31st January 2012
Romania’s former Foreign Minister, Andrei Plesu, commented yesterday on the tough economic conditions facing Romania and quoted Caragiale “From this dilemma we have no way out”. Certainly the economic outlook looks a bit like Bucharest’s roads did last week, blocked at every junction and with more snow on the way. Growth forecasts are being revised […]
16th December 2011
Australian readers of this blog will be wondering what the latest headlines about the UKs’ relationship with Europe are all about. The complexities of Europe’s institutional structures are hard enough to follow if you’re living there, let alone observing the continent from 10,000 miles away. In essence, the latest developments flow from the problems of […]
13th December 2011
The chatter in Europe over the last few weeks has been dominated by the economic crisis. Can the Euro be saved? Is Britain isolated? Who is to blame? What do the markets think? The Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth, Lord Jonathan Sacks, also discussed the European economic crisis during his […]
10th November 2011 London, UK
I was in the Netherlands earlier this week, my second visit as Minister for Europe. The UK and the Netherlands have a strong working relationship; the aim of my visit was to deepen bilateral and multilateral co-operation in the many areas where our views are closely aligned. As well as the important trade relations the […]
13th October 2011 London, UK
The Foreign Secretary has today made a statement to Parliament which explains the Government’s first use of the European Union Act 2011. This use of the Act is required by the proposed treaty change to enable Eurozone countries to set up the European Stability Mechanism, which aims to secure economic stability in the Eurozone countries […]
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18th July 2011
Investment stock can be a more accurate and less volatile indicator of inward investment than flow, but the UK’s Office of National Statistics reported last month that the UK attracted £32bn in the inward investment in the first quarter of 2011 – it’s strongest quarter for over 3 years, and a huge leap from the […]
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9th June 2011
…is the slogan of the Asia-Europe meeting (ASEM) now taking place in Godolo Royal Palace. Minister of State Jeremy Browne is representing the UK and has spoken about live foreign policy issues (the Arab Spring, Iran, Afghanistan, Burma and North Korea) and global economic developments (the rising significance of Asian economies to global prosperity, reform […]
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10th May 2011
Of what 47-member body is Ukraine about to assume the Chairmanship, followed by the United Kingdom? The answer is of course the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe (CoE), whose Chairmanship Ukraine will take on on 11 May. The UK, in turn, takes over the chairmanship from Ukraine in November. CoE Chairmanships are […]
30th March 2011
I’ve been in Warsaw this week meeting Polish and British colleagues and having my first good look around the city since I first visited it in 1987. It’s always interesting to compare neighbours, and the comparison between Poland and Ukraine tells us a good bit about both. This is particularly relevant as the negotiations on the proposed […]
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29th March 2011
On Tuesday 15 March, Professor Dan Hamilton of Johns Hopkins University’s Center for Transatlantic Relations in DC hosted a panel discussion to launch "Europe 2020 – Competitive or Complacent". Professor Hamilton warned that 2020 was the closing window for Europe within which it needed to position itself into a competitive place in an increasingly inter-connected […]