– how the world has changed since June 23
The year 2017 has been as interesting as it has been frustrating for Brexiters and Bremainers alike. Article 50 was triggered and a snap election was held in the UK, but instead of giving direction and a strong mandate to the negotiations, the exact opposite has happened.
Read MoreA recent Eurobarometer poll with 31,946 respondents from all 28 European Union member states has shown a massive support for free movement of people, goods and services within the union. Even in the United Kingdom there appears to be a clear majority of 63% supporting free movement, making the on-going Brexit negotiations even more challenging. While the support for free movement in the UK pales in comparison to the 95% of Latvians supporting it, it is still a surprising number considering that many commentators and politicians have interpreted the narrow UK rejection of the…
Read MoreThe European Commission has appointed French career politician Michel Barnier, a former Minister of France and two times European Commissioner, as the Commission’s chief negotiator with the UK over the Brexit. Barnier’s appointment has drawn criticism from several quarters, with one analyst noting, that this is the Commission’s first decision since the Brexit vote, and it is a bad one. Although an experienced politician, who was first elected Member of the French parliament aged 27 in 1978, Barnier is also known as mono-linguist with a limited working knowledge of English. From…
Read MoreOne of the first direct consequences of the Brexit on the workings of the European Union has come to light, as UK Prime Minister Theresa May has told EU President Donald Tusk, that the UK will not take up the Presidency of the Council of the European Union in the second half of 2017 as otherwise planned. The Presidency of the Council of the European Union is rotating between the member states every half year, and it has yet to be decided who will take up the presidency instead of…
Read More“Clearly British humour has no boundaries” was the immediate reaction of former Belgian PM and leader of the European Liberals, Guy Verhofstadt, to the appointment of Boris Johnson as the new UK Secretary of Foreign Affairs. Verhofstadt’s view was echoed by other leading politicians, including Labour leadership contender Angela Eagle and SNP spokesman Pete Wishart. The latter said that “We thought the new prime minister [Theresa May] didn’t have a sense of humour – she’s only gone and proven that totally wrong”. Several British and international media outlets have begun publishing…
Read MoreIn a ironic twist of circumstances, David Cameron today rejected calls for a new Brexit referendum. Cameron’s rejection comes despite 4 mio. signatures calling for a new referendum to take place, and without the matter having been formally discussed in cabinet or in the House of Commons. Ironically, while many UK politicians have critized the EU for being un-democratic, it only takes 1 mio signatures for a citizens’ initiative to be taken up for discussion in the European Commission, while apparently 4 mio signatures is not enough to take something…
Read MoreThe discussions about what to do after the Brexit referendum has moved to Bruxelles, where there has been a number of meetings in the Council of Ministers, the European Parliament and the European Commission in recent days. At a meeting in the European Parliament, a smug and bellicose Nigel Farage told his fellow parliamentarians that Isn’t it funny? When I came here 17 years ago and I said that I wanted to lead a campaign go get Britain out of the European Union, you all laughed at me. Well, I…
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