Opinion pieces

  • Is David Cameron Margaret Thatcher’s heir on Europe?, by Charles Grant
    Carnegie Europe, 09 April 2013

    Not at all. David Cameron sees the EU very differently to Margaret Thatcher. For a start, when Thatcher was prime minister she was strongly opposed to referendums on the EU.

  • The Brussels backroom deal that will live in infamy, by Hugo Brady
    Carnegie Europe, 01 April 2013

    The decision to establish a third official seat of the European Parliament (EP) in Dresden, quietly announced on Friday afternoon, when most observers and journalists had already left Brussels to head home for Easter, is a classic example of EU horse-trading. It is also epitomises everything that is wrong with Brussels.

  • Cyprus needs to tax Russian deposit holders, by Katinka Barysch
    The Guardian, 22 March 2013

    It's the best solution to banking crisis in Cyprus. It would alienate Moscow, but bring greater EU support
    The Cypriot parliament has rejected the initial bailout proposed by the eurozone countries and the IMF.

  • The EU battle Cameron could win, by Katinka Barysch
    Prospect, 20 March 2013

    In his big European speech on 23rd January, David Cameron said he wanted radical reform of the European Union or, failing that, a series of unilateral opt-outs.

  • Britain should abandon hope of a revival in EU demand, by Simon Tilford
    The Guardian, 04 February 2013

    The British government's attempt to rebalance the UK economy has failed. In 2012, the deficit on the country's current account (the broadest measure of foreign trade) was larger than in any year since 1990.

  • Cameron should keep Britain in the fight against international crime, by Hugo Brady
    E!Sharp, 04 February 2013

    David Cameron wants the EU to re-double its efforts to boost economic growth, tackle climate change and fight terrorism and organised crime. That would make the Union more the kind of club that Britain wants to stay in, according to his Bloomberg speech in January.

  • Will other EU countries block any attempt by the UK to renegotiate its membership?, by John Springford
    City A.M, 24 January 2013

    David Cameron seems to have made it his mission to frustrate other EU countries. This means his plea for renegotiation will be (largely) rebuffed. What has Cameron done to upset the others?

  • The vulnerability of elites: Geopolitical risk in 2013, by GAC members
    Global Agenda Council, 21 January 2013

    Categorising the major themes, risks, opportunities, and wild cards—based on discussions of the Global Agenda Council on Geopolitical Risk in Dubai, November 2012.