EU institutions & treaties

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Europe's parliament: Reform or perish?

Europe's parliament: Reform or perish?

Denis MacShane
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

The EU budget: The Union risks having the wrong debate

Stephen Tindale
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.
A chance for further CAP reform

A chance for further CAP reform

Christopher Haskins
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

European political parties are the key to EU legitimacy

Sir Julian Priestley
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

Beyond the European Parliament: Rethinking the EU's democratic legitimacy

Anand Menon, John Peet
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

EU JHA co-operation: After Lisbon, reality bites

Hugo Brady
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 thumbnail

Eurozone governance: Why the Commission is right

Philip Whyte
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.
Finger print

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

The EU must learn from its mistakes over the past decade

Hugo Brady
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 file thumbnail

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

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? thumbnail

President Lamy?

Hugo Brady
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 thumbnail

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. 
Treaty

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...
Issue 68 - 2009 file thumbnail

Issue 68 - 2009

Charles Grant, Clara Marina O'Donnell, Philip Whyte
25 September 2009
Last chance for Lisbon: Ireland's EU referendum

Last chance for Lisbon: Ireland's EU referendum

Hugo Brady
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.
The Swedish EU presidency

The Swedish EU presidency

Charles Grant, Clara Marina O'Donnell, Hugo Brady, Katinka Barysch, Philip Whyte, Simon Tilford, Tomas Valasek
01 July 2009
A painful recession in Europe, uncertain prospects for the Lisbon treaty, a looming gas crisis in Ukraine and a lame-duck Commission are some of the challenges that the Swedish EU presidency will have to deal with in the second half of 2009.
EU politics after the elections

EU politics after the elections

Hugo Brady
10 June 2009
EU policies were not the issue that guided most voters in last week’s elections to the European Parliament. The economic crisis and job safety were uppermost in people’s minds.
Why the European elections matter thumbnail

Why the European elections matter

Hugo Brady
29 May 2009
Between June 4th and June 7th, Europeans will cast their votes to elect a new European Parliament (EP). Recent opinion polls indicate that they will do so without much enthusiasm. Indeed, there is every chance that the average turnout will be the lowest ever – it has fallen at every election since the first time that Europeans directly elected their MEPs in 1979, and sank to 45.6 per cent in 2004. But despite the prevailing apathy, this election matters.