Do the EU leaders really want strong external representation?  The dispute over who should have represented the Union at the international talks on phasing out mercury in Stockholm on 7-11 June, puts this into doubt. The EU was unable to speak with a single voice, or even negotiate, at the First Session of the Intergovernmental [...]

The Schuman Plan of 9 May 1950 heralded 60 years of peace, stability and prosperity.  One death in Sarajevo in 1914 led to millions of deaths in Europe; thousands of deaths in Sarajevo in the 1990s did not for one moment affect the stability of western Europe.  Much has changed during these 60 years in [...]

The following article appeared in the Beijing Review on  24 Decemeber 2009 Better Times Ahead The Lisbon Treaty and a new EU hierarchy point to greater stability and a resurgent dynamism By Stanley Crossick The year 2009 was a difficult one for the European Union (EU). The European Parliament elections, held in June, are always [...]

The following article was punlished in the Bejing Review on 17 December 2009: A Final Delivery Implementation of the Lisbon Treaty will make for more simple and easier communication between European governments by Stanley Crossick After years of debate, disagreements and false starts, the European Union (EU) gave birth to the Lisbon Treaty, at long [...]

Everyone agrees that the European Union must get its act together.  The wrangling over the next EU-US summit shows that the EU won’t get it’s act together until the egotism of Member State leaders is brought under control.  Now it’s the turn of Spain, the current EU Presidency, which insists on hosting the summit and, [...]

The new treaty entered into force on 1 December; Hermann van Rompuy took office on 1 January; Cathleen Ashton, while already High Representative for Foreign & Security Policy, had to face her Europêan Parliament Hearing on 11 January; and the new Commission does not come into being until February.  And yet, to read the media, [...]

Lisbon Treaty and a new EU hierarchy point to greater stability and a resurgent dynamism” by Stanley Crossick, published in the Beijing Review 24 December 2009. “The year 2009 was a difficult one for the European Union (EU). The European Parliament elections, held in June, are always disruptive. The results were disappointing with a low [...]

Implementation of the Lisbon Treaty will make for more simple and easier communication between European governments By STANLEY CROSSICK Published in the Beijing Review 17 December 2009 After years of debate, disagreements and false starts, the European Union (EU) gave birth to the Lisbon Treaty, at long last, on December 1. First conceived on December [...]

Andrew Marr’s interview of David Cameron on the BBC’s AM today was disappointing on Europe.  Marr tried to persuade the Conservative leader and likely next British prime minister to say what he would do if the Lisbon Treaty is fully ratified before the general election. Cameron refused to answer this question, saying that it would [...]

The German Constitutional Court judgment is likely to provoke parliaments in other Member States to seek ways of controlling their governments when acting in the EU Council.  Were they all to choose the Danish model, the consequences for Council negotiations would be dramatic.    There is a need anyway for national parliaments to buy in [...]