"Of course ordinary French and German taxpayers are going to be angry at lending their money to an insolvent state with lower tax rates than their own. Why wouldn’t they be? Of course ordinary Irish taxpayers are going to be angry at having to pay for high interest loans designed to bail out foreign banks. Why wouldn’t they be? And while ordi…

"In a blog post which has gathered a certain notoriety, Paul Krugman recently sent the Estonians his condolences. I will send them, not my condolences, but my congratulations, and these not for the somewhat dubious honour of being allowed to join the Eurozone, or even for having carried out a highly successful “internal devaluation” (this out…

"Conspiracy theories are often used to justify political actions. This is especially true in Russia where the 1990s are regularly portrayed as the decade when the West set out deliberately to 'weaken and humiliate' Russia... But when it comes to western motives and policy, there is one problem with the Putin and Karaganov line of ar…

"So as Estonia enters the new year, it adopts a new currency. In fact, given the horrors of Estonian history over the past century, it is the ninth time that Estonia has been forced to change its money: 1910: Tsarist Roubles, 1916: Occupation Marks, 1918: Estonian Marks, 1928: Estonian Kroon, 1940: Soviet Rouble, 1941: Occupation Marks, 1944:…

The Economist explains European politics graphically. Worth watching even if you think you already know all you need to.

The UK, as most of us know, is a net contributor to the EU budget. Therefore it’s understandable that people in this country want to learn more about how we benefit from our collective contribution. On this website you can find out how the EU helps with: * Moving around Europe freely and safely* Giving UK consumers a fair deal* Making our food and…

Lucid essay on the rationale behind this absurd legislation - "Europe’s systemic fears involve nothing less than the extent of her territorial and cultural boundaries. To put it bluntly, an aged Europe feels under threat from a world she once dominated, but which she never properly understood. It is this post-colonial world that is coming bac…

Vote now! for the worst EU lobbyists.

Nosemonkey looks into EU trade figures.

Recommendations: * An informal ‘trialogue’ involving the EU, Turkey and Russia should be established, allowing cooperation over security to build from the ground up. * In order to strengthen Turkey’s European identity, Ankara should be given a top-table seat at the trialogue, in parallel with enhanced EU accession negotiations. New chapters should…

Natalie Tocci, like me, is pretty dismayed by the most recent developments.

...or rather, why the EU doesn't do that as well as perhaps it could

Isn't there something rotten about how Europe throws a pittance at the poor, while it empties the seas of their homeland?

Soros speaks. NB that he tends to get things right. If he is right this time, we euro-users are in trouble...

Mail on Sunday invents story about the EU forbidding gallant shopkeepers to sell eggs by the dozen; lots of people believe this ridiculous lie

David Rennie's valedictory, ending with some serious and justified criticism of the European Parliament.

Fairly general report of how the new intake of MEPs behave. "The Liberals face problems with French and Irish MEPs" - ie Bayrou's lot and Fianna Fáil!

David Rennie of the Economist is leaving - we will miss him, but look forward to his acerbic insights on British politics in the future.

New Czech government - all ministers male

Stefani Weiss of the Bertelsmann Stiftung takes a short but hard look at the new European External Action Service and is unimpressed. I think she nails it. (PDF)

Charlemagne fisks a UKIP press release: Eurocontrol is not an EU agency, it was not Eurocontrol that ordered the closure of Europe's skies, the closure did not follow a single computer simulation and EU regulations will not oblige airlines to pay the costs of passengers stranded by the ash cloud. Or, to put it more briefly, out of four factua…

Interesting piece which goes some way to explaining the fantasy coverage of the EU in the British press

Fair comment

"It is hard to convey to outsiders the narcissistic parochialism of Brussels at the moment."

My own comment - this is not the first I have heard of this rumour; we should take it seriously.

For the inaugural stint in this high-profile function, EU citizens should expect the selection of a decent national statesman, a statesman with impeccable European credentials, a respected and experienced politician, with a genuine ability to convince his former colleagues with the right mix of technical and political skills. Blair is not that man…

So Tony Blair is being considered for the job of European Union president... If the new, improved, post-Lisbon EU is to have any credibility or integrity, it needs a different leader.

Scroll down for his interview with a Czech journalist