European Union

Thee Queen has issued a formal complaint against The Sun newspaper’s claim that she supports Brexit.

Last week The Sun ran a front-page ‘exclusive’ claiming that, ‘the Queen has been hailed as a supporter of Brexit’.

According to the Sun’s version of events, ‘Her majesty let rip’ during a lunch at Windsor Castle with the then deputy prime minister and Lib-Dem leader, Nick Clegg.

It’s reported that the event took place in 2011 during the coalition government between the Conservatives and Lib-Dems.

The Sun’s report asserted:

‘The 89-year-old monarch firmly told passionate pro-European Mr Clegg that she believed the EU was heading in the wrong direction. Her stinging reprimand went on for “quite a while”, leaving other guests around the table stunned.’

And The Sun added,

‘Brexit-backing Tory MPs are already leaping on The Sun’s revelations as a strong sign the Queen is secretly on the side of Leave ahead of the landmark EU referendum on June 23.’

The newspaper also quoted Tory Eurosceptic MP, Jacob Rees Mogg as saying:

‘The reason we all sing God Save The Queen so heartily is because we always believe she is there to protect us from European encroachment.’

Former Lib-Dem leader, Nick Clegg, has  complained that he had no recollection of the conversation ever taking place.

Buckingham Palace officials confirmed that the Queen is neutral on matters of politics, and that she disputes The Sun’s version of events.

In modern times the Queen cannot throw the Editor of the Sun, Tony Gallagher, or indeed, The Sun’s owner, Rupert Murdoch, into the Tower of London, although maybe she’d like to.

So instead, The Queen  is making a complaint to IPSO, the ‘Independent Press Standards Organisation.’

Although, I would hardly call IPSO independent – it’s owned, and mostly run, by the press: the very people who would want to protect their industry, rather than uphold complaints against it.

The Queen is complaining to IPSO under clause 1 of their ethics code called, The Editors Code of Practice, which deals specifically with inaccurate stories in the newspapers. However, it should be noted that the chairman of the Editors Code of Practice is none other than Paul Dacre, editor of the Daily Mail – who just attended the wedding of Rupert Murdoch, owner of The Sun.

The Sun says it stands by its story that the Queen supports Britain’s withdrawal from the EU, and that it has impeccable sources and will “defend this complaint vigorously”.

I don’t have confidence that the press watchdog – mostly run by the press – will adequately investigate or adjudicate on the Queen’s complaint.  Let’s see.. I would hope to be surprised and proved wrong, as for sure, we do need a proper press regulator. (See my video below: why I won’t use IPSO)

In the meantime, although we don’t know for sure what the Queen said in private, we do know what she said in public.  Last June, speaking in Germany, the Queen talked about Britain’s relationship with the rest of Europe.

(That’s four years after her disputed comments in private that the EU was ‘heading in the wrong direction’).

Speaking with her Greek husband by her side, the Queen at least hinted that she supports the UK’s continued membership of the European Union.  The Queen spoke in front of an audience of 700 dignitaries in Berlin, including British Prime Minister, David Cameron, and German Chancellor, Angela Merkel.

She said:

“The United Kingdom has always been closely involved in its continent. Even when our main focus was elsewhere in the world, our people played a key part in Europe.”

And addressing German President, Joachim Gauck, the Queen continued:

“In our lives, Mr President, we have seen the worst but also the best of our continent. We have witnessed how quickly things can change for the better. But we know that we must work hard to maintain the benefits of the post-war world.

“We know that division in Europe is dangerous and that we must guard against it in the West as well as in the East of our continent. That remains a common endeavour.”

Observed The Guardian at the time:

‘As she spoke, Angela Merkel, the German chancellor who sat at the Queen’s table in Berlin’s Schloss Bellevue along with her husband Joachim Sauer, nodded vigorously, a gesture that did not go unnoticed among observers.’

The Queen spoke of the advantages of Britons emigrating to the rest of Europe in the past, such as the Welsh engineer, John Hughes. He founded the mining town of Donetsk, now in Ukraine, in the Russian empire of the 19th century.

She also mentioned the 17th-century Scottish publican Richard Cant, who moved his family to Pomerania.

“His son moved further east to Memel and his grandson then moved south to Königsberg, where Richard’s great-grandson, Immanuel Kant, was born,” said the Queen.

The German media were very supportive of the Queen’s visit. The Bild mass daily described her as “the secret weapon of British diplomacy” on a visit to “remind everyone of how poor Europe would be without the UK”.

And the Handelsblatt business daily commented:

‘Every gesture, every word of the queen in the coming days has meaning, for Germany, Britain, Europe. It is the politics of the apolitical.’

