European Parliament Archive

  • UEFlogosquare

    Petition on federal union

    We the undersigned citizens and associations of the European Union petition the European Parliament as follows: Alarmed at the continuing financial instability and economic difficulties across Europe, Noting that the new intergovernmental treaty will contribute to the strengthening of fiscal discipline but does not address...

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  • winning

    Shot by both sides

    It is always nice when a hunch gets confirmed by data, so thank you to Simon Hix of the LSE for a presentation earlier this week on coalitions within the European Union.  We are continually having to fend off criticisms from the right and left...

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  • Seat of the Bundesverfassungsgericht, Karlsruhe, Germany (picture Tobias Helfrich)

    A German decision that sets back Europe

    News reaches me of a rather strange decision by the German constitutional court regarding the elections to the European Parliament. The ruling is forcing a change in the way in which Germany elects its MEPs. The decision is strange not because it is inconsistent with...

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  • FederalTrustlogosquare

    Parliaments and the European Union – Representative Democracy after the Lisbon Treaty (6 July 2011)

    Parliaments and the European Union – Representative Democracy after the Lisbon Treaty 6 July 2011, 2pm – 6pm, followed by a reception Mary Sumner House, 24 Tufton Street, London SW1P 3RB Programme: 13.45 – 14.00: Registration Session 1: The European Parliament 14.00 – 14.20: “The...

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  • Denis MacShane

    Denis MacShane picks the wrong target on the European Parliament

    A new pamphlet by Labour MP Denis MacShane, “Europe’s parliament: Reform or perish?”, published by the Centre for European Reform, worries about the decline of public interest in the European Parliament, and explores some ways in which it might be reinvigorated.  For anyone who cares...

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  • European Parliament building in Brussels

    A parliament with a purpose

    European Alternatives is circulating a petition calling upon the European Parliament to try to attach conditions to its approval of the members of the next European Commission. (You can read the petition here.) The EP is currently scrutinising the appointments that have been made, giving...

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  • Jose Manuel Barroso, president of the European Commission (picture European Commission)

    Re-election of Barroso reveals old flaws

    A vote by the European Parliament earlier this week confirmed José Manuel Barroso in office for another term as president of the European Commission. Mr Barroso had been more or less openly campaigning for this result for the past year, so he can look back...

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  • Poster promoting the European elections (source European Parliament)

    European election results finally published

    I wrote on this blog at the end of June asking who had won the European elections. The figures on seats won were quickly announced, but it has taken longer for an analysis of the votes cast to be produced. In one sense, the European...

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  • Seat of the Bundesverfassungsgericht, Karlsruhe, Germany (picture Tobias Helfrich)

    Home truths about abroad

    The judgment by the German constitutional court approving of the Lisbon treaty has been broadly welcomed by pro-Europeans in Germany. (See a commentary by Hans-Jürgen Schlamp on Speigel Online here.) One exception to this general rule, though, is that there has been some concern expressed...

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  • Poul Nyrup Rasmussen, PES President

    The Socialists should oppose the nomination of Barroso

    By Richard Laming Published in EUobserver, 30 June 2009 Commission president José Manuel Barroso’s campaign for re-election cleared its latest hurdle at the end of presidency European Council meeting earlier this month. Mr Barroso was unanimously, if provisionally, nominated by the assembled heads of state and...

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