Adam Hug (Ed.)

August 2011 Hard copy: £4.95, plus £1 p+p.

Download The New British Politics and Europe: Conflict or Cooperation (740 kilobyte PDF)

The FPC and European Commission Representation in the UK have published a new report entitled The new British politics and Europe: Conflict or cooperation? It explores how Britain's coalition government has coped with the potentially divisive issue of Europe, looking at how its approach has affected the UK's relations with other member states, what it means for the debate on the EU within the parties and the main challenges that lie ahead. The report also examines the way forward for Britain's pro-Europeans.

Edited by FPC Policy Director Adam Hug, the report features contributions from former Liberal Democrat leader Rt Hon Charles Kennedy MP, leading Conservative Eurosceptic Chris Heaton-Harris MP, Labour's Shadow Europe Minister Wayne David MP, former Conservative leader in Brussels turned Lib Dem MEP and Vice-President of the European Parliament Edward McMillan-Scott MEP, the founder of E!Sharp Paul Adamson and Professor of West European Politics at the University of Birmingham Anand Menon.

• The new British politics and Europe London event
• The new British politics and Europe Liverpool event
• The new British politics and Europe Edinburgh event

Adam Hug (Ed.)

February 2011 Hard copy: £4.95 , plus £1 p+p.

Download Spotlight on Armenia (1.34 megabyte PDF)

Spotlight on Armenia provides a clear analysis of the major challenges Armenia faces regarding democratic development, rule of law, media freedom, corruption and other human rights issues, while examining the impact of its international relationships on domestic politics. It argues for greater UK, EU and Western engagement in Armenia but that increased incentives must be matched by stronger pressure for reform.

Edited by Adam Hug (Foreign Policy Centre) the pamphlet contains contributions from leading Armenia experts including: The Caucasus Research Resource Centers, Tsira Chanturia (Penal Reform International), Gevorg Ter-Gabrielyan (Eurasia Partnership Foundation), Narine Gasparyan (American Bar Association Rule of Law Initiative), Richard Giragosian (Armenian Center for National and International Studies), Alexander Iskandaryan (Caucasus Institute), Dr Elisabeth Robson (East-West Insight), Vladimir Shkolnikov, Irina Urumova, Anna Walker (Control Risks) and Dr Mikael Zolyan (Brusov University).

• Spotlight on Armenia Washington Event
• Spotlight on Armenia London Event
• Spotlight on Armenia Brussels Event

Adam Hug (Ed.)

2010

Download Reconnecting the European Parliament and its people (580 kilobyte PDF)

As Westminster debates controversial reforms to the electoral system and its parliamentary procedures in an attempt to reconnect with the voters, time has come for reform to an institution that is perhaps facing bigger problems connecting with the public - the European Parliament.

The Foreign Policy Centre and the European Representation in the United Kingdom's new pamphlet, sets out a radical agenda for reforming the European Parliament's relationship with the public. Edited by FPC Policy Director Adam Hug, it contains important contributions from leading experts including Dr Richard Corbett (FPC Senior Research Associate, former MEP and member of the Cabinet of President Van Rompuy), Dr Michael Shackleton (Head of the UK office of the European Parliament) and Dr Christian Kaunert alongside key stakeholders Dr Adam Marshall (British Chambers of Commerce), Liz Atkins (formerly NCVO) and Cllr Flo Clucas (Local Government Association).

Reconnecting the European Parliament and its people proposes scrapping the current closed-list electoral system. It proposes a radical new system that mixes individual local constituencies with a national top-up list to ensure that every vote matters and that gives a clear answer to the question - 'who is my MEP?' It sets out ideas for reforming expenses, breaking the Strasbourg deadlock, making MEPs more accountable for their views and giving them greater powers in certain areas. The pamphlet recommends improvements in the way the European Parliament and its members work with stakeholders, the media and national parliaments.

• Reconnecting the EP and its People Cardiff event
• Reconnecting the EP and its People Edinburgh event
• Reconnecting the EP and its People London event

Adam Hug (Ed.)

2009 Hard copy: £4.95, plus £1 p+p.

Download Spotlight on Georgia pamphlet (3.71 megabyte PDF)

The FPC's Spotlight on Georgia pamphlet examines the growing human rights and governance challenges facing Georgia. It highlights increasing concerns both, internal and international, about Georgian rule of law, media freedom, policing and electoral processes. The pamphlet recommends how Georgia must reform and what the international community should do to support it.