But possibly it was Britain’s ‘Guardian’ newspaper headline that summed up both the mood and impression following the Queen’s historic speech:

‘The Queen hints at desire for Britain to remain in European Union.’

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Other stories by Jon Danzig:

• They want their country back, not yours
• Winston Churchill wrongly recruited for Brexit
• Never again? It’s happening again
• List of the latest articles by Jon Danzig

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• Why I won’t use IPSO

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#Queen complains against @TheSun front page that she supports #Brexit. See my Facebook: https://t.co/vaaucbSEqE pic.twitter.com/qFaJeoTzDA

— Jon Danzig (@Jon_Danzig) March 9, 2016

What the #Queen really said about #Europe (official version) My blog; her #Majesty’s speech: https://t.co/e9KdgJ9p3i pic.twitter.com/gBbBycLtwc

— Jon Danzig (@Jon_Danzig) March 15, 2016

 

The post What the Queen really said about Europe appeared first on Ideas on Europe.

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Federica MOGHERINI, EU HR for foreign Affairs and Security Policy, attends a High-Level ministerial meeting on Syria, in Paris.

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I must confess to something of a bias when it comes to the Johnsons, because I rather like them. All of the Johnson family behave as if they feel obliged to be bright, and are often exuberant but with the typical nonchalance of the British upper class. I am a friend and former colleague of Stanley Johnson, Boris’s father and a convinced European. And I later had the opportunity to know Boris while he worked in Brussels as a reporter for the Telegraph. He was popular, exceedingly amusing and a uniquely colourful character in what is often a very grey setting.

“The problem with the Brexit supporters is not their vision of Europe, but their vision of Britain”

Many commentators have condemned his support for Brexit as mere opportunism, but I don’t agree. In taking this stand, he must of course have had his political future in mind. But I do think his decision is sincere, as his scathing view of Europe has old roots. Brussels often leaves a strong impression on those who become involved in European affairs. Some, like the late Lord Cockfield, arrive sceptical and leave passionate Europeans. Others are favourably disposed but leave disappointed. Nothing of that sort seems to have happened to Boris. As the person who led the work of the European Commission on the single market, I strongly resented some of his pieces, such as those on euro-standard condoms or the threat to Britain’s prawn cocktail-favoured crisps. I soon realised it was useless trying to explain to him that these stories were all rubbish; he knew it, but he was merely expressing his contempt for a construction he didn’t care to understand.

Boris says that he loves Europe and Brussels, but his ‘love’ reminds me of the condescending British aristocrats who in the 18th Century took a grand tour of the continent, daydreamt in front of old ruins, enjoyed the music, acquired a few paintings by the great masters and went home ever convinced that they should keep their island politically disengaged with the continent. So his position is hardly surprising. The Boris ‘manifesto’ in the Telegraph is long and convoluted, strangely so for such a sharp mind. Perhaps this was because he wanted to introduce an element of intellectual sophistication to a side of the debate that is frequently accused of offering nought but an expression of guts feelings. He must know, though, that a referendum is to a large extent a matter of guts, and his bet may sadly be the winning one.

“Self-delusion is not the stuff with which greatness is made”

Maybe the problem with the Brexit supporters is not their vision of Europe, but their vision of Britain. Many that I have met are little Englanders with the imperial dream of the country ready to defy Napoleon, Hitler and the entire world, for they dislike the Americans as much as they dislike us. For them, forty years of involvement with the continent has only been a source of endless compromises, and they hate compromises when the foreigners happen to be in a stronger position. One could respect, even admire, them if it wasn’t for their blind complacency about the state of a country that no longer rules the waves, or indeed anything else. Self-delusion is not the stuff with which greatness is made.

If the British vote to leave the EU, we on the continent shall feel regret not only for the turmoil that follows, but also because we shall lose the contribution of the best diplomatic service in Europe and possibly the world. All we can do is tell Boris Johnson that if he loves Europe, as he claims, we in turn love Britain: the country with a splendid past and an uncertain future at best. The continent does not only love Britain for its historic democracy and all that, but also for the legacy of the Beatles, the Stones and others among the best musicians of recent times. Incidentally, they were not upper class at all.

IMAGE CREDIT: CC / FLICKR – BackBoris2012 Campaign Team

The post Boris Johnson’s ‘love’ for Brussels appeared first on Europe’s World.

AMENDMENTS 1 - 169 - Draft motion for a resolution on the 2015 Report on Bosnia and Herzegovina
Committee on Foreign Affairs

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

Committee meetings, Brussels

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP