EU institutions & treaties
Europe's date with destiny
01 August 2011
Many people have quietly given up on the European Union. Not too long ago, Europe struggled long and hard to ratify the Lisbon treaty – now barely mentioned.
The new EU budget: A missed opportunity
11 July 2011
The Commission's proposals for the EU's 2014-2020 budgets are a missed opportunity, representing no substantial change. Spending on agriculture should be greatly reduced, that on cohesion re-focused and that on climate greatly increased.
The politics of European justice
01 June 2011
The EU's least understood institution is its Court of Justice, which is seated in a stockade-like building in Luxembourg. For over half a century, judges there have quietly adjudicated, mainly between European governments, institutions and businesses.
Europe's parliament: Reform or perish?
04 April 2011
National MPs feel less and less in control of decisions taken in Europe. Yet they are expected to defend these decisions with the same vigour as the national laws they vote for themselves.
The EU budget: The Union risks having the wrong debate
01 April 2011
In an age of fiscal austerity, the focus of the forthcoming EU budget talks will be even more strongly on net balances: how much a country pays in and how much it gets back.
Issue 77 - 2011
25 March 2011
- Europe needs a military avant-garde, Charles Grant
- The eurozone's grand bargain: Political pain without economic gain? , Philip Whyte
- The EU budget: The Union risks having the wrong debate, Stephen Tindale
A chance for further CAP reform
28 February 2011
This policy brief argues that the reform of the Common Agricultural Policy which Commissioner Fischler began over a decade ago must now be completed.
European political parties are the key to EU legitimacy
01 February 2011
The European Parliament sometimes exasperates its friends. MEPs have made the wrong calls on some policy questions and they delayed reforming their malfunctioning pay and allowances system until the creation of a harmonised salary scheme in 2009.
Beyond the European Parliament: Rethinking the EU's democratic legitimacy
21 December 2010
The European Parliament plays a crucial role in the EU's legislative process, but is little loved in many parts of the EU. Even if all MEPs became wise, hard-working and responsible, the Parliament would still find it hard to claim a proper democratic mandate.
EU JHA co-operation: After Lisbon, reality bites
24 June 2010
EU policies on policing, justice and immigration were widely expected to take a big leap forward after the ratification of the Lisbon treaty.
Eurozone governance: Why the Commission is right
04 June 2010
The collapse of market confidence sparked by the parlous state of Greece’s public finances is forcing the EU to review how the eurozone is run. This is entirely welcome.
Does the EU need a public prosecutor?
01 February 2010
Viviane Reding, the EU's new justice commissioner, wants to begin her term with a bang by setting up the office of a European public prosecutor (EPP).
The EU must learn from its mistakes over the past decade
23 December 2009
The EU needs new thinking. After eight years of stop-start negotiations, the Union finally has a new rulebook, the Lisbon treaty, which entered into force earlier this month. The member-states are waiting for a new European Commission and a new European Council president to take office early next year.
An open letter to David Cameron
01 December 2009
Dear David,The day after the Czech Republic became the last country to ratify the Lisbon treaty, you abandoned your pledge to hold a referendum on it and you unveiled a new EU strategy that is skilfully balanced.
What to do about the Lisbon treaty? Four options for the Conservatives
02 November 2009
The Lisbon treaty will be in force before the next British general election, which the Conservatives seem likely to win. The Conservatives will need to tell the world what they intend to do about a treaty they have vehemently opposed. Charles Grant's policy brief outlines four options for the Conservatives:...
President Lamy?
20 October 2009
EU leaders are racking their brains to come up with candidates for the future presidency of the European Council. The job, to be created by the nearly-ratified Lisbon treaty, will replace a system whereby the EU is 'led' by a different national leader every six months.
The Czechs will probably ratify the Lisbon treaty this year
02 October 2009
Any prediction about the timing of the Czech Republic’s ratification of the Lisbon treaty must be heavily qualified; politics in Prague are so complex and opaque that many Czechs find it hard to understand what is going on.
Europe leaves behind the era of treaty change
01 October 2009
Ireland’s decisive yes to the Lisbon treaty is likely to spur Poland and – after some delay – the Czech Republic to ratify. The Lisbon treaty will probably enter into force early next year, and that is good news for the EU, in three ways.
First, the EU will move on...
First, the EU will move on...
Issue 68 - 2009
25 September 2009
- Europe leaves behind the era of treaty change, Charles Grant
- Europe's imbalanced response to the financial crisis, Philip Whyte
- Britain must pool defence capabilities, Clara Marina O'Donnell
Last chance for Lisbon: Ireland's EU referendum
22 September 2009
Ireland will hold a second referendum on the Treaty of Lisbon on October 2nd 2009. Most opinion polls in the run-up to the vote show that a majority of Irish voters now back the EU treaty they rejected in June 2008.