Lord Renwick: If Margaret Thatcher were Prime Minister today she would seek major reform of the European Union before contemplating withdrawal In a short piece for Open Europe, Lord Renwick, a key former advisor to Margaret Thatcher, argues that if the Iron Lady held office today, she would seek major EU reform before considering a 'Brexit'.
Margaret Thatcher argued relentlessly against the enterprise stifling effects of EU centralism, hyper-bureaucracy and over-regulation. She foresaw with critical clarity the economic disaster that would overtake the weaker members of the eurozone, unable to remain competitive by devaluing their currencies. She would not accept that the British economy could not thrive outside the EU: that would depend on the policies British governments then pursued. She would and did accept, however, that Britains influence would dwindle outside the system, both in Europe and beyond, including with the United States.
If reincarnated as prime minister today, it would be uncharacteristic of Mrs Thatcher not to make a huge effort to change the EU, before contemplating abandoning it. She would be certain to seek to launch a crusade with, Angela Merkel, the Dutch and Swedish prime ministers and some of the Eastern Europeans, to change the direction of EU policy. This would emphasise fostering growth and jobs, restoring competitiveness, and safeguarding the rights of the EU member states outside the eurozone. Only then, would she decide whether enough had been achieved to render continuing membership worthwhile.
Lord R. Renwick's A Journey with Margaret Thatcher: Foreign Policy under the Iron Lady, will be published by Biteback next week.
Open Europe looked at Mrs Thatcher's legacy on Europe. Research Director, Stephen Booth, was quoted by Christian Science Monitor on her vision of Europe, while our Head of Economic Research, Raoul Ruparel was quoted on her economic policies by USA Today.
Cameron and Merkel: "Europe must be more competitive and flexible"
Packing his family in tow, David Cameron visited Angela Merkel at Schloss Meseberg, Germany's answer to Chequers, last week. After exchanging niceties which reportedly included a tour of the castle for the Camerons the two leaders got down to business.
Seeking German support for his vision of a flexible and reformed Europe was top on Cameron's agenda. And although much is made of the UK and Germany's differences, the two countries share interests that place them well to collaborate in certain areas. As argued by Open Europe's Director, Mats Persson, on BBC Newsnight, once British and German politicians get past ideological differences, they tend to agree on individual policies. Mats outlined ten potential areas of such agreement on his Telegraph blog, and was quoted in the International Herald Tribune, while Stephen Booth appeared on BBC Radio 5 Live speaking on the same subject.
Sure enough, 'back in Blighty' the talks were hailed as a success. Merkel told Cameron that she was willing to pursue the option of treaty change, Cameron hopes will give him the chance to redefine Britain's EU membership. Ultimately, however, as Stephen points out in an article published by Endeavour Public Affairs, the UK's relationship with the EU has always been complicated. That's unlikely to change imminently.
Cyprus: turbulent times ahead;
Slovenia and Portugal: sinking ships?
The Cypriot storm has calmed, but is far from over. The German Bundestag approved the Cypriot bailout package on Thursday, but the deal still needs to be ratified by the beleaguered island's parliament.
There has been no shortage of headlines from Cyprus: the resignation of its finance minister; public tussles between its Central Bank and government; alarm a second bailout may be needed; depositors standing to lose billions.
Open Europe continued to provide rolling analysis of the crisis, with Raoul Ruparel appearing on Sky News, Sky's 'Jeff Randal Live' show, and speaking on American Public Radio. Raoul's analysis on Cyprus was also picked up by Swedish daily Svenska Dagbladet, and French newspaper Liberation. Meanwhile, commentary by Open Europe's Pieter Cleppe, was printed in Germany's Deutsche Wirtschafts Nachrichten; while Mats Persson's Twitter feed on Cyprus was featured in City AM's 'Best of Twitter'.
Cypriot woes are not the only dark clouds on Europe's horizon, however. If anything, the country's troubles have renewed fears over who will be the next euro-domino to fall. In an Open Europe briefing, cited by the Guardian live blog, Zerohedge and Public Service Europe, we identify Slovenia or Portugal as the main candidates. Our resident economic guru, Raoul, discussed Portugal's economic outlook on Al Jazeera's 'Counting the Cost' show, and was quoted in Saturday's Telegraph. He also appeared on the 'Wake up to Money' show on BBC Radio 5 Live, discussing the future of the eurozone more generally.
