• Sign the Express petition now!

    Updated: 2011-07-31 23:49:31
    Home News News Sign the Express petition now News Sign the Express petition now 31 07 2011 22:49 webmaster 60 Global Print PDF RSS Feeds UKIP has thrown its weight behind the Daily Express ePetition calling for a referendum on the EU with just 100,000 names needed before the Government considers a debate in Parliament on the . issue UKIP Leader Nigel Farage urged all Party members and supporters to add their names to the ePetition as soon as . possible He said : This is a real chance to force the Government into a proper , Parlimentary debate on an issue that affects everyone in the UK , every single day of their lives but on which they have been denied a say so . far So we back the Daily Express call for an EU referendum and I hope every UKIP member , their families , friends anbd work

  • MPs used to fear tabloids; now it's the other way around

    Updated: 2011-07-30 10:33:57
    See how the Internet has levelled the ground between public figures and tabloid reporters. Here is an email exchange between an investigative journalist and Louise Mensch, the Conservative MP who has been pursuing claims of phone-hacking at the Mirror: “Dear Mrs Mensch, We are informing you that we have come into possession of the following information, about [...]

  • Cyprus Cabinet resigns as euro crisis spreads

    Updated: 2011-07-29 04:59:22
    The eurozone contagion has leapt across the bright Aegean. First Cyprus’s credit rating was sharply downgraded; then the private banks followed; now the government is in collapse. It was only last week that EU leaders were assuring each other that the euro crisis was over, their complacency lazily parroted by most of the MSM. Readers of [...]

  • Farage: No one should manipulate this tragedy for political ends

    Updated: 2011-07-27 18:21:16
    : Home News News Farage : No one should manipulate this tragedy for political ends News Farage : No one should manipulate this tragedy for political ends 27 07 2011 18:49 webmaster 4 Global Print PDF RSS Feeds Statement by Nigel Farage MEP UKIP leader and Co-President of the Europe of Freedom and Democracy Group on the Norwegian tragedy and its aftermath . The killing of innocent children is always abhorrent . The attempt by this hate-filled madman to try to justify it with political motivation is futile . nbsp As co-president of a Group in the European Parliament that stands for Freedom and Democracy , I find Breivik actions and ideology of hatred totally . repugnant Anybody who would try to praise the political ideology of this mass murderer is morally and politically misguided . nbsp

  • In praise of the Netherlands, and of Anglophile Europe

    Updated: 2011-07-26 10:46:59
    Which EU nation most resembles us in temperament? Sometimes I think it’s Denmark, and sometimes I wonder whether, if the inhabitants of Lower Saxony constituted a state on their own, they might edge it. At the moment, though, having just passed through the land of polders and greenhouses, I’m plumping for the Dutch. In Tolkienian terms, [...]

  • France and Italy acted against 'spirit' of EU border laws

    Updated: 2011-07-25 16:42:11
    NEWS OPINION BLOGS AGENDA CONFERENCES BOOKS VIDEOS TWITTER HEADLINE NEWS France and Italy acted against spirit' of EU border laws Tunisian migrants arriving in Lampedusa were not welcomed in Italy or France Photo : Valentina Pop VALENTINA POP 25.07.2011 17:42 CET EUOBSERVER BRUSSELS Both France and Italy acted within the law with measures taken to counter the thousands of Tunisian immigrants coming to the EU earlier this year , but they breached the spirit of the EU's freedom of movement agreement , the EU commission has . said From a formal point of view steps taken by Italian and French authorities have been in compliance with EU law . However , I regret that the spirit of the Schengen rules has not been fully respected , EU home affairs commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom said Monday 25 July

  • Climate change, fake charities, Nazis and Chris Huhne

    Updated: 2011-07-24 15:20:42
    Chris Huhne tends to reach reflexively for Nazi metaphors when confronted with dissenting opinions. When the Conservatives left the EPP, he asserted that William Hague had been “touring the beer cellars of central Europe” for allies. During the AV referendum, he likened supporters of the established electoral method to Goebbels. Now he says that people [...]

