Barroso’s Back

President Barroso gives every impression of being the happiest man on Earth and he is rarely seen these days without a huge grin. Certainly everything seems to be going his way; his re-election with a Lisbon-proof mandate, the appointment of a Council President and High Representative who will not outshine him, and now with his [...]

Six Days A Week

After the underwhelming appointments of Van Rompuy and Ashton, the European Parliament was treated to some traffic stopping star power as Sir Paul McCartney came to speak at an event organised by Edward MacMillan-Scott, entitled “Less Meat = Less Heat”.
The former Beatle was there to publicise a campaign for a “meat free Monday”, saying that [...]

Brown and the Baroness

There comes a point in the downward trajectory of a politicians life, when their support for a contender is the kiss of death. so it appears for Gordon Brown, the beleaguered British Prime minister. After promoting his arch rival for the post of Council President he was forced to accept reality at a meeting of [...]

ECR and EPP: War or Peace?

There seem to be two Conservative parties in the ECR Group, but which is the ‘real’ one? Whilst many Conservative MEP’s are sticking to the party line, many out of conviction, some out of a desire not to rock the boat ahead of a UK election, a few seem to be campaigning against official policy [...]

ECR: After The Coup

On 4th November, the Freedom Association, who are behind the Better Off Out campaign, launched their Freedom In Brussels branch with speeches by Michal Kaminski, ECR Group Leader and Roger Helmer, ECR MEP and Hon Chairman of the Freedom Association.

The meeting had around 25 attendees and the only other MEP present was Geoffrey Van [...]

Choosing A President – Brussels Style

Wining And Deciding
After months of networking, secret briefings, it seems that the  candidates for the Council President and High representative will be announced after the EU Leaders dinner on 19th November. Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt told the press that “My intention is to put forward one candidate per job” and that this could well [...]

The Persistence Of Memory

Last week saw the anniversary of two events that shaped Europe; Armistice Day and the fall of the Berlin Wall. Although separated by many decades it is the act of remembrance that unifies them.
For the last couple of weeks Brits in Brussels have been wearing a small poppy in their lapels, prompting colleagues and strangers [...]