Category Europe
Falling out over Windrush – a rude awakening for the UK
If it had not been for the timely coincidence of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in London, and it being tasked with deciding the succession of Queen Elizabeth at the head of the network, the UK Government may just about have got away with its appalling treatment of the Windrush generation residents of […]
For a Europe of freer regions
The recent clashes in Catalonia, where more than 900 people were injured in confrontations between national police and ordinary people seeking to vote in the attempted independence referendum have again shown that a number of countries within Europe, and elsewhere too, find it hard to deal with the dynamics of regional identities supplementing or in […]
Without vision, no chance for Europe
The doomsayers of Europe are increasingly finding their match in the resurgence of ideas for the future of the community. The European Union, and some of its key institutions and mechanisms that bind its members together have gone through a valley of tears for a few years. And nobody should be overly sure that the […]
Fragile identities in a globally connected world
Over the past year the UK has gone from a latent to an all to obvious stage of DPVID, or Delayed Post-Victory Identity Disorder, and is now well into the fits which characterise this condition. While the fits last it is pretty unlikely that any meaningful self-diagnosis and subsequent deep healing will begin. 70 years […]
Press ‘play’ now – how Macron’s fresh pro EU stance can release a suppressed groundswell of support …
It is early days to hail an end to the rise of nationalism in Europe, yet it is encouraging to see how many politicians and media commentators on the continental mainland currently bask in the warm sun of the new French President Macron’s pro-European stance. Macron’s glow is inevitable: he is young, he seems to […]
An experiment in democracy
Forget about Macron’s election having potentially put a stop to the rise of nationalist movements in Europe. Aside from questions of left or right, the reality is that with his election a relatively new dynamic has entered the debate about the EU: in a big and influential member state the traditional parties have been rejected […]
Cultures of self-inflicted fear and inferiority about Europe
In any political contest including elections the dividing lines between parties and policy propositions become more acute. It is not surprising and in itself unproblematic for particular campaigns to portray the EU in a negative way and argue for alternative ways to run a nations external relations and development. What is surprising though is the […]
The age of egotism
Today, with the formal request by the UK to leave the European Union, a decision takes hold which may well prove to be one of the most extraordinarily misguided acts in European politics of this century. We still have 80 and more years to go until 2100. A failure of global leaders to control global […]
Brexit: misgivings about direction or about leadership?
The past year of living in the UK has been an interesting experience. Like many others in Europe I have felt over many decades a general consensus on the benefits of exchange and integration, of experiencing the other and living together while being free to be different. This is part of the promise of the […]
globalgearbox 