  • The Ghost of Hatred is Roaming in Europe

    Updated: 2011-07-23 08:56:22
    Yesterday a terrible crime was committed in Norway, leaving more than 90 people dead. A lone terrorist was able firs to explode a bomb in the centre of Oslo and then to shoot at least 80 people, many of whom … Continue reading →

  • The EU is no longer even pretending to be acting within the law

    Updated: 2011-07-22 16:00:22
    Just a reminder of what Article 125 of the European Treaty says: The Union shall not be liable for or assume the commitments of central governments, regional, local or other public authorities, other bodies governed by public law, or public undertakings of any Member State. A Member State shall not be liable for or assume the [...]

  • Robert Sturdy Offers Advice to Holidaymakers heading to Europe

    Updated: 2011-07-22 12:58:48
    Robert Sturdy MEP for the East of England, says a few simple precautions and a little planning before setting off on a European holiday can save a lot of heartache – and money. European health insurance cards (EHIC) are free from the NHS. While no substitute for travel insurance, these cards, which replaced the E111 form [...]

  • Farage: Greece needs its currency back

    Updated: 2011-07-22 10:07:29
    : Home News News Farage : Greece needs its currency back News Farage : Greece needs its currency back 22 07 2011 09:07 webmaster 82 Global Print PDF RSS Feeds Responding to last night's crisis summit statement by Eurozone leaders and EU institutions , UKIP leader Nigel Farage : said The expansion of the role of the EFSF ultimately means that the European taxpayer will be left holding depreciatating bonds from countries such as Greece and . Portugal Lower interest rates and longer maturities will not cure the Euro crisis in the long term . What is happening here is half way to a Greek . default Greece is bust . What Greece needs to do is to fully default , take back its own currency , devalue to boost tourism and services basically grow its economcy . again The basic problem is the

  • Has the financial crash finally settled the Hayek-Keynes debate?

    Updated: 2011-07-22 09:00:05
    On Tuesday, four distinguished economists will debate how to respond to our present financial discontents. The meeting, which is to be televised, will take place at the LSE, and is open to the public: see here for details. It will be the latest engagement in a long war. In 1932, F A Hayek and J M [...]

  • The Second Greek Bailout: the Details

    Updated: 2011-07-22 07:09:28
    The leaders of the eurozone have approved the second bailout of Greece that is supposed to finally overcome the debt crisis in this country. The total official financing will amount to an estimated 109 billion euro. The European Financial Stability … Continue reading →

  • EU leaders repeat the same action in the hope of a different outcome

    Updated: 2011-07-21 22:37:50
    On Tuesday, four distinguished economists will debate how to respond to our present financial discontents. The meeting, which is to be televised, will take place at the LSE, and is open to the public: see here for details. It will be the latest engagement in a long war. In 1932, F A Hayek and J M [...]

  • Euro leaders agree second Greece bailout and overhaul of rescue fund

    Updated: 2011-07-21 22:21:01
    NEWS OPINION BLOGS AGENDA CONFERENCES BOOKS VIDEOS TWITTER HEADLINE NEWS Euro leaders agree second Greece bailout and overhaul of rescue fund We created a solid firewall , 039 said Van Rompuy Photo : Council of European Union HONOR MAHONY 21.07.2011 23:21 CET EUOBSERVER BRUSSELS Following weeks of political and market turbulence , eurozone leaders on Thursday undertook radical steps to safeguard the single currency agreeing the beginnings of a European Monetary Fund and a fresh bailout for . Greece With the one-day emergency summit representing something of a make-or-brake gathering for the 17-nation eurozone , leaders were quick to underline the far-reaching and credible nature of the . agreement For the first time , the politics and the markets are coming together , said European

  • The EU needs our help to save the euro. What should we ask in return?

