European Union
Europe’s new iron curtain
The last 24 hours have yielded no agreement in Europe, and they have seen David Cameron’s ambitions decline (he appears resigned to the fact that EU spending will not be… Continue reading
91 Comments
David Cameron pulled every which way on Europe
Another day, another set of newspapers full to bursting with pieces about Britain’s fractious relationship with the European Union – all of which, in their way, will unnerve David Cameron.… Continue reading
64 Comments
‘Cameron will not turn back’: EU budget summit under threat
Will David Cameron be denied his veto moment after all? Brussels sources appear to think the European Union budget summit on 22 and 23 November could still be cancelled. A… Continue reading
108 Comments
Angela Merkel: I can’t imagine UK quitting the EU
David Cameron and Angela Merkel are eating dinner together tonight, over which they will discuss the forthcoming European Budget summit. The discussion may make even the sweetest crème brûlée taste… Continue reading
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UKIP are being taken more seriously but they have got to cut out the unforced errors
With UKIP regularly challenging the Liberal Democrats for third place in the polls, the party is now beginning to be treated with the seriousness it deserves. In an interview on… Continue reading
104 Comments
David Cameron reassures MPs that he’d prefer a cut in EU budget
The Prime Minister needed to reassure his own side at PMQs today on the EU budget and give his whips something to work with. He largely did that, saying almost… Continue reading
19 Comments
Why David Cameron can threaten to veto the EU budget
When in 1996 the US Congress threw out Bill Clinton’s Federal budget they precipitated a partial shutdown of the US Government. However, anyone looking at the growing prospect of a… Continue reading
24 Comments
Tory whips in a flap over EU budget rebellion deploy Rees-Mogg
At this morning’s Cabinet meeting, ministers discussed tomorrow’s debate on the EU budget, which is shaping up to be a big row. MPs I have spoken to who have either… Continue reading
52 Comments
Tony Blair’s ‘Grand Bargain’ for Europe: elect a President
Tony Blair gave a speech today in which he proposed a ‘Grand Bargain’ to revive the European Union. One of the proposals in this grand bargain is – and Blair… Continue reading
90 Comments
Cameron outfoxed from right and left on EU budget
David Cameron now appears to have been outfoxed by his own backbench and the Labour party on the European budget. A Downing Street spokeswoman confirmed this morning that while the… Continue reading
26 Comments
EU budget: Cameron’s leadership under pressure
David Cameron is already irritating European leaders with his refusal to support any real-terms increases in the multi annual EU Budget, but this week, the Prime Minister is going to… Continue reading
40 Comments
The Conservative renegotiation strategy
In The Spectator this week, Charles Moore argued that David Cameron — despite his oft-stated desire to renegotiate the terms of Britain’s EU membership — doesn’t actually have a European… Continue reading
63 Comments
The Brussels budget imbroglio
The EU budget negotiation, now a month away, promises to be David Cameron’s next big European test. The Prime Minister has repeatedly declared that he wants to see the EU… Continue reading
43 Comments
Herman van Rompuy’s revelatory Downing Street lunch
David Cameron had lunch with Herman van Rompuy in Downing Street today to discuss the UK’s position on the EU budget. Despite the Prime Minister’s tough talking in public about… Continue reading
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Cameron irked on Europe as backbenchers rattle the referendum cage
Throughout his statement on the European Council, David Cameron seemed slightly irritated. One sensed that the headlines of the last few days have rather got under his skin. Cameron began… Continue reading
23 Comments
The EU commissioner who resigned on the grounds he was innocent
I don’t suppose too many Coffee House readers will have noticed, but the EU is currently without a dedicated health commissioner. This is because the holder of that important office, a nondescript… Continue reading
18 Comments
David Cameron’s EU dilemma
David Cameron is determined to renegotiate the terms of Britain’s EU membership. But to get a good deal and to show his own eurosceptics - let alone UKIP voters -… Continue reading
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The Home Office hokey-cokey on EU law and order opt-outs
Yvette Cooper was in a stern mood this afternoon when she responded to the Home Secretary’s announcement about plans to opt-out of 130 European law and order measures and then… Continue reading
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David Cameron’s big European week
David Cameron’s plan for this autumn was to largely avoid the topic of Europe at his party’s conference, then to focus on the issue later in the year. It’s only… Continue reading
31 Comments
The Nobel Prize’s EU joke prompts questions about the nation state
The award of the Nobel Prize to the European Union is a tremendous joke; and like all great jokes it has brought people together. Commentators of left and right are… Continue reading
46 Comments