Opinion pieces

  • Counting the cost of climate change, by Alasdair Murray
    E!Sharp, 03 September 2004

    Many European businesses are questioning why the EU is prepared to increase costs unilaterally when the benefits of the Kyoto approach to combating climate change appear so limited, writes Alasdair Murray of the Centre for European Reform.

  • Why collaborate in Europe?, by Daniel Keohane
    RUSI, 01 July 2004

    Defence analysts agree that Europe must increase its military prowess. Twenty-five EU governments collectively spend approximately £120bn on defence, which means that the EU is the world's second biggest defence spender after the US.

  • The US heads home: Will Europe regret it?, by Mark Leonard
    Financial Times, 26 June 2004

    The burning of Bush The US president was once known for his ability to unite factions but, with his foreign policy in tatters around him, he is dubbed the Great Polariser. What went wrong for George W. Bush and his advisers?

  • It's time to do your homework, by Charles Grant
    The Guardian, 17 June 2004

    For the past seven years Britain has been led by the most pro-European prime minister since Ted Heath, yet the mood of the country has never been more Europhobic.

  • EU enlargement: How to reap the benefits, by Katinka Barysch
    Economic Trends, 04 June 2004

    The overall economic impact of EU enlargement is likely to remain small. The newcomers are tiny compared with the existing EU countries and most economic integration has already taken place.

  • Big bang that began with a whimper, by Heather Grabbe
    E!Sharp, 07 May 2004

    Like many historical events, it now seems as if the enlargement of the European Union on May 1 was always inevitable.

  • Arrival delayed, by Alasdair Murray
    The Parliament Magazine, 22 March 2004

    The fact that the EU is not going to meet all its targets should not lead commentators to condemn the whole Lisbon programme, writes Alasdair Murray. At the Lisbon summit in the spring of 2000, EU leaders signed up to an ambitious economic reform programme that is designed to close the economic gap with the United States.

  • Europe's defence agency cleared for take-off, by Daniel Keohane
    E!Sharp, 12 March 2004

    Even though 15 EU governments collectively spend €160 billion on defence, they are struggling to remedy the problem because they spend their money very poorly.