    Updated: 2011-07-21 12:39:48
    Britain should not be sent the bill for propping up a currency which it declined to join. That ought to be a wholly uncontroversial statement, but I make it anyway for the benefit of any UKREP officials who happen to be reading. It follows that remaining outside a eurozone bailout mechanism is not a concession to [...]

  • Unconscious bias, and a handsome apology, from the BBC

    Updated: 2011-07-20 20:45:11
    In a discussion on the euro crisis on Radio 5 Live just now, I was introduced as a “Conservative MEP and hardline Eurosceptic”. Fair enough, of course. Still, when’s the last time you heard the BBC introduce someone as a “hardline Europhile”? It’s one of those little asymmetries which we take for granted from the [...]

  • An American in Brussels

    Updated: 2011-07-20 18:32:09
    It’s that time of year again. The time of year when the populace of the EU Quarter abandons Brussels like rats from a sinking ship and those few of us left on board are trying to wrap up all of the ‘admin’ tasks that we’ve put on hold for the several previous, hair-raisingly busy months. [...]

  • The CPS emerges almost as badly as the Met: it, too, should be placed under locally elected sheriffs

    Updated: 2011-07-20 16:29:15
    What a pleasure to watch the people’s tribunes calling state servants to account. Yesterday was a fine day for Parliament, a day which almost certainly wouldn’t have come had the rules not been changed to remove Select Committees from the Whips’ control – a longstanding Direct Democracy objective. The Home Affairs Select Committee, in particular, acquitted [...]

  • Phone hacking scandal reflects the way we are ruled

    Updated: 2011-07-20 12:34:53
    Home News News Phone hacking scandal reflects the way we are ruled News Phone hacking scandal reflects the way we are ruled 20 07 2011 11:34 webmaster 202 Global Print PDF RSS Feeds This scandal is not of one party or Government , but spreads across the whole elite like oil on a pond . quot Nigel Farage MEP As the phone hacking scandal sees PM David Cameron in the spotlight today , UKIP Leader Nigel Farage expressed his thoughts on the . issue Nothing about the Governing Classes which has come to light due to the hacking scandal , not the political , not the media nor indeed the police aspects comes as a surprise to anyone who has a glancing knowledge in the way we are ruled , quot he said . The shock , if indeed we are shocked comes from the rapidity in which everything has unravelled ,

  • 2011 Reports for Bulgaria and Romania under the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism

    Updated: 2011-07-20 11:42:40
    The European Commission has published its fifth progress reports for Bulgaria and Romania under the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism (CVM) for 2011. The reports monitor the progress of the two Member States on progress with judicial reform, the fight against … Continue reading →

  • European Parliament goes mobile – when to choose a mobile website over a native app

    Updated: 2011-07-20 01:22:24
    Earlier this month the European Parliament launched the mobile version of its ever popular (at least in the Brussels bubble) website. Hooray! Forgot the room number of the MEP you are meeting? Well now you can go on your mobile device and find it with ease. In seeing the new site, we asked ourselves why an [...]

  • A Ham-Fisted Herbal Remedy from the EU

    Updated: 2011-07-19 22:43:14
    Home News News A Ham-Fisted Herbal Remedy from the EU News A Ham-Fisted Herbal Remedy from the EU 19 07 2011 21:43 webmaster 251 Global Print PDF RSS Feeds By William Dartmouth MEP On the 1st of May this year the EU's Traditional Herbal Medicinal Products Directive came into full . effect No longer can you walk into a shop to buy unregistered herbal remedies , No longer can you buy them online . It is illegal . These remedies are now treated like licensed pharmaceuticals : they must be dispensed under the supervision of a . practitioner There were good reasons for drugs to be tested and licensed . They are chemicals the body has never experienced before and can kill . The reason we have been using herbal remedies for millennia is that correctly prescribed they generally work . Indeed as

