the middle-east, I've lived my whole life in europe; the great majority in britain. I am a european, both from conviction and pragmatism. Europe, of which the uk remains a part, is helping forge a new way forward for the world. It is a lighthouse of how old enemies can become not just new allies, but so closely bound and integrated that their future prosperity depends on them hanging ever closer together. At its best, europe brings real benefits from bigger and freer flowing markets, economies of scale, the circulation of best practice and safety in numbers. I have written a lot about europe, mainly in my guise of new europe, and you can read it all here. Watch the clip, by oscar-winning producer alice doyard
the quiet road to 2009 (August 2007)
Sunday 14th December 2008
This meat-and-potatoes stuff is a little boring. It is also a test. Citizens’ lack of identification and engagment with the EU, together with what the so-called democratic deficit, has long been seen as getting worse...
let battle commence ! (June 2007)
Sunday 14th December 2008
Logic strongly suggests that if citizens want the EU to survive and be effective in the years to come, the new Treaty must be ratified...
the new push from paris (May 2007)
Sunday 14th December 2008
The French need reconciliation with a Europe which was made in their own image, but which has slipped remorselessly beyond their control..
ties that bind (April 2007)
Sunday 14th December 2008
Like its population, Europe’s economy is rather mature and American flirtation with the virile new South-East Asian kids on the block should come as no surprise, particularly as the EU-US marriage has been rocky for years...
energy: the battle that is not just hot air (March 2007)
Sunday 14th December 2008
In most countries, the same big company dominates the national market and controls both infrastructure and supply. Incumbents have little incentive to invest heavily to redesign systems to open them to competitors...
it’s the commission, stupid ! (February 2007)
Sunday 14th December 2008
The current Commission is centre-right. However, this has come about almost by stealth, and many are reluctant to admit it, preferring to talk of the Commission in terms of splendid neutrality. Meanwhile, it pushes hard for liberalising measures...
from dayton to brussels (January 2007)
Sunday 14th December 2008
Peace-building has turned to state-building, or, more precisely, to Member State building – because as much as ending the Bosnian war was an American affair, rebuilding the country has been a European one...
stability, security and growth (April 2004)
Saturday 13th December 2008
Everyone knows the adage about a camel being a racehorse designed by a committee, but a look at how far Europe has come in a few short decades shows that everything is possible...
flagging (May 2004)
Saturday 13th December 2008
From its inception until today, the single most important word in the EU lexicon has been Germany...
save democracy: abolish elections ! (June 2004)
Saturday 13th December 2008
Ministers are forced to engage in Europe, to see it close up and see how it works, to shape its habits, to understand and even explain it. They are forced to find workable solutions...
passport to citizenship (July 2004)
Saturday 13th December 2008
Unlike normal societies which slowly evolve concepts and finally carve them in law, the EU first creates a legal basis, and then tries to build something on it...
taking a little constitutional (September 2004)
Saturday 13th December 2008
As for London, no-one wants the single market’s powerhouse to leave the EU, nor does the UK want to leave - but sometimes you just have to make a choice...