EU institutions & treaties
Europe's future is in Ireland's hands
03 June 2002
This autumn the newly elected Irish government faces the major challenge of holding a referendum on the Nice treaty. The point of that document, agreed in December 2000, is to change the EU's institutions so that it can cope with up to 12 new members.
Restoring leadership to the European council
01 April 2002
Everybody knows the European Commission is in bad need of reform. The problems in the European Council - the regular summits of heads of government - and the Council of Ministers are less widely known but just as serious, and they contribute to Europe's lack of leadership.
Issue 23 - 2002
29 March 2002
- Restoring leadership to the European council , Charles Grant
- The EU needs a flexible pact , Alasdair Murray
Preparing the EU for 2004
07 December 2001
The debate about the future of Europe is supposed to consider how the Union will function after enlargement. In practice, the agenda set at Laeken addresses longstanding institutional problems, but does not pay sufficient attention to the qualitative changes that enlargement will bring.
Time to abolish the EU's rotating presidency
03 December 2001
The EU performance in foreign policy in the aftermath of September 11th has been underwhelming. European leaders have maintained unity on the substance of policy - a major step forward compared with the situation a decade ago.
Workers are entitled to consultation
01 June 2001
In the last issue of the CER Bulletin, James Wilson argued against the European Commission's proposal for a directive on employee information and consultation. Sadly, in order to do so, he resorted to many of the crude misrepresentations which are common currency among business opponents of the initiative.
We...
We...
The stockholm scorecard
02 April 2001
The Stockholm European Council was supposed to focus on Europe's "new" economy and the goal of creating "the world's most dynamic and competitive knowledge-based economy by 2010".
An EU senate is superfluous
02 April 2001
The idea that the EU should create a second chamber for the European Parliament, composed of representatives from national parliaments, is a perennial favourite of member-state governments.
Issue 17 - 2001
30 March 2001
- The stockholm scorecard, Edward Bannerman
- An EU senate is superfluous, Richard Corbett
- Don't legislate on consultation, James Wilson
What comes after Nice
02 February 2001
Both the outcome at Nice and the methods used to achieve it have left widespread dissatisfaction. Any deal would have been good for enlargement, in allowing the EU to move ahead. But the unseemly spectacle of 15 countries scrambling for position was hardly a shining example of inter-governmentalism at work....
Making Lisbon work in Stockholm
01 February 2001
Even by the standards of the EU's often optimistic policy aspirations, the decade-long economic reform process initiated at the Lisbon summit last March represents an ambitious programme.
The distinctive feature of the Lisbon conclusions is not the pledge of EU leaders to create "the most competitive and dynamic knowledge...
The distinctive feature of the Lisbon conclusions is not the pledge of EU leaders to create "the most competitive and dynamic knowledge...
Issue 16 - 2001
26 January 2001
- Turning East: Europe Courts Asia, Edward Bannerman
- Opening Europe's final frontier, Carl Bildt
- Making Lisbon work in Stockholm, Alasdair Murray
The unholiest of alliances
01 December 2000
Yes, there really are some people who believe in a federal super-state. They want the EU to evolve into something like the USA, with a strong central government responsible to the European Parliament.
Issue 21 - 2001
24 November 2000
- NATO's big bang , Andrew Cottey
- Time to abolish the EU's rotating presidency, Steven Everts
- The euro comes of age, Alasdair Murray
A new institutional vision
02 October 2000
As the EU prepares to become a club of 30-plus countries, the immense task of reforming its institutions - so that they can work effectivelyand gain some democratic credibility - will be unending.
Europe needs an avant-garde, but...
02 October 2000
I have always found talk about a European constitution unhelpful, for it is such an ambiguous term. My preferred formula is that Europe should be a "federation of nation states". What ties states together is a treaty.
Issue 14 - 2000
29 September 2000
- European defence: The next steps, Charles Grant, Christoph Bertram, François Heisbourg
- Europe needs an avant-garde, but..., Jacques Delors
- A new institutional vision, Charles Grant
Doing less to do more: A new focus for the EU
01 September 2000
There is a commonly held misconception that the design of constitutions and governments is shaped by logic. It is often forgotten that accident, coincidence and personalities play as great a role in the formation of our political landscape as do the underlying forces of reason or common sense.
Mr Prodi's second chance
01 June 2000
The Commission is no longer the driving force behind European integration. In most of the European Union's growth areas, such as foreign and defence policy, or justice and home affairs, the member-states are in charge. Even in the fashionable area of economic reform, the Commission has been partially sidelined: the...
Issue 12 - 2000
26 May 2000
- Beware the strong euro, Alasdair Murray
- Europe's military ambitions, Klaus Naumann
- Mr Prodi's second chance, Charles Grant
- Federalism's last gasp, Ben Hall