  • The EU`s trillion-euro plan to tax us out of the crisis

    Updated: 2011-07-18 16:00:14
    Home News News The EU`s trillion-euro plan to tax us out of the crisis News The EU`s trillion-euro plan to tax us out of the crisis 18 07 2011 16:26 webmaster 3 Global Print PDF RSS Feeds By Marta Andreasen Related VIDEO The European Parliament heard yesterday from Barroso about the multi-Billion Euro hike in the European Commission's long term budget plan known as Multiannual Financial Framework for 2014 2020. The total a staggering and mind-boggling 1025 Billion Euro will fund a new 2020' strategy voted through Parliament . recently The plumping up' of the EU budget that I referred to in my previous blog piece does not allow one to trust that the Commission is asking taxpayers to fund real needs . And It is not as if we don't have enough serious problems in the UK without adding further

  • Britain told 'you can quit EU'

    Updated: 2011-07-15 10:52:08
    Home News News Britain told you can quit EU' News Britain told you can quit EU' 15 07 2011 09:52 webmaster 102 Global Print PDF RSS Feeds VIDEO Daily Express Britain should consider quitting the EU , scornful Euro MPs said yesterday after the Daily Express exposed Brussels' latest power . grab During heated exchanges , British MEPs were heckled at an EU meeting as they referred to our front page report that Brussels could force sports stars to wear the EU flag on their . kit The German committee chairwoman , Doris Pack , accused UKIP MEP Paul Nuttall of grandstanding when he flourished a copy of yesterday's Daily Express and described the EU proposal as baloney She said , to applause from some MEPs , that it was just better not to speak about the British press . She later added : In the

  • Dartmouth: Suspend the Ruinous European Arrest Warrant

    Updated: 2011-07-14 23:17:59
    : Home News News Dartmouth : Suspend the Ruinous European Arrest Warrant News Dartmouth : Suspend the Ruinous European Arrest Warrant 14 07 2011 22:17 webmaster 69 Global Print PDF RSS Feeds VIDEO There should be an immediate suspension of the European Arrest Warrant , and police and governments should cooperate in order to supress international crime , quot UKIP MEP William Dartmouth said in a debate with Lib Dem MEP Sir Graham Watson at the European Parliament in Brussels , July 14 on europe William Dartmouth said it is perfectly possible for governments and police forces to cooperate without suspending completely and trashing the hard-won liberties of British law that have been established over generations . quot The unusual characteristics that this piece of legislation has , is that

  • Robert Sturdy attacks plans to force EU flag on sport shirts

    Updated: 2011-07-14 15:08:57
    Brussels, 14th July 2011 — Robert Sturdy has attacked plans from the European Parliament’s culture committee for all British national sports teams to be forced to wear the EU flag on their sports jerseys. The proposals would also require the EU flag to be flown at any sporting events taking place in an EU member-state. [...]

  • Robert Sturdy Welcomes Lifting of Potash Import Restrictions

    Updated: 2011-07-14 14:32:02
    Brussels, 14th July – The European Commission has announced that as of the 13th July 2011, anti-dumping restrictions against Russia and Belarus with regards to Potash, an important mineral fertiliser, will be lifted. It is expected that the removal of restrictions will ease supply concerns and help to mitigate the effects of rising agricultural costs [...]

  • PdF meetup: how did that go?

    Updated: 2011-07-13 20:54:46
    “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has”. This quote is from Margaret Mead, an American anthropologist, who lived in the pre-Internet world. Now thanks to social networks, it has never been easier for people with a passion to share [...]

  • Half of Britons would vote to leave the EU

    Updated: 2011-07-12 20:50:10
    Home News News Half of Britons would vote to leave the EU News Half of Britons would vote to leave the EU 12 07 2011 19:50 webmaster 43 Global Print PDF RSS Feeds Only one in four would vote to stay in the EU if asked in a referendum latest Angus Reid poll Half of Britons would vote to leave the European Union in a referendum according to the latest Angus Reid . poll In the online survey of a representative national sample of 2,003 British adults , a majority of respondents 57 believe that EU membership has been negative for the United Kingdom , while only one third 32 think it has had a positive . effect Half of Britons 49 say they would vote against the United Kingdom remaining a member of the EU if a referendum took place , while only one-in-four 25 would vote to stay . Older

  • The Power of Reding

    Updated: 2011-07-12 18:20:56
    I’m a big fan of the FT Brussels Blog. Today’s headline in particular caught my eye: “Women take over the Berlaymont.” It outlines the growing attention around European Commissioner for Justice Viviane Reding’s latest crusade: increasing quotas for the percentage of women in the executive boardroom. The European Parliament advised EU businesses last week to [...]

