Posts Tagged France
The ever closer union
Posted by Natalie Hamill in European Union on 17/08/2011
Each time the EU finds itself floundering, you can be sure of two things: there will be a rush of people saying ‘I told you so’, and the respective leaders of France and Germany will appear, united on a podium, with a ‘cunning plan’ to salvage the day. This usually involves some suggestion of ‘deeper integration’ to prevent future misdemeanours; it also, more often than not, consists of a mere skeleton of an idea, requiring drastic fleshing out before the potential can really be examined. And yesterday’s Franco-German Summit, which was the first public step calling for closer economic and fiscal integration, slavishly followed this trend.
French Connection
Posted by Carolina Bracken in British History, European Union, Multiculturalism on 04/05/2011
Details emerging about a Brussels-led plan have bewildered both EU supporters and sceptics alike. Not content with efforts to deconstruct member state borders, it now seems that the EU seeks to redraw these lines from scratch, in defiance of historic, linguistic, even geographical boundaries.
La Résistance Française
Posted by Carolina Bracken in Environment, European Union, Politics on 16/03/2011
Faced with the possible merger of two of the 12 plenary sessions, France has launched a fierce resistance against the European Parliament. Member states should be able to defend their national interests against conflicting demands of EU membership. However, pandering to French demands would override the decision of the elected MEPs and continue to allow one member state to force all others to shoulder the burden of maintaining an unjustified and costly anachronism.
A crowded marriage
Posted by David Conway in European Union on 09/02/2009
If last weeks’ British wildcat strikes were redolent of protectionism, comments evoking similar feelings made by the French President have proved inflammatory to Prague, writes Lara Natale. Czech Prime Minister/incumbent EU President Mirek Topolánek has suggested that they may even end up contributing to the Czech Republic’s existing disinclination to ratify the Lisbon Treaty.
Now, let’s be franc
Posted by Claire Daley in European Union on 14/07/2008
Brussels’ ever tightening grip on EU member states has seen supranational powers creep into the daily lives of ordinary Europeans. This loss of local power has eroded regional identities. However, some of Europe’s citizens are taking a stand against the surge of Brussels’ influence; battling the tide of EU domination in small, but hugely significant, ways.
Atten-shun!!
Posted by Pete Quentin in European Union on 30/06/2008
When Slovenia shuffles off the podium of the EU Presidency tomorrow, France will assume the European Union’s top post for the second half of 2008. Among its priorities, the French leadership has asserted its ambition to formalise a common European Security and Defence Policy (ESDP).
However, France must prove that the EU needs a common ESDP to supersede member states’ security policies, and furthermore to demonstrate that the EU can be trusted to manage highly sensitive security and defence issues. ‘Is the EU really up to the job?’, asks Claire Daley.