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It’s possible that the die-hards in Theresa May’s government who demand a hard Brexit will win the day, causing a degree of havoc in the UK economy that some analysts put at £100bn in costs and lost growth. But perhaps cooler heads will prevail, with their warnings that by value half of all Britain’s exports go to the EU, and that leaving the single market threatens the UK’s position as the leading recipient of foreign direct investment in Europe.

Don’t start Brexit talks with a clash on cash

By: EBR | Wednesday, February 22, 2017

The eyes of the world will soon be on the Brexit negotiations, amid widespread fears that they may end in a ‘train crash’, not least because of a cash clash. Here’s a suggestion for averting that – or at least making it much less likely

The process of comitology already underwent severe changes when the Lisbon Treaty was signed. Commission involvement was increased and so-called trilogues, attended by representatives of the three main institutions, have been used more and more. The lack of transparency of the latter has been routinely called into question.

Commission fluffs lines on decision-making reform

By: EBR | Thursday, February 16, 2017

The European Commission has revealed its long-awaited reform of the so-called comitology decision-making process

Next week might come too soon for every ‘i’ to be dotted and every ’t’ to be crossed. I would be very happy if significant progress with the Greek government is made by that point. It might be the case that the agreement is ready by the meeting after, in March.

Eurogroup deputy: ‘Grexit is a non-issue’

By: EBR | Thursday, February 16, 2017

Thomas Wieser has been president of the Eurogroup Working Group since 2012. It is an advisory body made up of representatives from the Economic and Financial Committee, the European Commission and the European Central Bank

In a recent speech, Mogherini, the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy , said that the EU will continue support Ukraine by various means. Mogherini also added that the EU will continue support Ukraine with a special focus on the delivery of services to the population, the service which are aimed at the improvement of living conditions for the people.

EU urged to intensify sanctions against Moscow

By: EBR | Wednesday, February 15, 2017

The EU has been urged by an EP commission to intensify sanctions against Russia or risk a repeat of the Ukraine crisis in neighbouring Belarus. The warning comes amid a recent big upsurge in fighting in Donbass between Russian-backed separatists and Ukrainian forces

So let us mobilise. Let us ensure that 2017 is the year in which we stand up and fight for the united Europe that we continue to believe in and that more than ever, we need. A Europe that is not only dynamic and competitive but also inclusive, social, fair. A Europe that stands tall and strong on the international stage, proud of its values of openness and tolerance. In that sense, we must see the Trump administration not only as a challenge, but as an opportunity.

Pierre Moscovici: A response to the populist tsunami

By: EBR | Wednesday, February 15, 2017

I have long had a deep affection for Greece and its people, with their unparalleled history

What is left today of this asset-rich, wage-poor model is widespread inequality, a disenfranchised generation of young people with no jobs and no assets, and rising populism. Both the US and the UK rank among the top Western countries for inequality, according to OECD data. Against this backdrop, Europe’s social safety net and its inclusive welfare policies could turn into strengths, giving it more social and political stability than investors expect; in a historical twist of events, state leaders in Germany and France have recently reminded the US of the importance of civil rights.

Don’t give up on Europe

By: EBR | Friday, February 10, 2017

“Europe is uninvestable,” a fund manager declares, while carving a slice of roast lamb over dinner in Mayfair, London. “With Marine Le Pen in France, Brexit and populists all over the place, we prefer to avoid any Eurozone risk.” The other fund managers in the room nod, in silence

OLAF is always trying to stay ahead of the game. For example, our specialists have developed new IT tools that record the physical movements of containers transported on maritime vessels and that gather information on the goods entering, transiting and leaving the EU. This will allow OLAF and member states to better track and trace suspicious shipments and thus better detect customs fraud, which should also prove helpful in the fight against tobacco smuggling.

EU anti-fraud official: Tobacco smuggling is ‘major source’ of organised crime

By: EBR | Friday, February 10, 2017

Margarete Hofmann is director of policy at the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF)

Any discussion about events in Syria runs the risk of becoming stifled. People argue that the situation in the region is too complex; that there are too many players with incomprehensible interests. Of course, much remains hidden. But the fact that war crimes are taking place, that more than 90% of the deaths of doctors, journalists and civilians are the result of actions of the Syrian regime and its allies − this is not propaganda.

Why is Europe so silent on Syria?

By: EBR | Friday, February 10, 2017

Why did nearly six years have to pass? Why did hundreds of thousands of people in Syria have to die and many millions have to flee? Why did it take so long for Europe to feel even a little disgust at the tragedy of Aleppo, one of the biggest worldwide humanitarian catastrophes of recent years?

The Commission has so far been hugging the white paper’s text to its chest. Some EU ambassadors believe that they may not catch sight of it until early March, by when there will be little time to do more than fine-tune a fait accompli. It is generally acknowledged that the timing is made tricky for the Brussels executive by elections this year in France and Germany. If the white paper inflames controversy, it could do more harm than good.

Eurozone proposals will be Rome party pooper

By: EBR | Wednesday, February 8, 2017

Pity the European Union’s top officials as they contemplate next month’s 60th anniversary of the Treaty of Rome

The March summit in the Italian capital will mark the 60th anniversary of the Treaty of Rome, which founded the European project. By then, member states were expected to have outlined their vision for the future of Europe.

Europe looks beyond March summit to forge vision

By: EBR | Friday, February 3, 2017

The 60th anniversary of the Rome Treaty next month is unlikely to be celebrated with a landmark roadmap for future EU integration, as diverging views continue to undermine efforts to forge a common vision

The battle against roaming charges took on an added significance after Britain voted to quit the bloc last year in a surge of anti-EU sentiment and Brussels has sought to show it works for ordinary citizens.