  • Grayling Espresso on Polish Presidency

    Updated: 2011-07-12 08:58:10
    Grayling is proud to present you with the latest edition of Espresso, which this month focuses on the Polish Presidency. Articles include: An introduction by the General Manager of Grayling Poland, Ewa Szejner, on the “inside view” of the Presidency How Poland will move forward on energy A review of the Hungarian Presidency How Poland [...]

  • EU no champion of human rights in China after bond purchases

    Updated: 2011-07-11 17:18:13
    Home News News EU no champion of human rights in China after bond purchases News EU no champion of human rights in China after bond purchases 11 07 2011 17:35 webmaster 47 Global Print PDF RSS Feeds Following the Chinese government's purchase in recent months of large amounts of distressed bonds from indebted EU states such as Greece , Portugal , Spain and Ireland , we now hear from China's EU ambassador that the EU has taken a softer stance on human rights abuse in China . Is this train of events just a coincidence or is their a clear link between the Chinese buying euro currency bonds and the EU going quiet on the abuse of human rights in China UKIP MEP from London , Gerard Batten said in response to the latest Chinese government . statement It is clear to observers on the ground that

  • Pig eats chicken, chicken eats pig?

    Updated: 2011-07-11 11:44:41
    After contaminated meat and bone meal fed to cows was found to be the cause of mad cow disease, the European Union ten years ago put a total ban on the use of meat meal in feed for animals bred for food production. “I’m no cannibal…” Today however, the Union is reconsidering this ban, as [...]

  • EU hypocrisy over Polish government attack on media

    Updated: 2011-07-08 20:36:44
    Home News News EU hypocrisy over Polish government attack on media News EU hypocrisy over Polish government attack on media 08 07 2011 19:36 webmaster 60 Global Print PDF RSS Feeds The systematic attack by the current Polish Government on citizens and journalists who are critical of the current regime is outrageous , quot UKIP Leader Nigel Farage MEP said today in London , echoing the Euro-federalist MEP s' attack on Hungary's media laws earlier this year , but silent over the perpetrations of the pro-EU Tusk . government It has been brought to my attention by MEP Zbigniew Ziobro Law and Justice party that in recent months , scores of highly regarded and experienced journalists have been dismissed , solely for being critical of the Tusk government , quot Mr Farage . said A 23-year-old

  • 1st Worldwide Personal Democracy Meetup Day – 12 July – We’re in! What about you?

    Updated: 2011-07-08 10:08:43
    Last year we blogged about our cooperation with the Personal Democracy Forum folks. As you might know, the Personal Democracy Forum (PdF) is an online community and annual conference about the impact of technology on politics, government, and democracy. Next week our PdF friends are taking things to a whole new level. This time the [...]

  • Brussels traffic worse than Beijing

    Updated: 2011-07-07 14:52:02
    As you may know we work from the Brussels Bubble but our firm is global. As such, we’re lucky enough to have the opportunity to work with and meet colleagues and friends from around our company’s 80 odd offices on a pretty regular basis. Our recent 20th anniversary celebrations of our Brussels saw representatives from pretty much every continent (except Antarctica) [...]

  • Farage: Isn`t the EU quite as bad as the USSR, Mr Tusk?