Spotlight on Georgia was edited by Adam Hug, FPC Policy Director. It contains contributions from authors including: Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner; EU Special Representative for the South Caucasus Peter Semneby; the Deputy Public Defender of Georgia Giorgi Chekheidze; former UK Foreign Secretary Rt Hon Sir Malcolm Rifkind MP; Chair of the UK's Georgian All Party Parliamentary Group Bruce George MP; former US Ambassador to the USSR Ambassador Arthur Hartman; Author and Conciliation Resources Associate Thomas de Waal; former OSCE Policing Advisor Marco Kubny; Elsa Vidal from Reporters Without Borders; Giorgi Gogia from Human Rights Watch; and Dr Hans Gutbrod from the Caucasus Research Resource Centres.

• Spotlight on Georgia: Irakli Alasania event
• Spotlight on Georgia: project launch event

Adam Hug (Ed.)

2009 Hard copy: £4.95, plus £1 p+p.

Download the pamphlet (1.36 megabyte PDF)

This FPC pamphlet supported by Business for New Europe makes the economic and business case for Turkish membership of the European Union and outlines the political challenges faced by both sides in making accession a reality.

Edited by Adam Hug, it contains contributions from: Rt Hon David Miliband MP, Rt Hon William Hague MP, Commissioner Olli Rehn, Roland Rudd (Chairman, Business for New Europe) Dr Mehmet Ugur (University of Greenwich), Prof Refik Erzan (Bogazici University), Dr Bahadir Kaleagasi (TUSIAD, the Turkish business association), Sir Julian Horn Smith, (UK Co-Chair, Turkish British Business Council) and Dr Gareth Winrow (formerly of Istanbul Bilgi University).

• Turkey in Europe launch event

Sarah Schaefer, Edward Young

August 2006

Download Burdened by Brussels? (190 kilobyte PDF)

The issue of 'gold-plating' is a subject of growing controversy. In this Foreign Policy Centre (FPC) and Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) report, eight directives which have been identified by FSB members as particularly burdensome are analysed and a number of recommendations are made.

Dan Plesch, Greg Austin, Fiona Grant, Stephen Sullivan

March 2006 Hard copy: £2.95, plus £1 p+p.

Download Bio-Energy and CAP Reform (270 kilobyte PDF)

Britain is falling behind on all of its climate change and renewable energy targets, even as scientific opinion grows ever more alarmed at the rate of global warming. There is a growing need for urgent and comprehensive action. The government will publish an energy policy review in mid-2005. It cannot be allowed a 'business as usual' approach or a continuation of gradual adjustments. This pamphlet will provide a close look at one area where a radical new approach can produce speedy results.

Further information 

Denis MacShane MP

February 2006

Download Britain's Voice in Europe (150 kilobyte PDF)

Once again the European question is being asked. What is Europe for? Why are the British so doggedly Eurosceptic? Is the EU a response to 20th century problems no longer really needed in the new era of globalisation? Is there such a thing as a European identity?

The purpose of this pamphlet will be to argue that finding answers to these essentialist questions about Europe provide fascinating topics for political scientists, columnists, and speech- or article-writers for ministers but they are not the right questions. Instead the author takes it as a given that the EU is not going to disappear and that Britain will not quit the EU in any foreseeable future.

This pamphlet will seek to answer a question that our scratchy, name-calling EU debate in Britain fails to ask: how can Britain maximise its influence in Europe and what new mechanisms or policies are needed to achieve greater democratic oversight of the decisions taken in our name by the European Union.

Douglas Alexander MP

October 2005

Download Europe in a Global Age (200 kilobyte PDF)

Europe is coming of age. The European Union has focussed its energies inwards for the past fifty years – developing the Common Market and harmonising laws and practices across the continent. Now, however, it faces new challenges: a global market that is ever more crowded; competition ever more intense and innovative; pressures on society ever more divisive; and new forms of threats and dangers which are no longer contained largely within our border. To survive and prosper in the twenty-first century, Europe must now address its own problems from this global perspective.

Further information 

Sarah Schaefer, Greg Austin, Kate Parker

September 2005

Download Turks in Europe (260 kilobyte PDF)

There is a new political contest about the relationship between the European Union and its 'national' components, and how they all should deal with 'outsiders'. The prospect of Turkey's entry to the European Union has triggered a remarkable outburst of fear and anxiety in some member states. Voters know that issues of national identity, the economy, social welfare and future migration are all tied up in some rather momentous way with Turkey's projected accession, but cannot see too clearly how. This pamphlet tries to bring the argument back down to the individual level.