Open Europe exclusive: interview with leading German economist Hans-Werner Sinn
Further commentary on Cyprus, Portugal and the eurocrisis is accessible in an exclusive Open Europe interview with leading German economist Hans-Werner Sinn. It was picked up in detail by the Guardian live blog.
On the election trail: Germany and Italy
Germany's first anti-Euro party, Alternative for Germany (AfD), has been making headway. The so called "professor party", calls for an orderly break-up of the eurozone and a return to the D-Mark. Keen to disassociate itself from the radical right NPD party, the AfD couches its rhetoric in economic terms.
AfD is currently on a 3% approval rating. Nonetheless, as argued by Open Europe's Pawel Swidlicki on his Rzeczpospolita blog, it is unlikely that the party will reach the minimum 5% required to win seats in the Bundestag in September's election but could grow in the longer term.
Writing in the Sunday Telegraph, Mats added further insight, writing that while Germany has emerged as the chief villain of the eurozone crisis in the wake of the Cypriot bailout, It is easy to see why German taxpayers have had enough.
As one co untry prepares for elections, another attempts to muddle through political deadlock. Italy's on-going attempts to elect a new president took a farcical turn on Thursday evening, as a male porn star, footballer and actor all received votes. Meanwhile, Franco Marini's bid for candidacy fell through overnight. The stalemate seems set to continue.
EU police and criminal justice measures: better off in or out?
Open Europe and the EU Parliament in London jointly hosted an event to debate whether the UK should opt in or out of 130 EU crime and policing laws. The stellar panel of speakers included the EU Home Affairs Commissioner Cecilia Malmström; Open Europes Stephen Booth; Labour MEP Claude Moraes; Alex Tinsely of Fair Trails International; Lib Dem MEP Baroness Sarah Ludford; Martin Howe QC and Conservative MEP Timothy Kirkhope.
Video coverage of the event, which was cited by the BBC, can be accessed on our website here; and more in-depth Open Europe research on the topic is available, both, here and here.
Separately, Stephen Booth was quoted by the Telegraph discussing the new European Commission proposal to increase the powers of Europol, the EU's police and criminal intelligence agency, to access national police files.
And finally...
A damning parliamentary report has found that the EU could be losing up to 5 billion (£4.3 million) of taxpayer's cash to fraud. The number is twelve times higher than officials in Brussels have been willing to admit. Pawel was quoted by the both the Telegraph and Deutsche Wirtschafts Nachrichten on the topic.
Bron: politics.be
Margaret Thatcher argued relentlessly against the enterprise stifling effects of EU centralism, hyper-bureaucracy and over-regulation. She foresaw with critical clarity the economic disaster that would overtake the weaker members of the eurozone, unable to remain competitive by devaluing their currencies. She would not accept that the British economy could not thrive outside the EU: that would depend on the policies British governments then pursued. She would and did accept, however, that Britains influence would dwindle outside the system, both in Europe and beyond, including with the United States.
If reincarnated as prime minister today, it would be uncharacteristic of Mrs Thatcher not to make a huge effort to change the EU, before contemplating abandoning it. She would be certain to seek to launch a crusade with, Angela Merkel, the Dutch and Swedish prime ministers and some of the Eastern Europeans, to change the direction of EU policy. This would emphasise fostering growth and jobs, restoring competitiveness, and safeguarding the rights of the EU member states outside the eurozone. Only then, would she decide whether enough had been achieved to render continuing membership worthwhile.
Lord R. Renwick's A Journey with Margaret Thatcher: Foreign Policy under the Iron Lady, will be published by Biteback next week.
Open Europe looked at Mrs Thatcher's legacy on Europe. Research Director, Stephen Booth, was quoted by Christian Science Monitor on her vision of Europe, while our Head of Economic Research, Raoul Ruparel was quoted on her economic policies by USA Today.
Cameron and Merkel: "Europe must be more competitive and flexible"
Packing his family in tow, David Cameron visited Angela Merkel at Schloss Meseberg, Germany's answer to Chequers, last week. After exchanging niceties which reportedly included a tour of the castle for the Camerons the two leaders got down to business.
Seeking German support for his vision of a flexible and reformed Europe was top on Cameron's agenda. And although much is made of the UK and Germany's differences, the two countries share interests that place them well to collaborate in certain areas. As argued by Open Europe's Director, Mats Persson, on BBC Newsnight, once British and German politicians get past ideological differences, they tend to agree on individual policies. Mats outlined ten potential areas of such agreement on his Telegraph blog, and was quoted in the International Herald Tribune, while Stephen Booth appeared on BBC Radio 5 Live speaking on the same subject.