    Updated: 2011-07-06 18:34:00
    : , Home News News Farage : Isn`t the EU quite as bad as the USSR , Mr Tusk News Farage : Isn`t the EU quite as bad as the USSR , Mr Tusk 06 07 2011 17:34 webmaster 60 Global Print PDF RSS Feeds VIDEO UKIP Leader Nigel Farage took Polish PM Donald Tusk to task today in Strasbourg following Mr Tusk's statement in the European Parliament laying out his plans for his country's six-month EU . presidency You are supporting the destruction of national democracy , but it is with reference to Greece that I am most concerned about you , quot Mr Farage told Mr . Tusk Because when faced with their recent enslavement you said , Farage quotes Tusk We lived for many years as a non-sovereign country under Soviet occupation . For us European integration is not a threat to sovereignty because we

  • New EU food labelling rules enables consumers to make better choices

    Updated: 2011-07-06 14:54:28
    Strasbourg, 6th July 2011 — Robert Sturdy, East of England MEP, has welcomed the news that the EU will introduce new rules on food labelling that will provide consumers with greater information with regards to country of origin for meat and the nutritional qualities of food. The proposal, which was adopted in a vote in [...]

  • Small things that could make a big difference for the EU

    Updated: 2011-07-06 12:26:23
    Since my return to these shores from the U.S. I find myself noting the little things that are different between that country and Europe. It happened again the other night as the missus and I sat down to restart the West Wing boxset from the beginning (a TV show that this blog has neglected to reference since 2009 despite [...]

  • Everyone loves a good story

    Updated: 2011-07-05 11:26:49
    The other day I attended an event on the Future of Mobility and Transport in Europe and a quote from an MEP, who was on one of the panels, got me thinking about ‘storytelling’ in public affairs. While discussing Intelligent Transport Systems, the MEP asked fellow participants whether they have ever thought – while having [...]

  • Book Review: The 50 Days that Changed Europe

    Updated: 2011-07-05 09:02:58
    The contemporary European history is often overlooked by many. It sounds so intuitive, so well-known and even a little bit boring. But the devil is in the details, and not knowing our past can hinder our future. This is where … Continue reading →

  • Farage: Hungary`s Orban has been Eurosceptics` secret weapon

    Updated: 2011-07-05 01:34:18
    : Home News News Farage : Hungary`s Orban has been Eurosceptics` secret weapon News Farage : Hungary`s Orban has been Eurosceptics` secret weapon 05 07 2011 12:34 webmaster 58 Global Print PDF RSS Feeds VIDEO I think there is a growing realisation both here and elsewhere that the worm has turned , that we have seen the beginning of the end of this extremely dangerous project . quot Nigel Farage MEP The Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orban was lauded by Nigel Farage today in the European Parliament in a debate on the work on the Hungarian Presidency of the EU . Mr Orban was attacked by many of the other Political group presidents , in particular Danny . Cohen-Bendit You have shown you are not willing to be bullied by these EU nationalists , quot UKIP leader Nigel Farage told Mr . Orban

  • Hungarian Presidency struggles to make its mark

    Updated: 2011-07-04 16:06:33
    As the second so-called “new” Member State to take over the EU Presidency after the much-maligned Czechs in the first half of 2009, Hungary was eager to showcase itself and demonstrate its leadership potential. However, due to circumstances both inside and outside its control, it is hard to assess the Hungarian Presidency as anything other [...]

  • The Advent of Direct EU Taxation

    Updated: 2011-07-04 14:19:54
    Home News News The Advent of Direct EU Taxation News The Advent of Direct EU Taxation 04 07 2011 13:19 webmaster 220 Global Print PDF RSS Feeds VIDEO MEPs Nigel Farage , Graham Watson and Rebecca Harms were hosted by the BBC's The Record Europe 02.07.2011 to discuss the Commission's recent proposals on introducing a tax on financial . transactions UKIP Leader Nigel Farage argued that this will be the first time a direct EU tax is being introduced , and since raising taxes is a function of the state , the EU will be acting as a . state Moreover , if the EU goes for a financial transaction tax you will find that insurance , foreign exchange , commodity business genuine business that industry needs to survive will move elsewhere outside the Union , such as Zurich , Bermuda , New York or

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