European Union

Source : © European Union, 2025 - EP

Source : © European Union, 2025 - EP

Parliamentary activities resume on 6 January 2025 with external parliamentary activities.

Source : © European Union, 2025 - EP

Just before the EU referendum, the then USA President, Barack Obama, visited the UK and said he hoped that Britain would stay in the EU.

Nigel Farage was having none of it. An American President, he said, had no right to meddle in British affairs. The President, in short, should “butt out”.

The Mirror ran the headline:

“Nigel Farage tells Barack Obama to keep his nose out of the Brexit debate.”

Zoom forward almost nine years and spot the difference.

Now, Nigel Farage is actively encouraging his close ally and incoming President, Donald J. Trump, together with the unofficial deputy President, Elon Musk, the world’s richest person, to meddle in British affairs.

Mr Musk spends considerable time trashing Labour Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, on his X platform (formerly Twitter). He has described Reform as the UK’s “only hope” and has urged Britons to vote for it.

On 16 December, Mr Farage – who believes he is going to replace Sir Keir as Britain’s Prime Minister – met Mr Musk at President Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort.

The meeting came following widespread media reports that Mr Musk is considering a sizeable donation to Mr Farage’s Reform Party – maybe as much as $100m – as a “f*** you Starmer payment”.

Mr Farage, the leader of Reform, formerly leader of UKIP and Brexit parties, was reported to say that the two had discussed money and that there will be “ongoing negotiations” with the tech billionaire.

Under UK law, a foreign person is not allowed to donate to a UK political party, although a foreign business based in the UK can.

So, maybe it should come as no surprise that four days before the meeting – on 12 December – Mr Musk registered a new limited company in London called X.AI London Ltd.

However, a foreign-owned company based in the UK can only donate to a UK political party if it is carrying on business in the UK at the time of the donation.

A mere registration in the UK does not qualify. The company must actively conduct business within the UK. For example, it should have operational activities, employ staff, or generate revenue within the country.

So far as can be ascertained, X.AI London Ltd has not yet started to trade here.

There is already considerable evidence that Putin’s Russia has meddled deeply into Britain’s affairs and helped to fund and fuel Brexit. See my video at theRussianConnection.co.uk

Now, expect more meddling by Trump and Musk into UK politics, aided and abetted by PM wannabe Nigel Farage for his own ends.

Mr Farage has offered to broker a new US-UK free trade agreement to turn the UK further away from the EU. He said:

“The US is our most important relationship in the world – forget Brussels.”

Is this a trap for Sir Keir?

If he accepts the trade agreement, Farage will take the credit. If he doesn’t, Farage will claim that the Labour government has damaged Britain’s prospects.

“Take back control” was the Brexit mantra. But since Brexit, outside actors seem to be controlling our affairs.

What do you think?

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The post The Brexit nose job appeared first on Ideas on Europe.

David Irion

On 9 September 2024, the world’s press gathered in Brussels. On that day, Mario Draghi, former Italian Prime Minister and previous President of the European Central Bank, presented his eagerly awaited report on “The Future of European Competitiveness”. The publication of the so-called Draghi report was timed to coincide with the start of the Commission’s next mandate, which the Commission itself has declared to be the decisive phase in its fundamental reorientation. The Commission intends the Draghi report to have a significant impact on policy-making and priority-setting in the European Union (EU) in the coming years.

The Draghi report provides a comprehensive analysis of the challenges and opportunities facing the EU and develops strategic approaches to promote stability. Draghi notes that growth in the EU is slowing down, mainly due to weak productivity. He also sees recent negative developments in foreign trade, energy supply and external security as a threat to the EU’s previous growth model. But one of the main reasons for him is the poor performance in terms of breakthrough innovation and the initial concentration of innovation activities in medium to low R&D intensive sectors, which is forcing the new European institutions to adopt a new approach to EU R&D policy.

The report recommends creating science as a ‘fifth freedom’ and a ‘Research and Innovation Union’ to reduce the R&D spending gap between the EU and its main competitors. Draghi’s view is undoubtedly that the future of the EU hinges on the success of science and research and its policy.

