A UKIP MEP disgraces himself and embarrasses a nation in his attack on the president of the European Council, Herman Van Rompuy, yesterday.  His apologists try to claim that the European Parliament would benefit from being a bit less consensual and a bit more controversial, but there is a world of difference between intelligent criticism [...]

By Davide Marchesi
Towards the end of 2009 I happened to be in Cameroon for a few months. One of the first things I learnt during my stay is that transport is a real issue in Cameroon. There’s a local joke about drivers which says: “When you see a Cameroonian driving straight, you’ll know that he’s [...]

The Daily Mail runs a story http://bit.ly/bWzznV  and an editorial http://bit.ly/bg3gWb today complaining about the excessive power of the EU in regulating the sale of baby milk.  Boots, one of the major retailers of infant formula in the UK, does not offer loyalty points to its customers for the purchase of baby milk, whereas it [...]

A small victory for the forces of light against the Dark Empire today, with a retraction by the Daily Express of its ludicrous allegation that the European Commission wanted to ban milk jugs.
 
The London representation of the Commission explains its original objection here: http://euonym.wordpress.com/2010/02/03/milk-and-honey/
 
And the Daily Express website today carries what it calls an apology [...]

By Roland Rudd, Chairman, Business for New Europe

 
As world leaders gathered in Copenhagen last December for the United Nations Climate Change Conference, President Sarkozy of France delivered a rallying call urging those gathered – including over 120 leaders - to put aside their differences and agree upon the instruments necessary to tackle climate change. He [...]

If you want an illustration of how bad the news reporting of Europe is in some parts of the British press, look at page 5 of the Daily Express today. (Or read it online here: http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/153073/Europe-plots-green-blitz-on-British-roads.) The claims made about European transport policy are simply false.
Let’s start with the opening sentence: “Brussels bureaucrats want to slap [...]

The British press is, unfortunately, infamous for its tendency to overreact, so the articles and comments in the electronic and print media over the appointment of a Frenchman as Commissioner-designate for Internal Market should not come as a surprise. But this is not the time for over-dramatisations, many around Fleet Street and beyond might enjoy [...]

The hypocritical reaction of all those that are instinctively critical of anything that has to do with the EU baffles me beyond belief. Nigel Farage and those that share his views on European integration have, in the last 12 hours, been attacking with venom the appointment of Mr van Rompuy and Baroness Ashton as President [...]

Following David Cameron’s speech on 4th November, here are some reactions…
1. Opting out of the Charter of Rights
Why opt out of a Charter of Rights that simply ensures that the EU has to repect fundamental rights and that any EU legislation that fails to do so, can be struck down by the courts? It is [...]

A new report from eurosceptic campaign group Open Europe, entitled “How the EU is watching you: The rise of Europe’s surveillance state” claims that the EU is a threat to civil liberties in the UK.  They are obviously aiming at the wrong target.
 
The starting point for criticism of this report is the fact that the [...]