debating progressive politics in Europe and beyond
Former British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw recently argued forcefully that the European Parliament suffered from an ineradicable ‘democratic deficit’ and should be abolished, to be replaced by an assembly of national parliaments. Simon Hix argues that the evidence shows that the European Parliament successfully handles a massive policy agenda, and in most countries engages strongly with European [...]
We still have the choice whether we want to waste the current European crisis – or to use it to change the EU. While last week’s European Council was expected to agree on the finer details of the fiscal compact and its implementation we should remember that the new treaty is a necessary – but not a [...]
The financial crisis is threatening to destroy half a century of European integration. By nature, it is blind, brutal, literally inhumane. But in reality, it is primarily a test of the political will of the people in Europe and of those that they chose to govern them. In their great irresponsibility, the speculators have hit [...]
The financial crisis risks destroying half a century of European integration. It is primarily a political and not an economic crisis and only a different political solution can solve it. The problem is the intergovernmental system of governance: Member states’ governments take decisions jointly, but each government pursues its own partial interests. Hence, political integration [...]
“I am appalled by the sums of money mentioned in the newspaper article. I believe that to work as a consultant, using one’s public image as a member of the European Parliament, is not compatible with the values of the Socialists and Democrats group.” This was the immediate, robust response of Martin Schulz, leader of [...]
The financial question of whether the stability mechanism agreed in Brussels, which will repay in 2013 the bail-out fund agreed in May 2010, will end speculation about the Euro, I shall leave open. What is more important is the political issue of the flaw in the construction of monetary union, about which speculation on the [...]
Yet another in a long line of scandals has hit the European Parliament. This time it is allegations that three MEPs agreed to receive payments for submitting amendments to legislation. The anti-European press have had a field day and for once their outrage is justified. I can imagine the feelings of most MEPs who despite [...]
At its last plenary, the European Parliament (EP) ratified the Union’s free trade agreement with the Republic of Korea (EU-ROK FTA), the largest trade deal ever signed by the EU. The accord removes the current 8% tariff on EU cars exported to South Korea and is expected to double the €53 billion bilateral trade in [...]
One of the sticks which the anti-Europeans love to beat the EU with is the claim that the EU accounts have not been ‘signed off’ for more than 10 years. They repeatedly use this to conjure up images of widespread fraud and corruption. This perceived failure to ‘sign off’ the accounts is treated as a [...]
On Wednesday the European Parliament voted in favour of introducing a financial transactions tax at EU level. This is very important in cutting through the log-jam of passing the buck: we will introduce a FTT, but only when everyone else does. It is a notable success for the European socialists, trade union organisations and others [...]
On Thursday, 20 January 2011, the EU Commission was forced to suspend the trading of Co2 certificates in the frame of the European Emission Trading System (ETS) due to fraud and so called cyber-attacks. This step became necessary after the theft of seven million Euros in carbon emissions allowances and the illegal transfer of up [...]
The year 2010 was a successful year for environment protection efforts within the framework of the United Nations. At the end of October the conference on the Convention on biodiversity in Nagoya, Japan, led to a successful outcome. The intense negotiations resulted in the ‘Access and Benefit Sharing Protocol’ (ABS), a strategic plan for 2011-2020 [...]
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