Tag: United Kingdom

Britain's long-running political civil war over Europe is as much about symbols as it is about substance. That is why London wants to erase or amend the goal of an "ever closer union" which is perceived as a journey towards a European super-state, writes Paul Taylor.

Australia has told Britain it hopes it will remain part of the European Union, becoming the latest country to intervene in an emotive domestic debate that may culminate in a referendum to decide if Britain leaves the 28-nation bloc.

The soaps industry on Friday (7 June) launched a campaign to get Europeans to use a 30ºC washing cycle, saying just a 3º heat drop in a few countries would save enough energy to power the Italian city of Parma for a year.

British Prime Minister David Cameron is set to deliver his hotly anticipated speech about his plans for Britain's membership of the European Union this week, Foreign Secretary William Hague said on Sunday (20 January).

Negotiations on Scotland’s position in Europe will take place from within the EU after a referendum on independence next year, said First Minister Alex Salmond.

The UK grows increasingly euro-sceptic, vetoing the Banking Union, threatening the EU's long-term budget and promising a referendum on membership. However, a EurActiv ranking of the "40 most influential Britons on current EU policy-making" underlines British influence on European issues. Complementing a federal eurozone, Britain may opt for a 'focused membership’ centred on a better regulated single market, write Christophe Leclercq and Sharon Leclercq-Spooner.

Romano Prodi, former president of the European Commission, shares his views with EurActiv.de on the future of the single currency and moves towards a two-speed European Union. Regarding the UK's disengagement from Europe, his assessment is simple: Britain will lose influence and eventually face "grave difficulties".

Margaret Thatcher, John Major and Tony Blair, whatever the other distractions of their premierships, were keen followers of the European debate. Only Gordon Brown, in the terminal stages of his decay, can be accused of such a lack of interest in matters European. David Cameron is in a league of his own, writes Tom Spencer.

VoteWatch Europe has released its first-ever report examining national voting trends in the Council of the European Union. The survey provides new insights into the main areas of disagreement and could help reveal which member states are ‘most difficult’.

British Prime Minister David Cameron's suggestion he is ready to hold a referendum on Britain's future in the European Union backfired yesterday (2 July) after his opponents and some in his own party accused him of sending vague or conflicting messages.

Following Britain's veto of last week's treaty deal for fiscal union, Irish leaders have had to walk an increasingly narrow line between Brussels and London. Finance Minister Michael Noonan has mentioned the possibility of a referendum on the euro, EurActiv France reports.

Andrew Duff, a British Liberal MEP and leader of the Union of European Federalists, has called for a genuine 'fiscal union' and greater EU integration, explicitly saying that opt-outs should be made possible for more Eurosceptic countries like the United Kingdom.

Britons began voting on Thursday in what is forecast to be the closest election since 1992, with the Conservatives struggling to convert their opinion poll advantage into an outright majority.

In a commentary sent to EurActiv, UK Foreign Secretary David Miliband calls on EU leaders to show more ambition in their efforts to close a new UN-sponsored climate treaty this December and suggests that EU countries embark on a new "environmental union".

The tone of UK Shadow Foreign Secretary William Hague's 21 July speech to the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London "takes us back to Winston Churchill's image of Britain at the centre of three concentric circles: transatlantic, Commonwealth and European - a world that no longer exists," writes Stanley Crossick, founder of the European Policy Centre, in a July post on Blogactiv.

The UK government's reaction to EU proposals on financial regulation will provide a "potential watershed moment" for UK-EU relations, argue Sir Brian Unwin, ex-president of the European Investment Bank, and Graham Bishop in a June report published by the London-based Federal Trust.

The election success of the far-right British National Party (BNP) does not signal a major shift to the right in UK politics, according to former British Labour MEP Richard Corbett, who lost his seat to the BNP in last weekend's European election.

This week, nine of the EU's 27 member states are due to hold domestic votes at the same time as the European Parliament poll, including in three of the EU's largest countries. While critics allege that twinning elections confuses European issues, defenders argue that it should increase voter turnout.

UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown's view of the EU is "utilitarian" and "similar to that of Margaret Thatcher" in that he supports it as far as it helps Britain, according to Sir Stephen Wall, the former UK Permanent Representative to the EU and former EU Adviser to the Prime Minister.

The House of Lords has ruled that the UK Government is in breach of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) by holding nine "suspected international terrorists" in indefinite detention without trial.