EU institutions & treaties

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Yes to a referendum, but not on this treaty

Yes to a referendum, but not on this treaty

01 October 2007
Britain is divided over the EU’s new Reform Treaty. The eurosceptic lobby is ratcheting up a well-funded, media-savvy campaign to pressure the government into holding a referendum on the treaty.
The Microsoft appeal: The Commission was right

The Microsoft appeal: The Commission was right

Simon Tilford
13 September 2007
On September 17th the European Union’s Court of First Appeal will rule on Microsoft’s long-awaited appeal against the record fine imposed on the company by the Commission in 2004 for abusing its dominant position in computer operating systems.
Poland’s poll and the EU treaty

Poland’s poll and the EU treaty

Katinka Barysch
24 August 2007
Poland’s early election may coincide with the last days of talks on the new EU Reform Treaty. Although the Kaczynskis are unlikely to reopen a deal agreed in June on the treaty's content, last minute political posturing for a home audience could delay the text being signed off.
Of mice, men and the language of EU reform thumbnail

Of mice, men and the language of EU reform

18 July 2007
Beware the humourless, especially in politics. At a CER/Clifford Chance conference last week, Guiliano Amato, Italy’s interior minister, pronounced that the Reform Treaty was a return to familiar territory for the EU: an unreadable treaty.
Portugal's presidency

Portugal's presidency

Katinka Barysch
09 July 2007
On 1 July 2007, Portugal took over the EU's rotating presidency from Germany. Angela Merkel's six months at the helm will be a tough act to follow.
Hurrah for an end to EU navel gazing

Hurrah for an end to EU navel gazing

Hugo Brady
28 June 2007
European leaders will open negotiations on a new EU 'reform treaty' on 23 July 2007. At a cliffhanger summit last weekend, German Chancellor Angela Merkel worked hard to accommodate national concerns that threaten to derail the new treaty.
Why treaty change matters for business and for Britain

Why treaty change matters for business and for Britain

21 May 2007
If Britain blocks Germany's plans to forge an agreement on a new EU treaty, the consequences would be grim, according to this policy brief published by the Centre for European Reform and Business for New Europe.
What future for EU development policy?

What future for EU development policy?

Aurore Wanlin
04 May 2007
The European Union, together with its member-states, is the world's largest source of development aid. Yet the Union under-performs as a donor: its various governments and the Commission seldom co-ordinate their efforts, and often fail to think strategically.
Britain and the EU: a crisis looms file thumbnail

Britain and the EU: a crisis looms

02 April 2007
British politicians are too complacent about Germany’s plan to salvage large parts of the EU constitutional treaty. They assume that other countries will reject the German presidency’s scheme, so sparing Britain from isolation. Indeed, there is now a consensus that stretches from UK treasury officials to Conservative leaders to The...
The view from 2027

The view from 2027

22 March 2007
Given how much respect and esteem most Europeans feel for the EU today, one can easily forget that when it celebrated its 50th birthday, in 2007, it was widely disliked and mistrusted.
What is wrong with Lisbon?

What is wrong with Lisbon?

Aurore Wanlin
09 March 2007
The Lisbon agenda embodies a paradox. Progress made by the member-states has been slow and patchy. The German presidency in the first half of 2007 is playing down Lisbon, fearing that the process has been discredited by the EU’s failure to meet its targets. Commentators often cite Lisbon as an example of the mismatch between the EU’s grand ambitions and lack of delivery.Aurore Wanlin was a research fellow at the CER (2004-2007).
We need a new pro-Europeanism thumbnail

We need a new pro-Europeanism

09 February 2007
“We are not the first who meaning the best have incurred the worst”, is a line from tragic heroine Cordelia in Shakespeare’s King Lear. But it could apply equally well to the architects of the EU’s failed constitutional treaty, also a tragic but unfinished saga.
Time to shake up the European Council

Time to shake up the European Council

David Harrison
01 February 2007
The European Council, the EU’s supreme political authority, is malfunctioning. Europe’s most powerful leaders meet four times a year in the Council to review the EU’s work and and give political direction to the Commission, Parliament and Council of Ministers.
Bulletin issue 52

Issue 52 - 2007

Hugo Brady, David Harrison, Patrick Artus, Elie Cohen, Jean Pisani-Ferry
26 January 2007
What to expect from the German presidency

What to expect from the German presidency

Katinka Barysch
03 January 2007
On 1 January 2007, Germany took over the rotating EU presidency. Chancellor Angela Merkel has ambitious goals, most notably an EU agreement on what to do with the Union’s moribund constitutional treaty.
A primer on the German presidency

A primer on the German presidency

Katinka Barysch
21 December 2006
On January 1st 2007, Germany takes over the rotating EU presidency. Chancellor Angela Merkel has ambitious goals that include an EU agreement on energy policy and on what to do with the Union's moribund constitutional treaty. Both will be very difficult to achieve.
Towards an environmental union

Towards an environmental union

David Miliband
02 October 2006
When I was involved in the creation of CER in 1994 I hoped it would become an important source of ideas and debate about the future of Europe.
Global challenges will drive European reform

Global challenges will drive European reform

Nick Butler
02 October 2006
When the first CER bulletin was published, almost a decade ago, the emphasis was firmly on the word ‘reform’. The EU had fulfilled its original purpose. Western Europe was an area of security, peace and, in the main, prosperity.
Democracy in Europe

Democracy in Europe: How the EU can survive in an age of referendums

Mark Leonard was director of foreign policy at the Centre for European Reform (2005-2007).
05 May 2006
The European Union has never been loved, but for most of the last 50 years it has been accepted. Voters thought that as long as it made them richer and safer they were happy to leave the precise details of treaties to bureaucrats and politicians.