EUROPE
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Largest Swiss party rejects European Union 19 August 2011 (Vol. 16, No. 12, p.4)
A short comment on the Rutli Declaration of 2011 by the Swiss People's Party which stated that, if Switzerland ever decided to join the EU, the ten cantons in which the SVP is in the majority would secede from Switzerland.
It's a binary choice and 'reformers' are part of the EU 'in' group, 29 May 2009 (Vol 14, No 16, pp.3,4)
This study analyses the failure of euroscepticism and speculates what it would take to turn reformers into full-blooded supporters of withdrawal. It shows that Gerry Frost's Bruges Group speech correctly identified the prime cause of euroscepticism's failure to date as its inability to win over enough of the political and financial elite. It concludes that the elite will never acknowledge that the 'great unwashed' are right and that, therefore, the initiative to change will likely come from a breakdown in one of the other large EU countries.
Moldova: Europe's poorest people will be free to come to UK, 15 May 2009 (Vol. 14, No. 15, p.4)
This review, written in 2009, explains how the right to the free movement of labour inevitably lowers wage levels in the recipient country.
Ireland teeters on the brink of a financial and economic catastrophe, 30 January 2009 (Vol 14, No. 8, p.3)
A paper on how membership of the euro has weakened Ireland's capacity to deal with the credit crunch.
Giscard's speech highlights weaknesses in position of Tory euroscepticism, 3 October 2008 (Vol. 13, No. 24, p.3)
At the The Global Vision/Daily Telegraph Westminster Conference on 8th September 2008, former President Giscard d'Estaing correctly pointed out that nobody forced successive British governments to sign up for EU treaties. This paper comments that, when he proposed a 'special status' for Britain, some of the professed eurosceptics present reacted with the usual cliches about 'the club' and the 'top table'.
Why can't we be more like Switzerland? 7 September 2007 (Vol. 12, No. 22, p.4)
This paper analyses a seminar held at the Swiss Embassy in London (Summer 2007) where the experts made it clear that the Swiss system of open and direct democracy provides important lessons for those who wish to preserve self government. Their argument was that Swiss democracy means, not only popular endorsement by referendum, but full disclosure and careful supervision of the spending of the money of the Swiss people, even after it is allocated to supporting projects in Eastern Europe.
Is there really a 'Huguenot' invasion or is Ken simply bad at maths? 27 April 2007 (Vol. 12, No. 14, p.3)
An amusing exposee which questions why europhiles be so keen to grossly exaggerate the number of French living in London. The conclusion is that it appeared that, in 2007, Ken Livingstone, the LibDems, the New Statesman, etc., simply could not add up - their figures were between 5 and 10 times the estimates of the French Embassy in London.
Largest Swiss party rejects European Union 19 August 2011 (Vol. 16, No. 12, p.4)
A short comment on the Rutli Declaration of 2011 by the Swiss People's Party which stated that, if Switzerland ever decided to join the EU, the ten cantons in which the SVP is in the majority would secede from Switzerland.
It's a binary choice and 'reformers' are part of the EU 'in' group, 29 May 2009 (Vol 14, No 16, pp.3,4)
This study analyses the failure of euroscepticism and speculates what it would take to turn reformers into full-blooded supporters of withdrawal. It shows that Gerry Frost's Bruges Group speech correctly identified the prime cause of euroscepticism's failure to date as its inability to win over enough of the political and financial elite. It concludes that the elite will never acknowledge that the 'great unwashed' are right and that, therefore, the initiative to change will likely come from a breakdown in one of the other large EU countries.
Moldova: Europe's poorest people will be free to come to UK, 15 May 2009 (Vol. 14, No. 15, p.4)
This review, written in 2009, explains how the right to the free movement of labour inevitably lowers wage levels in the recipient country.
Ireland teeters on the brink of a financial and economic catastrophe, 30 January 2009 (Vol 14, No. 8, p.3)
A paper on how membership of the euro has weakened Ireland's capacity to deal with the credit crunch.
Giscard's speech highlights weaknesses in position of Tory euroscepticism, 3 October 2008 (Vol. 13, No. 24, p.3)
At the The Global Vision/Daily Telegraph Westminster Conference on 8th September 2008, former President Giscard d'Estaing correctly pointed out that nobody forced successive British governments to sign up for EU treaties. This paper comments that, when he proposed a 'special status' for Britain, some of the professed eurosceptics present reacted with the usual cliches about 'the club' and the 'top table'.
Why can't we be more like Switzerland? 7 September 2007 (Vol. 12, No. 22, p.4)
This paper analyses a seminar held at the Swiss Embassy in London (Summer 2007) where the experts made it clear that the Swiss system of open and direct democracy provides important lessons for those who wish to preserve self government. Their argument was that Swiss democracy means, not only popular endorsement by referendum, but full disclosure and careful supervision of the spending of the money of the Swiss people, even after it is allocated to supporting projects in Eastern Europe.
Is there really a 'Huguenot' invasion or is Ken simply bad at maths? 27 April 2007 (Vol. 12, No. 14, p.3)
An amusing exposee which questions why europhiles be so keen to grossly exaggerate the number of French living in London. The conclusion is that it appeared that, in 2007, Ken Livingstone, the LibDems, the New Statesman, etc., simply could not add up - their figures were between 5 and 10 times the estimates of the French Embassy in London.