Brussels
Qatargate and the dubious moral authority of NGOs
The Qatargate scandal haunting the European Union is not merely about corrupt politicians and officials. The deplorable role of a non-governmental organisation is at the heart…
Imperial measures are culture war bait
The idea of reintroducing imperial measures in honour of the Queen’s Jubilee has one quality that will have commended it to No. 10’s…
David Frost's solution to cool UK-EU relations
Since David Frost quit the government in December over its political direction, he has not said that much about the…
Donald Tusk is playing a dangerous game in dismissing Polexit
‘The British showed that the dictatorship of the Brussels bureaucracy did not suit them and turned around and left.’ That’s…
Hungary, Poland and the EU’s ‘diversity’ problem
It is quite something when the self-proclaimed ‘illiberal’ prime minister of Hungary, Viktor Orbán, reminds Brussels of its liberal principles.…
The EU will regret its legal onslaught against Poland
When European governments openly disobey courts, ears prick up. When two courts simultaneously contradict each other on the same day…
The EU's Brexit bill doesn't add up
A dozen hospitals. A hundred million doses of the Pfizer vaccine, and a lot more of the Oxford one. Or…
Why has the EU let German car manufacturers off the hook?
Two billion? Five billion? Perhaps ten billion to make it a nice round number? For colluding on diesel emissions you…
Viktor Orbán goes to war on the European parliament
‘Times have changed, and whereas thirty years ago we believed Europe was our future, today we understand that we are…
Prepare for the EU’s ‘Hamilton moment’
The EU may boast a common currency like any other state (even if nearly a third of its 27 members…
The manhunt dividing Belgium
Belgium’s leading virologist is in hiding, holed up with his family in a government safe house. The reason? A right-wing…
Can the EU be trusted to introduce vaccine passports?
The contracts were badly drafted. The orders were late. Too few resources were made available for the scale of the…
The EU is stepping up its raid on the city of London
It is not usual for the Governor of the Bank of England to ask permission to make a statement about…
Biden's rift with Brussels is only set to grow
It was meant to be a special relationship. After the tumultuous Trump years, President Biden was planning to reset relations…
I was a Remainer – but I now want no deal
When I told two neighbours that I had become a no-deal Brexiter they physically recoiled from me. ‘You can’t.’ ‘But…
Aurora Orchestra’s Brexit concert nearly turned me into a Leaver
Back when the UK was assumed to be leaving the European Union on 29 March, the Aurora Orchestra was invited…
Fun at the EU’s expense: The Capital, by Robert Menasse, reviewed
Stendhal likened politics in literature to a pistol-shot in a concert: crude, but compelling. When that politics largely consists of…
Theresa May has been given a second chance to save Brexit. She’d better not blow it
Theresa May will soon arrive in Brussels with a series of unlikely demands. She must tell the European Union that…
France is now the sick man of Europe
It is a long time since the term ‘sick man of Europe’ could be applied to Britain. France is now…
How is Britain going green? By shutting down industry
A fortnight ago, the energy minister, Andrea Leadsom, declared grandly that Britain, alone in the world, would commit to a…
The Lahore attacks reflected hatred of Christians. Why must we deny it?
You might expect that the murder of Christians would excite particular horror in countries of Christian heritage. Yet almost the…
Portrait of the week
Home David Cameron, having continued talks through the night in Brussels, announced that he had achieved a ‘special status’ for…
Portrait of the week
Home David Cameron, the Prime Minister, spent time in Brussels before a meeting of the European Council to see what…
The next immigration crisis
There has been an influx of 2.5 million Syrian refugees, and almost as many again are expected. At this rate, Turkey’s migrant problem is set to become Europe’s
France’s civil war — and the struggle facing Europe
...and the struggle facing Europe