‘Goodbye roaming’: EU clears final hurdle to end mobile charges abroad

By: EBR | Wednesday, February 1, 2017

The European Union clinched a preliminary deal early on Wednesday (31 January) to cap wholesale charges telecom operators pay each other when their customers use their mobile phones abroad, paving the way for the abolition of roaming fees in June.

Significantly, as President Trump moves to make the his country more insular, transactional, and narrowly interest-driven – saying the US will buy American and hire American – China has set up stall as the defender of economic globalisation and free world trade. As Chinese President Xi Jinping warned at the Davos World Economic Forum last month, “No one will emerge as a winner in a trade war”.

As Trump disengages from the world, Europe and others can take the lead

By: EBR | Wednesday, February 1, 2017

The new President of the United States, Donald Trump, is upending liberal democracy, spreading ‘alternative facts’ and smashing civilised values

This is not the only issue along which party lines are divided. Since he was ousted two and a half years ago, along with fellow left-wing rebels Montebourg and Aurélie Filippetti, Hamon has been one of the Valls government’s most vocal opponents. He even went so far as to call for a vote of no confidence in the government over last spring’s labour reforms.

Hamon’s victory confirms ‘Corbynisation’ of French left

By: EBR | Monday, January 30, 2017

The clear victor in France’s Socialist primary, Benoît Hamon represents the left fringe of his divided party. Fearing a decline into eternal opposition and irrelevance, some Socialist MPs will instead back Emmanuel Macron

Malta’s aim for its six months at the heart of Europe is to act in the interests of its citizens, make a better life for them, and bring a greater appreciation of the EU to its people. Through small acts by a small country, we can achieve these bigger goals for the whole of Europe.

Maltese presidency aims to make the ordinary extraordinary

By: EBR | Monday, January 30, 2017

On 1 January Malta, the smallest member of the European Union, took on the giant task of the presidency of the EU Council

Other factors, currently understated, will add to the tension: growing irritation among continental partners blaming Brexit for their poor economic performance and falling investment; difficult domestic politics in other European countries resulting in little patience for British foibles; and irritation that Brexit crowds out the other important issues on the European agenda. All of this while eurozone woes continue; while bank weaknesses threaten growth and stability; while Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic further downgrade their commitment in Europe; and while NATO is undermined and Europe’s military is overstretched and incoherent.

Europe must take control of its own destiny in 2017

By: EBR | Friday, January 27, 2017

The end is in sight for the Atlantic alliance as we have known it for 70 years. The European Union, both with and without Britain, must now prepare for the new multipolar world and decide whether it is in control of its own destiny

There is a certain irony that Schulz sought a third term as Parliament president before his decision to move into German politics was made, as time and time again during his Brussels stint he accused his native country of blocking the ongoing development of the EU.

Martin Schulz’s rapid rise from Brussels man to chancellor candidate

By: EBR | Thursday, January 26, 2017

Martin Schulz is known in Germany mainly as a European politician and an ally of Chancellor Angela Merkel. But later this year they will face off in the country’s leadership race

The Eurosceptic tide has been running strongly against the EU for a decade, ever since the financial markets crisis of 2007 turned into an economic depression and led to the eurozone’s sovereign debt crisis. Although it was the half-completed nature of economic and monetary union that was largely to blame, public opinion across the EU wrongly blamed ‘too much Europe’ for their ills. Trump looks like being the antidote to this.

Trump will be a gift to Europe’s lost unity

By: EBR | Wednesday, January 25, 2017

The presidency of Donald J. Trump is going to be a gift to Europe’s troubled and divided policymakers, even though it comes in a package labelled ‘Handle with Care’ and ‘Danger’

”The only way to get out of this is to remove moral hazard, stop confirming the image that we’re there to make life difficult, that it’s not the member states’ fault what happens in Brussels, that the North is imposing models that don’t work on the South, that the South is lazy. These are all lies, but they lead to a huge lack of trust within nations and between nations.”

‘This double game is destroying us’ – EU strikes back at its critics in Davos

By: EBR | Friday, January 20, 2017

Leaders of the European Union lashed out at the forces that could bring it down in an emotive session at Davos, days after Theresa May revealed that Britain was heading for a clean break

Britain will forgo membership of the EU Single Market and Customs Union (Common External Tariff and Common Commercial Policy) and end the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice. The virtue of Mrs May’s strategy is that it should prevent the EU from continuing to hamstring Britain during negotiations after Brexit is final. Leaving both the single market and the customs union is the only way London can regain the ability to negotiate its own trade deals with the US, Canada and Australia. Those and other countries have tried and failed, or only barely succeeded, to conclude trade pacts with the EU.

No deal for Britain is better than a bad deal for Britain

By: N. Peter Kramer | Wednesday, January 18, 2017

'May to EU: give us a fair deal or you'll be crushed', was the opening of The Times on the day after UK Prime Minister Theresa May's Lancaster House speech on Tuesday 17 January

The question is not about hope for the European Union, but for the survival of democratic institutions. Anyway, “hope” is one more notion corroded by its political abuse during the last years of the crisis. One thing is for sure: strong political will and leadership is required. This is not a poker game. One cannot exploit populism à la carte. An integral strategy is needed. Otherwise, the political elite – politicians of a generation who has never lived outside the EU and inside the menace of populist predominance – will very soon find themselves trapped in their own trick. And what is at stake is much more than their petty political survival.

Pick-and-choose populism and the EU elite

By: EBR | Wednesday, January 18, 2017

EU leaders cannot exploit populism when it suits them and then complain when things do not go their way. We need strong leadership from the political mainstream to turn things around, write Petroula Nteledimou and Nikos Lampropoulos

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