Jon Worth Euroblog

Continuing their series about Sweden, BBC News Online has published a new article about Swedish public health. Read it here. This article is more detailed than the other ones they have posted on the website. It looks in depth about how the decentralised nature of Swedish healthcare might be better […]

It’s not too often that you stumble across so much useful and interesting research, but the EU seems to have managed that feat this week with its Urban Audit. It basically amounts to a vast survey of all aspects of quality of life in different European cities. The only problem […]

The dust has barely settled after his leadership victory and David Cameron has already walked into a storm on that old issue that has blighted the Tories for so long: Europe. Prior to his victory, Cameron had pledged to withdraw the Tory MEPs from the European People’s Party / European […]

I think there is some common theme emerging on this blog… The more I get concerned about issues in the UK, the more I look elsewhere, and especially to Sweden, for optimism! The good news from yesterday is that Maryam Yazdanfar (pictured) was selected at position number 10 on the […]

I find myself a bit shocked to be saying this, but I was actually quite impressed by the way that new German Chancellor Angela Merkel approached her first visit to London. The approach was cooperative and practical, and above all else, non-macho. Her approach is summed up quite well by […]

So once more we have a potential clash between the EU and the Swedish social model. A few weeks ago it was Commissioner McCreevy complaining about collective wage bargaining agreements, and now the Swedish state alcohol monopoly fears that it is going to be under threat from legislation to open […]

OK, so I did not manage to get to the launch of LME. But today I signed up to become a member via their new website. It might not really win too many design awards, but the site is functional enough, and there is a kind of members area as […]

OK, so you would assume that it should not be too complex. I am a member of the Labour Party, and the party is supposed to be pro-European. Within the party there is a group called the Labour Movement for Europe. This evening – 22nd November – they are holding […]

I refuse to join any club that would have me as a member. Groucho Marx Well, what has that quote got to do with the European Commission’s selection process, the famous concours? It’s the first time I have written about the concours here but I am indeed one of the […]

It’s one year before the next general election in Sweden, and I am forever surprised by the very negative nature of the political debate. Look at Sweden from almost anywhere else in Europe and things look very, very good. So why can’t the Swedes see it? As a starting point, […]

No, Britain has not joined the Euro (alas). But UK citizens have finally been given European Health Insurance cards – pictured. A number of countries, including the UK, had 2 year derogations to the Directive. All EU citizens should have the cards by the end of 2005. Any information about […]

Somehow intuitively anyone who has visited the UK will tell you the same thing: the country feels very divided between the rich South East (where I happen to live presently) and the rest (where I grew up). There have been numerous studies about this matter in the past, and there […]