So the Heads of State and Government put in an all-nighter at the European Council in Brussels. And this morning at the time of writing there is still no consensus as to who will get any of the EU’s top jobs, President of the European Commission foremost among the positions […]
EU Politics
In Germany everyone cares about the EU, but not really about the European Parliament election
A short while ago I needed to buy a plant pot so headed off to my local Hellweg DIY store. And EU flag was fluttering in front of the building, and placards inside told me “Hellweg zeigt Flagge für Europa!” (Hellweg is showing the flag for Europe!) Arriving back home […]
4 years of simulation games about the EU – some reflections
It has been a while since I last wrote about teaching about the EU through simulation games. Now, in light of further experience, it is high time to return to this topic. I’ve now run 4 negotiation simulations at the College of Europe in Bruges (together with my colleagues Pierpaolo […]
Why are populists better at digital communication than the “mainstream”?
I gave a speech this week to PES members of the Committee of the Regions about digital communication in the run up to the European Parliament elections. The Q&A with the members was especially interesting, and one question – from a mayor from Greece – prompted me to write this […]
What should the EU do for libraries?
After having asked myself what libraries are for in my previous post, now the political bit – what can the EU do for libraries? Or what should it do? Ilona Kish from the Public Libraries 2020 programme in Brussels ran a workshop about funding opportunities for libraries here at Next […]
The personal ethics required to become a politician are the very opposite of what the public hope to see in their politicians
Straightforward honesty, clear ethics, transparency of motives and behaviour, and an ability to acknowledge when one is wrong, are personal values I personally hold dear, and they are – I would argue – values that the general public would like to also see from their politicians. The problem is, as […]
What is a library these days?
Today has been my first day at Next Library, a two day conference about libraries and their future that’s taking place at the Amerika-Gedenkbibliothek in Kreuzberg in Berlin. While I am super happy to be able to go to something that’s barely five minutes on foot from where I live, […]
Candidates for Commission President 2019 (Spitzenkandidaten)
Prior to the 2014 European Parliament elections I examined all the runners and riders for President of the European Commission and other EU top jobs (2014 posts on President of the Commission: EPP, PES, Others | President of the European Council | High Rep for EU Foreign Policy). Now, with […]
If you want to talk about getting rid of the clocks changing, you need to talk about time zones – and then it gets messy
So 84% of Europeans want to stop changing the clocks in spring and autumn. And 3.79% of the German population participated in a European Commission consultation. A summary of the details can be found here. So stop changing the clocks then! Hang on, not so fast. The question then is […]
I’m running for the European Parliament
(NOTE: I did not succeed – this post however remains the same from when I actually was trying to run!) Anyone who has followed this blog over the years knows that I not only write about EU politics here, but live it, and try to shape it in any way […]
Transnational Lists: a small step towards a more democratic EU
Tomorrow – Wednesday 7th February – the plenary of the European Parliament votes on a proposal from the Parliament’s Constitutional Affairs (AFCO) committee about the rules for the 2019 European Parliament elections, now just 16 months away in May 2019. What makes this matter controversial this time is the issue […]
Is Joseph Mifsud even a legitimate Professor?
In my major post about Joseph Mifsud I put “professor” in inverted commas. That was before I knew the extent of Mr Mifsud’s activities, but now having looked into it, it seems to me that this Professor title Mifsud has been using is highly questionable. To be clear from the […]