 

On the way to centre stage

Against this background, the question arises as to how science and research have become such an important policy area in the EU today. This question is addressed in a special issue recently published in the Journal of European Integration History entitled “EUropeanisation in and through Science: Unveiling the Long-Term Dimensions of European Integration” (Irion & Volf 2024). The six contributions to this special issue, written by historians and political scientists, take a multi-angle view of the impact of integration within the political framework of the European Union and its predecessors, covering a wide historical range of almost seventy years – from the formative years of post-war European cooperation to contemporary debates on research infrastructure.

The articles highlight that an indispensable part of the EU’s complicated journey to its present form is the fascinating but often overlooked story of the Europeanisation of science and research which comprises two interrelated strands: the transformation of European science and research in the wake of political, economic and monetary integration, on the one hand, and the transformative impact of scientific research on the evolving European Union, on the other.

 

One policy, many forms, many forums

Each contribution explores this symbiotic relationship, examining in detail how the various actors, institutions, practices and policies have been shaped by the process of European integration and, conversely, how they have influenced the development of the EU. In doing so some authors even look at networks and institutions that have emerged on the margins or even outside the EU framework, but have interacted with its structures in a lively way. One example is the European Organisation for Nuclear Research (CERN), which in the 1950s was one of the first major instances of scientific cooperation in post-war Europe. Another is the Standing Committee for the Social Sciences of the European Science Foundation (ESF), which was set up in the 1970s and is another organisation independent of the EU.

Looking at the EU itself, the Commission’s initiative for the so-called Framework Programmes illustrates how research is being integrated into the fabric of European governance in the 1980s. The special issue also looks at the evolution of key concepts within European research policy. It examines the evolution of ‘scientific excellence’ in European research, tracing its transformation from a critical concept in the early 1990s to a normative standard within the European Research Council (ERC) since 2007. The European Research Infrastructure Consortium (ERIC), launched by the European Commission in 2009 and which represents a turning point in the organisation and management of European research infrastructures, is also investigated.

Taken together, the articles sketch the landscape of European scientific cooperation and examine its various forms and impacts, but there is still much to be explored in this area. We would therefore like to provide a starting point and some food for thought.

 

David Irion is a PhD candidate and research fellow at the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität in Munich (Germany). His current research focuses on the emergence and development of European research policy since the 1980s.

 

Reference:

Irion, D. & Volf, D. (2023) EUropeanisation in and through Science: Unveiling the Long-Term Dimensions of European Integration – Introduction. Journal of European Integration History, 30(2): 205–216. https://doi.org/10.5771/0947-9511-2024-2-205

 

The post EUropeanisation in and through Science appeared first on Ideas on Europe.

The EU-Japan Strategic Partnership Agreement enters into force today.

Weekly schedule of President António Costa, 01–05 January 2025

During the press conference held at the end of the European Council meeting of 19 December 2024, President António Costa presented the main results of the discussions. EU leaders adopted conclusions on Ukraine, the Middle East, and resilience, preparedness, crisis prevention and response capacities, amongst other topics.

On 19 December, the European Council adopted conclusions on Ukraine, the Middle East, EU in the world, resilience, preparedness, crisis prevention and response, migration and other items.

On 19 December, the European Council adopted conclusions on EU in the world, resilience, preparedness, crisis prevention and response, migration and other items.

On 19 December, the European Council adopted conclusions on Ukraine.

Before the start of the European Council meeting of 19 December 2024, European Council President António Costa and President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy addressed the press.

President of the European Council António Costa presented the main results of the discussions of the leaders during the EU-Western Balkans summit held in Brussels on 18 December 2024 and encouraged leaders to use the new momentum to the fullest to create all the conditions necessary for the progressive integration of the Western Balkans in the EU.

The EU-Western Balkans summit took place in Brussels on 18 December 2024. The Brussels declaration was agreed.

The Council adopts two regulations in response to recent climate-related natural disasters.

The Council formally adopted the regulation on the postponement of application of the EU deforestation law by one year.

Council adopts its negotiating position on the revision of the package travel directive.

The Council and Parliament today reached a provisional agreement to simplify certain reporting requirements in the field of financial services and investment support. The new regulation will reduce administrative burden for authorities in the financial sector, by simplifying existing rules on data sharing between the European Supervisory authorities (ESAs) and other financial sector authorities and by limiting new reporting requirements.

The Council has agreed its negotiating position on the Reform and Growth Facility for Moldova, a new instrument to support EU-related reforms and economic growth in the country.

The Council approved conclusions on EU enlargement.