Sir Michael Leigh
The EU and Turkey: Three scenarios
The volatile situation around Erdoğan’s Turkey poses a dilemma for EU decision makers. Three scenarios can be envisaged for how the EU handles tensions with Ankara, writes Sir Michael Leigh.
Science could become collateral damage of Brexit
A no-deal Brexit at the end of the year, or even a minimal, thin-deal Brexit, with no provision for cooperation on science, innovation and other crucial fields, would deliver a serious blow to economic competitiveness in the UK and the EU, writes Sir Michael Leigh.
One-year EU trade deal is fantasy
Prime Minister Boris Johnson would do better to come clean with the electorate on the complexity of the task ahead of negotiating a free trade agreement with the EU, writes Michael Leigh.
EU expansion receives an unlikely boost
Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker has a strong motivation for giving a boost to the largely stalled EU enlargement process, writes Sir Michael Leigh.
The election that did not run to plan
The appalling terrorist attack in London on 3 June, following the Manchester suicide bombing last month, has added to Theresa May’s woes, writes Sir Michael Leigh.
As the UK prepares to leave, is Europe disintegrating after 60 years?
The EU will not necessarily disappear, but it badly needs leaders who would avoid empty slogans, which merely repackage the status quo, and instead propose tangible solutions to everyday problems, writes Sir Michael Leigh.
Disdain for EU from President Trump, tough love from President Clinton
Donald Trump’s election cannot be entirely discounted and would have grave consequences for Europe, writes Sir Michael Leigh.
Belgium is no failed state
It is simplistic to blame Belgium for Europe’s vulnerability to terrorism. The NSA, CIA, and FBI were alerted before the 9/11 attacks, but the terrorists slipped through their fingers, writes Sir Micheal Leigh.
Bulgaria and Romania twenty years later
Twenty years after Bulgaria and Romania applied for membership in 1995, and almost a decade after their 2007 accession, their people still feel like second class EU citizens, writes Sir Michael Leigh.
EU urgently needs new neighbourhood policies
There will never be a common foreign and security policy worthy of the name unless the EU manages to redefine its neighbourhood policies, writes Michael Leigh.
Minor compromises to obtain Turkey’s cooperation are a price worth paying
There has been no general sacrifice of principle to get Turkey on board with the EU's refugee action plan, writes Sir Michael Leigh.