Tag: eurosceptics

David Cameron’s promise of an in/out referendum leaves europhiles in Britain with a choice of two unattractive alternatives: a detached ‘outer lane’ vision of Britain’s place in Europe, or leaving the EU altogether, writes Mark Dawson.

Whether or not Britain chooses to turn back the clock on its EU membership, the country is likely to remain an important player in Europe’s overseas development policies.

A landmark speech by British Prime Minister David Cameron later this month will trigger campaigns to persuade young people to choose between staying in or opting out of the EU, as the issue moves to the fore of the country's domestic political agenda in 2013.

While the UK goes one way, the rest of the EU goes another. Europe’s ongoing financial crisis exposes systemic weakness in the way the political economy is run. Executive authority is dispersed amongst different and fairly obscure institutions, and democratic accountability is thin, writes Andrew Duff in a BlogActiv post.

On 12 September Germany's constitutional court will issue a preliminary verdict on the European Stability Mechanism and the fiscal compact. Whatever the court does, the debate about a new, pro-European constitution will hot up this autumn. But do not be fooled: Germany is still a very long way from agreeing to eurobonds, says Katinka Barysch.