Sure enough, 'back in Blighty' the talks were hailed as a success. Merkel told Cameron that she was willing to pursue the option of treaty change, Cameron hopes will give him the chance to redefine Britain's EU membership. Ultimately, however, as Stephen points out in an article published by Endeavour Public Affairs, the UK's relationship with the EU has always been complicated. That's unlikely to change imminently.
Cyprus: turbulent times ahead;
Slovenia and Portugal: sinking ships?
The Cypriot storm has calmed, but is far from over. The German Bundestag approved the Cypriot bailout package on Thursday, but the deal still needs to be ratified by the beleaguered island's parliament.
There has been no shortage of headlines from Cyprus: the resignation of its finance minister; public tussles between its Central Bank and government; alarm a second bailout may be needed; depositors standing to lose billions.
Open Europe continued to provide rolling analysis of the crisis, with Raoul Ruparel appearing on Sky News, Sky's 'Jeff Randal Live' show, and speaking on American Public Radio. Raoul's analysis on Cyprus was also picked up by Swedish daily Svenska Dagbladet, and French newspaper Liberation. Meanwhile, commentary by Open Europe's Pieter Cleppe, was printed in Germany's Deutsche Wirtschafts Nachrichten; while Mats Persson's Twitter feed on Cyprus was featured in City AM's 'Best of Twitter'.
Cypriot woes are not the only dark clouds on Europe's horizon, however. If anything, the country's troubles have renewed fears over who will be the next euro-domino to fall. In an Open Europe briefing, cited by the Guardian live blog, Zerohedge and Public Service Europe, we identify Slovenia or Portugal as the main candidates. Our resident economic guru, Raoul, discussed Portugal's economic outlook on Al Jazeera's 'Counting the Cost' show, and was quoted in Saturday's Telegraph. He also appeared on the 'Wake up to Money' show on BBC Radio 5 Live, discussing the future of the eurozone more generally.
Open Europe exclusive: interview with leading German economist Hans-Werner Sinn
Further commentary on Cyprus, Portugal and the eurocrisis is accessible in an exclusive Open Europe interview with leading German economist Hans-Werner Sinn. It was picked up in detail by the Guardian live blog.
On the election trail: Germany and Italy
Germany's first anti-Euro party, Alternative for Germany (AfD), has been making headway. The so called "professor party", calls for an orderly break-up of the eurozone and a return to the D-Mark. Keen to disassociate itself from the radical right NPD party, the AfD couches its rhetoric in economic terms.
AfD is currently on a 3% approval rating. Nonetheless, as argued by Open Europe's Pawel Swidlicki on his Rzeczpospolita blog, it is unlikely that the party will reach the minimum 5% required to win seats in the Bundestag in September's election but could grow in the longer term.
Writing in the Sunday Telegraph, Mats added further insight, writing that while Germany has emerged as the chief villain of the eurozone crisis in the wake of the Cypriot bailout, It is easy to see why German taxpayers have had enough.
As one co untry prepares for elections, another attempts to muddle through political deadlock. Italy's on-going attempts to elect a new president took a farcical turn on Thursday evening, as a male porn star, footballer and actor all received votes. Meanwhile, Franco Marini's bid for candidacy fell through overnight. The stalemate seems set to continue.
EU police and criminal justice measures: better off in or out?
Open Europe and the EU Parliament in London jointly hosted an event to debate whether the UK should opt in or out of 130 EU crime and policing laws. The stellar panel of speakers included the EU Home Affairs Commissioner Cecilia Malmström; Open Europes Stephen Booth; Labour MEP Claude Moraes; Alex Tinsely of Fair Trails International; Lib Dem MEP Baroness Sarah Ludford; Martin Howe QC and Conservative MEP Timothy Kirkhope.
Video coverage of the event, which was cited by the BBC, can be accessed on our website here; and more in-depth Open Europe research on the topic is available, both, here and here.
Separately, Stephen Booth was quoted by the Telegraph discussing the new European Commission proposal to increase the powers of Europol, the EU's police and criminal intelligence agency, to access national police files.
And finally...
A damning parliamentary report has found that the EU could be losing up to 5 billion (£4.3 million) of taxpayer's cash to fraud. The number is twelve times higher than officials in Brussels have been willing to admit. Pawel was quoted by the both the Telegraph and Deutsche Wirtschafts Nachrichten on the topic.
Bron: politics.be