Tag: Blair

Leading Conservatives in the UK have challenged the government to justify the £6.4 billion net contribution the British exchequer will make to the EU coffers next year - a 60% rise on this year.

A British businessman is taking the UK government to court today over its refusal to hold a referendum on the EU Treaty. The move adds to the feeling of uncertainty about the EU's future, with the 'yes' and 'no' camps neck-and-neck ahead of the Irish referendum on 12 June.

Prime Minister Tony Blair believes that no referendum on the Constitutional Treaty would need to be held in the UK if, instead of attempting revive the original wide-ranging Treaty, the members states now simply agreed on a series of amendments, writes Brendan Donnelly of the Federal Union.

Prime Minister Tony Blair has said that the current situation in Europe offers Britain a "historic opportunity" to "cure the sickness that has afflicted Britian's relationship with the project of European integration".

A hard fought late night budget deal has put the EU back on track. Blair has rescued the remains of his European credentials while Germany’s Chancellor Merkel showed herself to be a new force to be reckoned with.

Realising that the CAP spending will be hard to touch, the UK is set to make cuts in structural fund payments in its EU budget proposal. 

Several explosions in London with at least 12 dead and many wounded have put the spectre of terrorism back on European agenda. A group saying it is linked to al Qaeda has claimed to be behind the attacks.

The UK is taking over the EU presidency at a time of political upheaval. With the high-profile clash over the EU budget still smouldering PM Tony Blair will have a hard time posing as the 'honest broker'. 

The UK PM Tony Blair's speech to the European Parliament on 23 June comes as fellow EU leaders continue the bickering over the failed EU summit.  

Labour's third consecutive victory in the UK has come at the price of a sharply reduced majority. This has sparked immediate speculation as to when Prime Minister Tony Blair may step down. 

As a sign of their continuing co-operation, the leaders of Britain and France are scheduled to hold a meeting in London on 18 November. However, disagreements over Iraq continue to linger.

Provided that Turkey comply with the Copenhagen criteria, there should be nothing to stop its EU accession bid, says UK's PM Tony Blair during an official visit.

In their much-anticipated summit meeting on 20 September, the leaders of Britain, France and Germany failed to forge a common position on the US draft of a Security Council resolution on Iraq.

On 12 June, Prime Minister Tony Blair launched the fifth and largest reshuffle of the British cabinet in a year.

In a letter addressed to Prime Minister Tony Blair, the leaders of 26 top companies have warned of "serious consequences" for Britain's economy if it remains outside the euro zone.

The British Labour Party lost well over 700 seats in local elections in England on 1 May, although it still emerged victorious in Wales and Scotland. Analysts see this as a direct 'pay-back' for Tony Blair's stance on Iraq.

Citing their "excellent friendship", the leaders of Germany and Britain said on 15 April they had found common ground. Meanwhile, French President Jacques Chirac called President Bush for their first conversation in over two months.

An informal meeting by the EU-15 Defense Ministers was overshadowed by the Azores-Summit but brought some progress on European Security and Defense Policy (ESDP)

After hectic diplomatic efforts to win UN Security Council majority for a new resolution on Iraq, Britain and the US are forced to delay a vote, when France and Russia say they will veto it.

Accompanied by four cabinet ministers, British Prime Minister Tony Blair travels to France on 4 February for the annual one-day Anglo-French summit with President Jacques Chirac.

Austrian Chancellor Wolfgang Schuessel continued the chorus of criticism of British Prime Minister Tony Blair's apparent attempts to exclude the EU's smaller members from decision-making in the fight against terrorism.

An unprecedented informal meeting of EU leaders at a dinner hosted by British Prime Minister Tony Blair on 4 November discussed the war in Afghanistan and the situation in the Middle East. Original invitees German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder, French President Jacques Chirac and French Prime Minister Lionel Jospin were joined by the leaders of Italy, Spain, Belgium and the Netherlands after they complained about their exclusion.

Tony Blair reduces power of pro-Europeans in cabinet reshuffle that rules out referendum on euro in near future

Blair wins historic second term forcing Hague to quit as Conservative leader over his failure to make inroads into Labour majority