November 12, 2014
So Margrethe, about these Luxembourgian tax schemes…European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker has just made an impromptu appearance at the midday press briefing to make a statement and answer a few questions on the furore surrounding the leak…
Posted by Open Europe blog team
|
Jean-Claude Juncker, LuxLeaks, spitzenkandidaten, tax evasion, tax harmonisation |
October 9, 2014
Gone but not yet forgottenThe European Parliament and the political machines that dominate it were, according to many, not supposed to select the President of the European Commission – but they got their man. MEPs, led by Spitzenkandidaten Martin …
Posted by Open Europe blog team
|
EP elections, HIll, juncker, MEPs, Merkel, slovenia, spitzenkandidaten |
October 3, 2014
Juncker and Schulz in happier times…The letter from European Parliament (EP) President Martin Schulz to European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker has now been published in full and contains an extensive list of questions for the UK’s Lord H…
Posted by Open Europe blog team
|
EP hearings, european parliament, European parliament committees, Jean-Claude Juncker, Lord Hill, spitzenkandidaten |
Remember how some tried to make a song and dance about the turnout in May’s European elections having increased for the first time since direct voting was introduced in 1979? Having dropped from 62% in 1979 to 43% in 2009, the 2014 elections saw a stag…
Posted by Open Europe blog team
|
democratic deficit, EP2014, european parliament, faux democracy, spitzenkandidaten |
Advocates of Pan-European Democracy, foremost among them the Socialist’s ‘Spitzenkandidat’ Martin Schulz MEP wished to turn the recent European Elections into a quasi-‘Presidential’ election. The idea was that the ‘winner’ would be the ‘lead candi…
Posted by Open Europe blog team
|
commission president, european parliament, juncker, MEPs, president of the European parliament, schultz, spitzenkandidaten |
No major party in the UK backed Jean-Claude Juncker, or any other ‘Spitzenkandidat’. It is therefore fair to say that the UK electorate had no influence over the course of what some describe as an ‘election’.The counter-charge is that David C…
Posted by Open Europe blog team
|
angela merkel, Cameron, EPP, european parliament, juncker, MEPs, spitzenkandidaten |
June 27, 2014
We have been following the post-summit press conferences of EU leaders. Here is a round-up of the highlights, starting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel: MOST IMPORTANT POINTS FROM #MERKEL #EUCO PRESSER: (1/3) “Ever closer union” does not mean one-…
Posted by Open Europe blog team
|
#EUReform, Cameron, EUCO, european parliament, France, germany, Hollande, italy, Merkel, Poland, Renzi, spitzenkandidaten, Tusk, UK; |
In a letter to the Telegraph today, Open Europe’s Chairman Lord Leach notes:This dispute is largely the product of the wording of the Lisbon Treaty. One part states that the election of the Commission President is the joint responsibility of the Europe…
Posted by Open Europe blog team
|
better off out, Brexit, democratic deficit, EU reform, European Council, juncker, Lisbon Treaty, spitzenkandidaten |
June 19, 2014
If Angela Merkel had privately hoped to quietly ditch Jean-Claude Juncker after the European election, it all started to go wrong when Axel Springer, the media group that owns Bild, Germany’s and Europe’s biggest selling paper, added its substanti…
Posted by Open Europe blog team
|
Bild Zeitung, commission president, democracy, EU budget rules, eurobonds, eurozone, Jean-Claude Juncker, Merkel, spitzenkandidaten |
June 18, 2014
There’s something quite ironic going on in all this Cameron-bashing over Juncker. The charge against Cameron in Europe (and also at home) is often that he lacks principles. That he’s pushed around by backbenchers or pursues narrow tactical personal or …
Posted by Open Europe blog team
|
Anglo-German relations, britain in europe, Cameron, Cameron. Anglo-German axis, Merkel, spitzenkandidaten |
Open Europe is an independent think tank contributing bold new thinking to the debate about the direction of the EU.
