Two years ago today, we were in a quiet, old-fashioned bar in Amsterdam. At some point in the evening the house cat jumped up onto my lap. “He never does that normally”, his owner remarked as he set down our drinks. “He must like you”. Some hours later midnight came and went and Amsterdam night … More Brexit +2: Where are we now?
Sometimes it’s difficult to take a look at our own lives and discern where our story is heading. That’s when it helps to have the advice of good friends – those who have enough distance to see the patterns and trends, but are also close enough that they understand and care. This month Britain’s friends … More The politics of lies – recommended reading and listening
Today marks the end of Donald Trump’s presidency. We can hope it signals the demise of his brand of populist politics too. It was Trump himself who compared his 2016 election win to Brexit. Nigel Farage and the leaders of the Leave.eu campaign wasted no time in grabbing a photo opportunity with him. Brash claims … More Brexit Populism Trumped?
Two Europeans is a blog about life, politics, language, culture and travel. We took a break when the pandemic began, but we look forward to starting up again soon and we would like to wish you all a very happy and peaceful New Year. Meanwhile here’s our take on the Brexit deal and some reasons … More Where next following Brexit?
COVID-19: We hope you and your loved ones are keeping well. During this time we will be posting a little less often than usual with content we hope you’ll find interesting. This time last year, we were not where we had expected to be … in more ways than one! Friday 29 March 2019 was … More Looking back: The day Brexit didn’t happen
It’s time for us to share a few more of our favourite EU and Brexit-related podcasts with you … Remainiacs “Can we all meet just once a week and talk about how fucking crazy this shit is?” That is how Naomi Smith recalls the moment in 2017 when a group of friends and campaigners decided … More Podcasts: How to keep up-to-date anytime, anywhere
How did we get here? This is the question that came to mind as I read the government’s policy paper on negotiations with the EU, published on Thursday. There is a sense of unreality about the 36-page document. Their priority is severing ties to Europe, not with a specific purpose in mind but rather as … More Has Brexit become an Orwellian cult?
I just don’t understand the whole blue passport thing. And I am not talking about the fact that it seems to be black rather than blue, or that we could have had blue (or is it black?) passports when we were still inside the EU, like Croatia has (as this Irish factcheck explains, burgundy was … More Blue passports: Why do some people celebrate becoming less free?
There have been many times over the last four years when we felt that Britain was being poorly served by its broadcast and print media. Often analysis seems thin, flippant and more interested in personalities than in the issues that really matter. Journalists are not necessarily to blame for this. They are under pressure to … More Plugged in: Podcasts with a European flavour
Today we review a book that was published exactly one year ago: Nine Lessons in Brexit by Sir Ivan Rogers (Amazon). As UK ambassador to the EU, Sir Ivan Rogers witnessed at first hand David Cameron’s attempt to renegotiate the terms of Britain’s membership. In December 2016 he was the target of attacks from Brexiteer … More Book review: Nine lessons in Brexit
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