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
We love Amsterdam. We visited together in 2017 after a 20-year gap and loved it so much that we’ve been back several times. For ages we overlooked it and set our sights on European cities further afield, but we are now utterly in love with the place. Why are we so smitten? It is an … More City guide: Our Amsterdam top ten
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
One of our aims for this blog is to share perspectives from the European mainland. So as Britain officially exits the EU, here are a couple of editorial pieces from the German press … Europe’s Island Translation of a comment piece by Stefan Kornelius in Süddeutsche Zeitung, 01.02.2020. Throughout their history Europeans have drawn borders … More Brexit day: Views from Germany
In the early hours of Friday 24 June 2016 the two of us, who had four months earlier decided to fight Brexit by setting up the Campaign to Remain Facebook page, went for a walk. The result of the referendum was by that point clear: Leave had won. As we walked along the waterfront near … More A new blog by two Europeans
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