Kosmopolito

EU politics

A poisonous concoction

Chris Davies:

You take a handful of distortion, add in political bias, stir in doses of UKIP’s vilification, sprinkle with gullible journalists who don’t check their facts. And what do you get? A poisonous concoction. An ill-informed British public ever-more distrustful of Europe, after being deceived by those who hate Europe. A United Kingdom betrayed by those who lay pretense to patriotism, but in practice leave our country weak, and with diminished influence.

h/t to Dave Keating

Oct 12 2012

EU politics

EU wins 2012 Nobel Peace Prize

EU wins the Nobel Peace Prize 2012.(kudos to Norwegian state broadcaster for the scoop a few hours before the announcement)

Do we now need an extraordinary European Council to decide who is going to pick up the prize? (My bet is on van Rompuy – I hope for a speech made up entirely of haikus) but also a joint speech by the three president (mayhe based on QMV could also be a possibility.

Next question is what to do with the money? Not enough for any bailout so it might be added to some EU democracy fund, the peace institute – or will it simply be added to the budget to save Erasmus? (Or they just could give it to bloggingportal

At the moment I am in Zagreb at a conference organised by the European Fund for the Balkans – interesting environment in this contex. After all the Balkans were a major foreign policy failure of Europe in the 1990s – and now EU enlargement seems to be transforming the region…

Tagged nobel peace prize 2012

Oct 10 2012

EU politics

David Cameron’s fresh consent

I am still confused about what David Cameron’s ‘fresh consent’ idea will involve. But I think he is going for a minimal risk strategy – and instead of an active negotaition strategy to repatriate powers he is hoping for a ‘default’ opt-out from eurozone governance mechanisms which will ensure and consolidate British second class membership of the EU.

Tagged Britain and the EU, David Cameron, EU referendum, Europe, politcal strategy

EU politics

The British ‘nuclear’ JHA opt-out

Very interesting CER policy brief by Hugo Brady – and a shorter EUROPP piece on the JHA block opt-out option; here a couple of paragraphs:

Lisbon has shifted the emphasis of EU criminal justice policy away from ‘co-operation’ towards more ‘integration’. Over time – the thinking in Whitehall goes – EU judges might undermine Britain’s common law in favour of the continental civil model by handing down harmonising rulings. This, along a domestic political backlash against the influence of European courts, makes it likely that Britain’s prime minister, David Cameron, will use the block opt-out.

That would be a mistake. First, UK officials think that Britain’s size and importance mean that it can automatically opt back in to around 50 EU anti-crime measures, including the arrest warrant, once the block opt-out is triggered. That way the government could secure access to co-operation and data valued by Britain’s police while limiting the country’s exposure to future ECJ rulings. This is wrongheaded. The European Commission is likely to attach tough conditions to allow this and Britain’s negotiating stock in Brussels is low due to its perceived unhelpfulness during the eurozone crisis.

Furthermore, countries in the EU’s Schengen area of passport-free travel have previously blocked Britain from joining Frontex, the EU’s border agency, and the so-called VIS, a common database of visa records. (The UK maintains its own separate border regime.) Why should they now acquiesce to British cherry-picking in policing and justice?

Britain has shaped much of the EU’s internal security agenda to date. The current head of Europol (the EU’s police office) Rob Wainwright, is British; as have been the last two presidents of Eurojust (its prosecution office), and the last two director-generals of the Commission’s justice and home affairs directorate. For a country that is not in Schengen, possesses a minority legal system and selectively opts-out of common rules, this is a remarkable diplomatic success.

Read the policy brief.

Tagged euroscepticism, JHA, op-out, UK

EU politics

Political Union?

The framing is simply wrong:

There is already a “Political” arena called the European “Union” – so what’s the point of this “Political Union”?

It is a complex debate but the ‘political union’ meme is confusing and ill-suited to explain/describe how to reform the EU. (in case you are wondering: no, it does not make more sense in German)

Tagged EU integration, narrative, political union

EU politics

How to win a EU referendum…

So apparently a EU referendum in the UK is winnable (which I still doubt). But new YouGov research suggests that the only thing you need to do is convince ‘pragmatic nationalists’ and scare some ‘worried nationalists’. It is an interesting piece of polling analysis by Peter Kellner (president of yougov) – so make sure you read the whole thing.

However, there are a couple of problems: There is no functioning campaign capacity on the yes side (the fundamental opposition to anything ‘European’ is well organised) – and I am wondering how the media factor (which has changed considerably in the last 30 years) should be taken into account. There is no way to have a sensible public debate on ‘Europe’ in this country. Would the Daily Mail or the Sun support a Conservative Prime Minister who claims to have renegotiated Britain’s EU membership?

‘Renegotiation’ is also one of those myths. There is absolutely no appetite among EU member states to actually renegotiate anything – and for most of the stuff you need unanimity among member states. Plus the present political dynamics in European politics may as well tear apart the Conservative Party. So it is not surprising that the first statements are being made that suggest to postpone the referendum question – either by promising an in/out referendum after the next election (and they need to win the election!) or by declaring the next election as a referendum of some sorts. All of these options will annoy the eurosceptics…

But then again, the strategy of Cameron seems quite straightforwards: Pleasing the anti-EU grassroots with mild eurosceptic rhetoric (immigration), the occasional opt-out – maybe using the JHA ‘nuclear opt-out’ – trying to get around the referendum somehow.

But the lack of any positive engagement with ‘Europe’, the alienation of classic UK allies and Cameron’s tendency to lecture the rest of the EU what to do (obviously without taking part) will not help Cameron to ‘deliver’ on his grand renegotiation ideas.

And the irony of the story? While David Cameron may loose his job/ party support because of ‘Europe’; the UK is sleepwalking into 2nd class EU membership. And at that point, the referendum will be meaningless. (ok I should explain this in more detail – but not today, maybe another time)

Digital Public Sphere

Back

Ok, I am back. Not sure for how long, let’s see… expect some short stuff – maybe I should get into mobile blogging (to use the daily commute in London a bit more efficiently).

Just to reiterate my general problem with EU blogging this year: I work for a think tank in London on European affairs so I get a fair share of geeky EU stuff on a daily basis. And writing blog posts on EU affairs is somehow not my preferred evening activity. So what has changed? Nothing really. Just thought I should give it another try.

Anyway, I am in Zagreb this week at the EFB community conference – if anyone wants to go for a drink – drop me an email.

Tagged blogging, efb, EU, sabbatical

Oct 08 2012

Academia & Society, Bright side of life

Decision-making

If an important decision is to be made [the Persians] discuss the question when they are drunk and the following day the master of the house…submits their decision for reconsideration when they are sober. If they still approve it, it is adopted; if not, it is abandoned. Conversely, any decision they make when they are sober is reconsidered afterwards when they are drunk.

- Herodotus (450 B.C.): The Histories

Tagged alcohol, decision-making, Herodotus

Apr 22 2012