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The Blog
According to the Observer, senior members of Labour's shadow cabinet want Ed Miliband to commit Labour at the next election to an in-out referendum on the European Union. Is that wise?
Following the failure on 15 May of the Greek president's last-ditch attempt to put together a parliamentary majority willing to back a government of unity, Greece is heading for another general election, probably on 17 June, the outcome of which is unlikely to reassure financial markets.
Catherine Ashton will be within a few kilometers from Camp Liberty in just a few days time. Can she succeed where others have failed?
This crisis is an object lesson in globalisation. National politics - except those of Greece - are effectively suspended until the euro crisis is resolved one way or the other. Here's hoping it's resolved soon.
EU legislation always involves some give and take but ultimately it should provide more benefits than drawbacks.
The Arab Spring, little anticipated but much welcomed, brought with it the promise of change - towards modern democracies respectful of all and to open economies that will create jobs and wealth.
Rarely has an election resonated so widely across the European Union as the French presidential ballot has done. Rarely has a leadership change in one EU member state created expectations of a real policy shift.
On 2 April, 1982, Argentina invaded The Falkland Islands, believing it had a historical right to re-claim the British protectorate, against the will of its pro-British citizens.
If the EU is to successfully implement people-oriented, inclusive and sustainable development cooperation, we must compel it to grasp these opportunities and commit to mainstreaming ageing across its policy and programming. If we don't, the fast-growing numbers of older people world-wide will be further marginalised and the EU's own efforts to eradicate global poverty will be seriously undermined.
Passport-free travel is one of the perks of living in the EU, so what sort of crisis would constitute a valid reason for lifting that prerogative? MEPs have been asked to consider in what exceptional circumstances member states within the Schengen area would be allowed to reintroduce internal border checks.
When European leaders sit at the negotiating table they must remember the lives already transformed by aid and consider the millions still in need.
If two heads are better than one, a million must be a veritable diamond deposit ready to be extracted. Starting this month the EU will be mining ordinary people for ideas on new legislation.
Catching terrorists is not always about James Bond-style spying with white-knuckle chases and high-tech gadgets. These days results are often achieved in the office by analysing dry sets of data. Although effective, there are concerns that using data in this way could be abused for other ends.
Overnight, as Tim Montgomerie somewhat breathlessly reports on the website Conservative Home, news arrives from Thurrock that 90% of the Queen's subje...
Next time you attempt to ward off bad luck on Friday the 13th, consider going to Greece for the day. While in other countries people shy away from crossing black cats and ducking under ladders, in the home of the Acropolis they will happily open umbrellas indoors as there Friday the 13th is not considered to be bad luck.
Up until the 1980s aviation in Europe was high on regulation and short on competition, resulting in a market that struggled to take off.