Further information 

David Clark, Neil Kinnock, Michael Leahy, Ken Livingstone, John Monks, Stephen Twigg

September 2005

Download the report (110 kilobyte PDF)

At this decisive moment in the development of both the European Uion and the democratic left, European politics must not be allowed to become a competitive struggle between different national approaches. This pamphlet argues that a social model of the future must reflect a synthesis of what is best in each whilst still facilitating advances which accord with national preferences and conditions. In this process, Britain has much to offer, but it also still has much to learn.

Further information 

Raffaella Murano

July 2005

Download Political Abuse of Judicial Process in Europe's East (110 kilobyte PDF)

This policy brief outlines some of the negative trends in rule of law compliance in the CIS, examining Russia, Ukraine and giving special consideration to the Republic of Moldova and the case of former Defence Minister, Valeriu Pasat. These negative trends represent a new pattern, whereby leaders are abusing newly constructed judicial systems to achieve extra-judicial, political goals.

CIS leaders must act now to regain the trust of their citizens by making sweeping changes, both physically and functionally to judicial systems. Other European countries and their multilateral institutions (EU, CoE and OSCE) need to acknowledge the emerging negative trend of judicial abuse and deliver both political incentives and assistance programmes more likely to have strategic effects on the practices of CIS judicial systems.

Dick Leonard

June 2005

Download Counter-terrorism and human rights - is the EU on course? (20 kilobyte PDF)

The EU responded with commendable – if unusual – alacrity to the worldwide terrorist threat unleashed on 11 September 2001.

Now, nearly four years later, Amnesty International has produced a disturbing report questioning how far this objective has been met.

Dick Leonard examines the EU's approach to counter-terrorism in an article published in The European Voice.

Dr Greg Austin

June 2005

Download Reform in Europe after the 2005 Referendums (140 kilobyte PDF)

Dr Greg Austin, FPC Director of Research, has called on EU leaders to champion an interpretation of the French and Dutch referendums that recognises the results for what they are and calling for a review of the referendum process.

The two referendums were not a definitive vote by a majority of the electorate on the idea of the Constitution. The results were more likely a repudiation of existing elite-driven processes of EU reform.

Suspending the ratification process for a couple of years may be the minimum amount of time required for future success.

Grace Annan

2005

Download European Parliament Policy Brief (60 kilobyte PDF)

This Policy Brief reviews a recent plea from the European Parliament for a stronger voice in the constitutional arrangements for EU foreign and security policy. In the wake of the referendum results in France and the Netherlands, there is a new recognition that European leaders must address the democratic deficit in EU decision-making. Whether or not the Parliament succeeds in these bids will depend on its ability to speak with one voice and to actively make this voice heard in national capitals in the coming one to two years.

Laura Rayner

June 2005

Download The EU Foreign Ministry and Union Embassies (250 kilobyte PDF)

In this FPC pamphlet Laura Rayner, an information specialist in public policy from the Australian Parliamentary Library, examines the key issues associated with the creation of a new European External Action Service.

With the French and Dutch referenda on the draft Constitutional Treaty each producing a resounding 'No', the proposal in the draft to set up a new European External Action Service (EEAS), or Foreign Ministry of Europe, may appear to some observers to be pretty much dead in the water. Nothing could be further from the truth. While the politics of European integration are going to get much hotter in the coming two years than at any time since 1993, the problems that caused the European Council to support the creation of new EEAS will not go away simply because the draft Constitutional Treaty is under threat. They were there before the talk of a Constitution emerged as strongly as it did three or four years ago, and they will be every bit as important in spite of the problems with ratification of the draft treaty.

Further information 

Global Europe

Richard Youngs (Ed)

British Council Brussels

May 2005

Download Global Europe 2: New Terms of Engagement (210 kilobyte PDF)

Short-term objectives like persuading Iran to give up its nuclear programme are distracting the EU from developing a coherent strategy of engagement with its new neighbours, according to the latest Global Europe report published by the Foreign Policy Centre and British Council Brussels.

Global Europe Report 02: New Terms of Engagement, by Richard Youngs (ed.) argues that, post-enlargement, the old model of EU engagement with the near abroad through the promise of accession is no longer viable. Although this is 'without a doubt the most successful policy instrument the EU has', Europe must develop a new strategy to promote democratic reform in countries ranging from Belarus and Moldova to Morocco and the Palestinian Authority – or risk overstretch.

Further information 

Global Europe

Malcolm Chalmers, Michael von der Schulenburg, Julian Braithwaite

April 2005

Download the report (280 kilobyte PDF)

Rescuing the State: Europe's Next Challenge is the latest in the Global Europe series of reports from British Council Brussels and the Foreign Policy Centre, and sets forward strategies for improving the effectiveness of European state-building operations.

