About: Guy Verhofstadt
Time to rethink EU democracy
To regain people’s trust in democracy, we need to fundamentally revisit the way our democracies work. The Conference on the Future of Europe is a chance to update the way Brussels does politics, write Guy Verhofstadt and Dacian Cioloș.
Communications and identity: A make-or-break year for the EU
With one of its important members seceding, the EU is navigating dangerous and uncharted waters and will need to take a more proactive approach in terms of communication to ensure that the ship stays on course, writes Anthony Spota.
Duff: post-Brexit association agreement one step closer
The resolution on Brexit voted with a large majority in the European Parliament today (March 14) sketches the outlines of a new EU-UK association agreement and brings us one step closer towards a dynamic post-Brexit relationship, writes Andrew Duff.
Europe’s liberals prepare for overthrow of Grand Coalition
Liberals in Europe want to overthrow the European cartel of power held by conservative and social democrats and are targeting victory in the upcoming European elections in 2019. Can their offensive possibly succeed? Wolf Achim Wiegand looks at their chances.
UK offer is far from what citizens are entitled to
The European Parliament’s political leaders and Brexit Steering Committee members condemn the UK’s “damp squib” of an offer on the rights of EU citizens and insist they will refuse to endorse a Brexit deal that strips EU citizens of their acquired rights.
One head, two votes: The case for a pan-European list for EU elections
In the 2019 European elections, voters should be able to cast two votes: one for their national representative and another for a second representative elected by a single European electoral college, argues Giorgio Clarotti.
A marriage of convenience
By courting the ALDE group, the Five Star Movement may prove that populists can move into the political mainstream. Despite differences between Beppe Grillo and Guy Verhofstadt, their parties are not as different as they seem, writes Nicholas Whyte.
MEPs need a long hard look in the mirror
MEPs have been quick to point out the reforms needed to improve accountability in the Commission but have not turned the same critical eye on themselves, writes Myriam Douo.
CETA, Wallonia and sovereignty in Europe
The chaos that followed Wallonia’s refusal to ratify CETA exposed Europe’s inability to reflect on the question of sovereignty and where it really resides, writes Amandine Crespy.
The week when Europe was hit by a perfect storm
The result of the Dutch referendum was the latest in a series of serious setbacks for the European project. The second week of April could be remembered as the moment when all the fronts in Europe’s multifaceted crisis started to converge, writes Jorge Valero.
Making the Brexit deal ‘formal, legally-binding and irreversible’
If the heads of government want to placate Cameron, they can promise to change the treaty in the future, but such a promise will be neither legally-binding nor irreversible, writes Andrew Duff.