• Briefing note by Daniel Keohane, 27 October 2004

    On October 29th EU leaders will formally sign the new EU constitutional treaty at a ceremony in Rome. The 25 EU governments will then have two years to ratify the document. Governments can ratify the constitutional treaty by a parliamentary vote, or they can hold a referendum – in a few member-states a referendum is mandatory.

  • Report by Alasdair Murray, 01 October 2004

    The EU's policies for enforcing competition and restricting state subsidies are among its biggest success stories. But the way the European Commission conducts these policies is coming under attack.

  • Briefing note by Daniel Keohane, 01 October 2004

    On 29 October 2004 EU leaders will formally sign the new EU constitutional treaty at a ceremony in Rome. The 25 EU governments will then have two years to ratify the document. Governments can ratify the constitutional treaty by a parliamentary vote, or they can hold a referendum – in a few member-states a referendum is mandatory.

  • Briefing note by Alasdair Murray, 06 August 2004

    José Manuel Durão Barroso unveiled his new Commission on 12 August 2004 – confirming his burgeoning reputation as a deft political tactician. Barroso has crafted a carefully balanced team, which emphasises his own independence as incoming Commission president.

  • Bulletin article by Alasdair Murray, 02 August 2004

    Dear José Manuel Durao Barroso,Congratulations on your appointment as president of the European Commission. You were not everyone's first choice for the post ­ in fact you were initially not even in the running.

  • Briefing note by Aurore Wanlin, 25 June 2004

    EU leaders finally reached agreement on the EU's new constitutional treaty at their Brussels summit on 18 June 2004. Although the summit was marked by a series of acrimonious exchanges, particularly between Jacques Chirac and Tony Blair, EU leaders were determined to agree the new treaty, following the embarrassing collapse of their previous summit in December 2003.

  • Opinion piece 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.

  • Briefing note by Aurore Wanlin, 03 June 2004

    European leaders gather in Brussels on 17-19 June 2004 for a 'make or break' summit on the EU's new constitutional treaty. The last time they tried, at the EU summit in December 2003, they failed to agree on the details of the document.