Blog SummaryDeliberations begin as hearings draw to a close in Karlsruhehttp://www.openeuropeblog.blogspot.co.uk/2013/06/deliberations-begin-as-hearings-draw-to.html

Blog SummaryWhy France can hold up EU-US free trade talkshttp://www.openeuropeblog.blogspot.co.uk/2013/06/why-france-can-hold-up-eu-us-free-trade.html

Daily Press SummaryLabour to abstain on EU Referendum Bill votehttp://www.openeurope.org.uk/Article/Page/en/LIVE?id=11522

Blog SummaryLabour abstains: Have the EU Referendum Bill's chances just improved?http://www.openeuropeblog.blogspot.co.uk/2013/06/have-eu-referendum-bills-chances-just.html

…..on which no comments were received(!). (Original article posted on 18th May 2010) “Democracy – Indirect? Or Direct? With this rather long post I crave your indulgence and ask: pray cast your mind back to 6th May 2010 when you made your mark on a ballot paper. What exactly, were you voting for? Yes, accepted [...]

Blog SummaryA pan-European desire to clarify rules on free movement and access to welfare?http://www.openeuropeblog.blogspot.co.uk/2013/06/a-pan-european-desire-to-clarify-rules.html

Doctrinaire adj & noun  - adj: seeking to apply a theory or doctrine to all circumstances without regard to practical considerations; theoretical and impractical - noun: a doctrinaire person,  a pedantic, theorist. The Concise Oxford Dictionary Yesterday Theresa May gave a speech to mark the 10th anniversary of the Reform, a right-of-centre, think tank and one word she used does [...]

Blog SummaryServices liberalisation: David Cameron has one more reason to love Spainhttp://www.openeuropeblog.blogspot.co.uk/2013/06/services-liberalisation-david-cameron.html

Blog SummaryBernd Lucke sets out his alternative for Germany and the EUhttp://www.openeuropeblog.blogspot.co.uk/2013/06/bernd-lucke-sets-out-his-alternative.html

Daily Press SummaryGerman Constitutional Court raises concerns over conditions on ECB bond-buying; Bundesbank backs limiting ECB mandatehttp://www.openeurope.org.uk/Article/Page/en/LIVE?id=11512

Blog SummaryGot Milk? Writing the nanny-state into EU lawhttp://www.openeurope.org.uk/www.openeuropeblog.blogspot.co.uk/2013/06/got-milk-writing-nanny-state-into-eu-law.html

Daily Press SummaryECB admits that bond-buying programme is practically limited; German government backs ECB in German Constitutional Court casehttp://www.openeurope.org.uk/Article/Page/en/LIVE?id=11506

Blog SummaryWill the closure of public broadcaster set the scene for a coalition showdown in Greece?http://www.openeuropeblog.blogspot.co.uk/2013/06/will-closure-of-public-broadcaster-set.html

The heading to this post is the  sub-heading of an article which appears in The Irish Times under the headline: “People have a right to be heard on Europe”. Never mind about Europe, the people have a right to be heard and, under representative democracy, that right does not exist. The article mentions Peter Sutherland who, [...]

Mark Wallace, writing on ConservativeHome, homes in on what is termed “postcode lottery” and points out that no two places are identical, having different ages, habits, diets, occupations, interests, incomes, racial make-up and  accents; concluding Wallace to believe that instead of having local service levels imposed on us, we should be able to design the services we [...]

Blog SummaryGerman Constitutional Court live blog: One of the most important cases in the Court's history?http://www.openeuropeblog.blogspot.co.uk/2013/06/german-constitutional-court-live-blog.html

Blog SummaryForeign Affairs Select Committee welcomes "Double Majority" voting at the EBA as concrete example of UK influence in Europehttp://www.openeuropeblog.blogspot.co.uk/2013/06/foreign-affairs-select-committee.html

Daily Press Summary48% of Germans hope the Constitutional Court stops the ECB???s bond buying programme; Draghi: We will not intervene to ???ensure the solvency of a country???http://www.openeurope.org.uk/Article/Page/en/LIVE?id=11497

PoliticsHome reports that Tim Yeo has stood down “temporarily” while he waits for his name to be cleared. Temporarily? It should be permanent, if only for this “scam”! (For “permanent” perhaps one could read “shot”?)  This is a man, one among many, that has no doubt through choice and forethought, realised that he can enhance [...]

Don’t you just wish that we, the people of the United Kingdom, could do what the Swiss did yesterday? Don’t you just wish you could decide who could enter your country? Not only that but the referendum of yesterday is but the first – there are three more to come in the next 18 months [...]

David Cameron, speaking in Essex today, attempted to have his fruitcake and eat it – according to Bob3 in the comments here – where the content of his remarks on Britain’s place in the world is concerned.  Contrary to what another blogger believes, David Cameron is either a fool or a liar, but one thing [...]

Blog SummaryGreat speeches, Prime Minister, but now make EU reform happenhttp://www.openeuropeblog.blogspot.co.uk/2013/06/great-speeches-prime-minister-but-now.html

Blog SummaryECB gears up for German Constitutional Court scrutinyhttp://www.openeuropeblog.blogspot.co.uk/2013/06/ecb-gears-up-for-german-constitutional.html

Daily Press SummaryNew Open Europe flash analysis: The German Constitutional Court ??? a growing battleground in the eurozone crisis?; ECB denies claims that its bond-buying programme will be subject to limitshttp://www.openeurope.org.uk/Article/Page/en/LIVE?id=11493&page=PressSummary

From PoliticsHome we read that Tim Yeo, Chair of the Energy and Climate Change Committee, has been a naughty boy – which is a surprise not. According to HouseofNames, the surname “Yeo” orginates from Somerset and Devon and was originally given to those who lived near streams – well Tim Yeo most certainly lives near [...]

