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  • Pro-EU parties can no longer prevaricate and must expedite their attempts to think beyond traditional political families in the way they battle for seats in the EP, according the ECFR. Listening at the mainstream political parties, you can hear they share seriously the ECFR concerns, but looking at them, you see that they are exclusively busy with tackling each other in the race for delivering the President of the European Commission.

    EU mainstream political parties feel cornered

    According to a recent report* published by the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR), there is a distinct possibility that anti-EU parties could form the second-largest group in the European Parliament after the elections the end of May

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It is true, the experiment has helped to undercut the ‘gilets jaunes’, but this movement remains volatile and could erupt again if people are disappointed by what Macron is going to do with the demands for tax cuts and better public services. But also for more measures to protect the environment and a system of government that allows for direct participation by citizens.The government announced already to put cash in the pockets of everyday French citizens, including a boost to minimum-wage earners and cuts in taxes for some pensioners. The decree to freeze the state pensions for a period of two years has been reversed.

President Macron wants a change, the French people tax cuts

After months of town hall debates across France, it is clear: the French people demands for tax cuts and better public services

Orban and his party, Fidesz, should leave the EPP, he added. But a day later Juncker called, totally surprising his audience, the Hungarian PM still ‘my friend’. Anyhow, Angela Merkel offered Juncker immediately her “full solidarity”, what is not surprising, the German chancellor is another of Orban’s favorite targets. But she didn’t say anything about Fidesz should leave the EPP.

Victor Orban, the ‘thorn in the flesh’ of the EPP

European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, asked about Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s recent anti-EU poster campaign against him, declared, “enough is enough.”

The paradox is, that the EU hates one of its members having a budget deficit of 2 percent of GDP (Italy) but is totally fine with another member having a surplus of the same size (Germany). Is starving your country of money any less egregious than borrowing to spend? A parallel can be made with how the European Central Bank manages monetary policies. The ECB keeps, in contrast with for instance the Bank of England and the FED in the US (under pressure of President Trump), interest rates higher than they would be for fear of allowing inflation above the ceiling of 2 percent.

Ailing Eurozone can learn from Britain

Barely a year ago they told us that the Eurozone was at its strongest and that Britain had stepped into the jaws of Brexit and would become the sick man of Europe again

Macron’s government abruptly raised the price of car fuel, without any comprehension of millions living in rural parts of the country, where public transport is lacking and driving is an unavoidable reality of life. But that became a bridge too far, the last straw that broke the camel’s back!

"Monarch" Macron, an out-of-touch president

France is a republic that creates monarchs out of its presidents only to behead them

‘Der Manfred’ made his audience even more stupefied when he told them that he appreciated the European Conservatives and Reformists group (ECR). Ten years ago the ECR was formed by the British Conservatives to provide a euro-critical alternative to the EPP’s traditionally blind pro-EU stance. Weber even praised ECR’s member and Poland’s governing national-conservative Law and Justice (PiS) party

“Spitzenkandidat” Manfred Weber is everyone’s friend (except Marine Le Pen’s)

Probably Socialists will be wiped out in the European elections in May; and also for the liberals the ‘political barometer’ doesn’t show nice weather

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Editor’s Column

EU mainstream political parties feel cornered

By: N. Peter Kramer

According to a recent report* published by the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR), there is a distinct possibility that anti-EU parties could form the second-largest group in the European Parliament after the elections the end of May

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