Their present powers aren’t sufficient. Here are some proposals for more.
To attain success in the forthcoming European renegotiation we shall need allies, and to fall out with them on a second-order question would be perverse.
A proper Treasury cost-benefit analysis of our EU membership would put this untruth down for good.
Come and see Open Europe’s simulation tomorrow, starring Andrea Leadsom MP, Pierre Lellouche, John Bruton, Urban Ahlin and Lucio Caracciolo.
“I hope, Mr Barroso, you will go and beat Commissioner Andor over the head with this report.”
By Matthew BarrettFollow Matthew on Twitter. Following the Queen's Speech this morning, several think tanks have reacted to the legislation announced (full details of which can be found here). I've collected them below. 8pm update: Open Europe have given their reaction to the proposed European Union Bill: "The UK government is likely to sell the […]
By JP Floru. More than one year ago Business Secretary Vince Cable announced an end to the practice of “gold-plating” of EU Directives. Sadly this does nothing to reverse the gold-plating of the past. According to Open Europe, the acquis communautaire – that is the total body of EU legislation – is now 170,000 pages […]
By Matthew Barrett Open Europe, the European reformist think-tank, has today published a report looking at the EU’s external aid spending. Open Europe examines how much the EU spends and where, in light of spending reviews in Britain, and the new challenges in overseas aid created by recent developments in Africa and the Arab world. […]
By Paul Goodman That's Open Europe's estimate, anyway: we linked earlier this morning to the Financial Times's account of José Sócrates's resignation. As EU leaders meet today in Brussels in a bid to agree a new "grand bargain" to save the eurozone, the organisation points out in a briefing that Portugal looks set to be the next […]
Mats Persson of Open Europe examines David Cameron's performance at the EU summit. The EU's immediate budget: "Cameron has the support from another 10 countries for blocking the European Parliament’s and the Commission’s ludicrous demands for a 6% increase to the EU 2011 budget, instead settling for a 2.9% increase. But a cash freeze looks […]
By Tim Montgomerie Although Open Europe's Mats Persson concedes that the Coalition has disappointed Eurosceptics so far he argues that the referendum lock announced yesterday by Europe Minister, David Lidington, should not be dismissed. On a blog for The Spectator's Coffee House he explains why: "New crises, situations and politicians’ egos will always drive the […]
By Tim Montgomerie A new report from Open Europe exposes the risk to the supremacy of Britain's financial services industry by a transfer of regulatory powerto the EU: Broad EU powers: "The new European supervisors will be granted binding powers over national regulators in seven broad areas and will be given the mandate to interpret, […]
OVERALL JUDGMENT Madsen Pirie of the Adam Smith Institute: "Basically the coalition's first budget was a reality check, and an indication that Britain is on the way back from the madness of the Brown years. It will be a slow haul, but this was a positive start." BIG CUTS IN SPENDING… Matt Sinclair of The […]
A new report from Open Europe, reported in today's FT, warns that 72% of the costs associated with regulation are coming from the EU. Here are the key findings: Regulation has cost the UK economy £176 billion since 1998. Of this amount, £124 billion, or 71%, had its origin in EU legislation. The annual cost […]
Over the coming weeks, MPs from our team will be setting out on ConservativeHome and elsewhere how the UK would forge beneficial new arrangements.