Another item in Christopher Booker’s column this week refers to the practice of social services in Scotland, under the “Getting it right for every child” scheme, having children rate the parent’s performance on a scale of 1 to 10. So, we have those whose power of reason is not fully developed making judgments on matters about [...]

Christopher Booker, in his usual Sunday Telegraph column, writes on the workings of our Parliament, the one that is “supreme” in our system of representative democracy. So a great number of our elected representatives, who had not attended a serious debate, who apparently knew nothing about the subject under debate, “pile in” at the stipulated [...]

Then go read Simon Heffer! No matter where you look, be that our society, freedom of speech, education, law and order, traditions, way of life; the list is almost endless, . Was this done with the express permission of the people who actually, one could say, own this country and are told (not asked) to [...]

PoliticalBetting has an article that lays bare the deficit encapsulated in the system of representative democracy – unfortunately, no-one in PolitcalBetting seems to have the nous to realise that this is not the first time. The article commences: “One of the charms of the Westminster system is that Cabinet ministers still have contact with the [...]

Blog SummaryOpen Europe publishes Commission regulation which seeks to move Libor oversight to Parishttp://www.openeuropeblog.blogspot.co.uk/2013/06/open-europe-publishes-commission.html

Daily Press SummaryCommission says it ???fundamentally disagrees??? with the IMF???s analysis of the Greek bailouthttp://www.openeurope.org.uk/Article/Page/en/LIVE?id=11481

Blog SummaryHey Berlin, this is what an EU without Britain would look likehttp://www.openeuropeblog.blogspot.co.uk/2013/06/hey-berlin-this-is-what-eu-without.html

Blog SummaryBerlusconi wants to say 'basta' to EU diktatshttp://www.openeuropeblog.blogspot.co.uk/2013/06/berlusconi-wants-to-say-basta-to-eu.html

Daily Press SummaryFrance moves to find common EU position as trade dispute with China escalateshttp://www.openeurope.org.uk/Article/Page/en/LIVE?id=11474

At the end of April I submitted an FOI request to the Department of Communities and Local Government (DCLG) as a result of this post by Guido Fawkes. The questions posed were: “1. I would be grateful to know what comprises “mandatory trips to the EU”, the reason for such trips and the purpose/content; 2. [...]

SkyNews posts the results of a referendum on EU membership showing just a 2% difference twixt the “inners” and the “outers”. This poll has been commented on elsewhere, however links now no longer appear to be “de rigueur”, so there ain’t one. Once the God(s) have been displeased……… but I digress. Where referendum percentages are [...]

Over recent weeks and months there has been much talk among politicians about regulating the internet while, conversely, they discuss freedom of speech. Only last month the Guardian had an article on this subject while the Economist reported on a United Nations conference on telecommunications governance in Dubai last December. Business Insider also had a [...]

Blog SummaryThe China-EU trade war begins, China adopts divide and conquer approachhttp://www.openeuropeblog.blogspot.co.uk/2013/06/the-china-eu-trade-war-begins-china.html

Blog SummaryMore of the same expected from the ECB despite eurozone economic malaisehttp://www.openeuropeblog.blogspot.co.uk/2013/06/more-of-same-expected-from-ecb-despite.html

Blog SummarySteinbrück envisages a Europe led by Franco-German-Polish axis (Hello Cameron!)http://www.openeuropeblog.blogspot.co.uk/2013/06/spd-envisages-europe-led-by-franco.html

Daily Press SummarySPD leader calls for Franco-German-Polish axis to shape Europe???s role in the world; German Justice Minister: No further transfer of competences to Brusselshttp://www.openeurope.org.uk/Article/Page/en/LIVE?id=11466

Courtesy of @Purplerevolutio on Twitter comes a video of Vernon Bognador giving a talk on the life and career of Enoch Powell. The video is a tad long, running for just over an hour, but for those who have not read Simon Heffer’s biography of this great man, Bognador’s talk is a fair summary. Anyways, [...]

Following last nights “teaser” in respect of “to come”: In last Thursday’s Telegraph there was an article by Will Heaven entitled “Poll: Should we stay and renegotiate or leave the EU altogether.” Needless to say among DT readers there was a 91% vote for “leave altogether”. As usual there were a number of comments suggesting [...]

Blog SummaryEU offers China ???window of opportunity??? to settle solar-panel row but proceeds with watered down tariffshttp://www.openeuropeblog.blogspot.co.uk/2013/06/eu-offers-china-window-of-opportunity.html

Daily Press SummaryInfluential Conservative MPs call for tougher rules on EU migrants??? access to benefitshttp://www.openeurope.org.uk/Article/Page/en/LIVE?id=11464&page=PressSummary

Blog SummaryYour guide to EU free movement and access to welfarehttp://www.openeuropeblog.blogspot.co.uk/2013/06/your-guide-to-eu-free-movement-and.html

An email  correspondent has drawn my attention to a poll conducted by the Daily Telegraph last Thursday on the question of whether the UK should stay and renegotiate or leave the EU altogether. One commenter cited the Geneva Convention of Treaties and I replied that I would respond to this during the course of the [...]

James Cusick writes in the Independent on the Patrick Mercer problem and attempts to excuse Mercer’s behaviour by pleading that there is no guide book for MPs on how they should side-step the temptations of covert lobbying. From the Daily Telegraph we also learn that an Ulster Unionist peer has also been caught in another “cash for [...]

My apologies for two days of silence – back in Shropshire and been a tad busy, however posting will resume this evening.

Daily Press SummaryMerkel: No need to ???give up more powers to the Commission???; Chancellor expresses reluctance about direct elections for Commission Presidenthttp://www.openeurope.org.uk/Article/Page/en/LIVE?id=11456