Death and Taxes

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Photo by Stock Birken on Unsplash Some 70 years before Benjamin Franklin borrowed the phrase, English playwright Christopher Bullock in 1789 wrote in his comedy The Cobbler of Preston: “T’is impossible to be sure of anything but Death and Taxes.”. In the UK as in most European countries both certainties can happen together, with tax on inherited wealth…

Appointment of “Lord Brexit” as UK Foreign Minister Ridiculed

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Photo by Andy Newton on Unsplash A former Europe Minister in the UK has ridiculed the appointment of former British PM David Cameron as the country’s new foreign secretary as an “odd gimmick.” Dr Denis MacShane, a former Europe Minister under Tony Blair, told EU Political Report: “David Cameron is known globally as the politician who kneeled before…

New Spanish Government

Tomas Nozina

Photo by Tomáš Nožina on Unsplash The European Green Party has “congratulated” the new Spanish government formed by PSOE, Sumar and regionalist parties.  The message on Thursday came after Socialist leader Pedro Sánchez clinched a vote in parliament to lead Spain for another term as prime minister. He has secured a four-seat majority in the…

Leaders, Politics and Optics

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Photo by Parker Johnson on Unsplash The practice of politics always has challenges. Such challenges are magnified when confronted with the optics: the perception of the people. Not all political Leaders seem to realise this…. While more UK small businesses are going bust than any year since the financial crisis of 2009, with mortgage interest doomed to remain…

European Greens call for top candidates for EU elections

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Photo by CDC on Unsplash The European Green Party has launched its campaign for the Euro elections. On Monday, it opened a call top candidates for the 2024 EU elections, also known as “Spitzenkandidaten”.  The selected Green leading candidates “will be the heart and face of our political family” in the campaign debates and events leading up to…

Protecting Democracy

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Photo by Fred Moon on Unsplash President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, has voiced concern at the rise of disinformation. The MEP said it was “an absolute danger.” She was speaking at the University of Sorbonne in Paris on Monday. The Maltese deputy said, “Disinformation has affected our liberal democracies and societies since the turn of the…

Treaty on Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons

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Photo by Laurentiu Morariu on Unsplash The landmark Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) has now been signed by almost half of all countries. This comes after a ceremony at the meeting of the United Nations General Assembly in New York where Sri Lanka acceded to the treaty and the Bahamas signed it. This means 97 states…

European Political Community

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Photo by Danielle Rice on Unsplash A former Europe Minister in the UK has cast doubt on the new European Political Community (EPC). Denis MacShane is a widely respected political observer and served under Tony Blair’s premiership. The Labour veteran politician is partly dismissive of the EPC, the initiative of French President Emmanuel Macron.  It is, says MacShane,“basically…