Tag archives for EU
Why vote in the European Elections tomorrow?
You might be forgiven for thinking that tomorrow's European elections are a waste of effort. If you care about brexit, either way, then it's vital you go and vote tomorrow. European Elections Tomorrow we have an opportunity to vote for the members of the European Parliament that represent the UK. After the brexit referendum and the shouting about the EU being unelected this might surprise you. However we've been able to elect Members of the European Parliament (MEP) for decades. Most of us don't, the turnout for European elections is usually really low. Bizarrely, Nigel Farage is an MEP and routinely claims his salary and expenses. The process uses proportional representation. You vote for a party and the parties have lists of candidates. The constituencies are huge. Scotland is one, London is another. Typically they have a population of about…
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Article 50 – How will we Brexit?
After the referendum there's been a lot of speculation on how we invoke Article 50 of the Treaty of Lisbon. Article 50 (see below) is the provision for a member state to leave the EU. Article 50 Here is Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty. It helps to know what it is before giving an opinion. 1. Any Member State may decide to withdraw from the Union in accordance with its own constitutional A Member State which decides to withdraw shall notify the European Council of its intention. In the light of the guidelines provided by the European Council, the Union shall negotiate and conclude an agreement with that State, setting out the arrangements for its withdrawal, taking account of the framework for its future relationship with the Union. That agreement shall be negotiated in accordance with Article 218(3) of the Treaty…
Brexit – what will the European Union do?
There's been discussion on the potential for a British Exit (Brexit) from the European Union. 98% of the noise is uncritical electioneering from the Brexit supporters. Even the pro-EU folk have their anglocentric specs on. Good strategy looks at different perspectives. I think we should look at how other European countries might see Brexit. European Perspectives on the EU Britain sees the EU quite differently from the original founding members. We were one of the first wave of joiners, nearly twenty years after it started. Our membership has always been about economic benefit to the UK. In contrast the French, Germans and Benelux countries view it as providing political stability to Europe. Their driver was avoiding another European war. The original treaty was signed in 1954, nine years after WW2 ended. Much of Germany was still in ruins, France was little better. So…