The turning of fragile amd failed states into strong and stable ones is perhaps the most difficult security challenge of our time. The essays make the case that Europe must take the lead in improving the effectiveness of post-conflict reconstruction, to maximise its international influence and carve out a distinctive world role.

Further information 

Sir Digby Jones (with preface by Rt Hon Dr Denis MacShane MP)

April 2005 Hard copy: £2.95, plus £1 p+p. Buy it on CentralBooks.co.uk

Download the publication (190 kilobyte PDF)

Half of all UK legislation which imposes burdens on businesses originates from the European Union. Yet, given the depth of involvement of the EU in the UK's regulatory regime, the British public are surprisingly ignorant about the EU, its policies and institutions - and many MPs do not follow events across the Channel. In this pamphlet, Sir Digby Jones, director-general of the CBI, sets out a number of proposals for improving scrutiny of EU legislation in the UK parliament.

Richard Gowan, Laura Citron

Download Spanish translation of the European Civic Inclusion Index (360 kilobyte PDF)

The European Civic Citizenship and Inclusion Index has been conceived to fill a knowledge gap on civic citizenship policies and inclusion at a European level.

Richard Gowan, Laura Citron

2005 Hard copy: £2.95, plus £1 p+p.

Download the report (1.05 megabyte PDF)

The need for immigrant inclusion in Europe is unavoidable. 13 million EU residents in the fifteen old member states (3.4% of the population) are non naturalized immigrants. Globalization, labour market and demograhic pressures make inward migration a fact of life for the EU member states. If Europe is to meet its Lisbon targets on employment and jobs, maintain cohesive healthy societies and live up to its founding values of equality and openness then it must take a close look at its policies governing inclusion and civic citizenship.

Further information 

Jennifer Moll

March 2005

Download the report (260 kilobyte PDF)

Europe has long desired a Russia that is both stable and governed by a democratic rule of law. It is for this reason that human rights remain a cornerstone of European policy toward Russia, especially in the Council of Europe and the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). Russia's membership in these organisations not only confirms it as a full partner of Europe, but also as a state which shares its values.

The benchmarks for protection of human rights established by the Council of Europe and the OSCE stand in marked contrast to the current situation in Russia, where the vertical of power of the government increasingly leaves less room for the individual in favour of a more powerful central state - what President Putin calls a 'dictatorship of the law'.

Further information 

Sir Brian Crowe (with preface by Javier Solana)

2005

Download the report (220 kilobyte PDF)

The creation of an EU Foreign Minister is one of the most innovative proposals of Europe's proposed new constitution; yet there is still very little understanding of what the position woiuld entail and what challenges the new minister would face.

In this paper, Sir Brian Crowe, former Director General for External and for Politico-Military Affairs in the EU Council of Ministers, argues that empowering a new EU Foreign Minister is crucial for putting flesh on the bones of the Common Foreign and security Policy (CFSP). Fundamental changes are needed if the EU is to develop the capability for coordinated, effective, and rapid reaction.

Further information 

Espen Barth Eide (Ed.)

December 2004

Download the report (310 kilobyte PDF)

In the wake of the report of the UN High-Level Panel on Threats, Challenges and Change, the contributors call on European leaders to promote regional solutions to international security threats such as terrorism, genocide or proliferation. They should also set up "a NATO for Africa" to work with the African Union on crises such as Darfur without the charge of colonialism.

This pamphlet is part of the Global Europe project launched by the Foreign Policy Centre and British Council Brussels, and supported by the European Commission.

The collection of essays is edited by Espen Barth Eide of the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs (NUPI) argues that Europe's regional leadership is key to strengthening global security.

Further information 

David Mathieson

September 2004

Download the report (220 kilobyte PDF)

In this new Foreign Policy Centre publication, David Mathieson argues that the two Prime Ministers urgently need to strengthen their relationship. Though relations between their respective parties were strained by the war over Iraq, and the warm relationship between Blair and Aznar, there is now real scope for cooperation between the two Prime Ministers.

Mark Gill, Simon Atkinson, Roger Mortimore

Commentary by Richard Gowan and Mark Leonard

September 2004

Download the report (530 kilobyte PDF)

The Foreign Policy Centre has published the results of the first poll to comprehensively gauge public opinion towards the European Constitution. It includes a detailed analysis of the battleground groups that will need to be won over.

Further information 

"An excellent publication… serves as a real wake-up call" Lord Simon of Highbury

Mark Leonard, Richard Gowan

The British Council

February 2004

Download the report (90 kilobyte PDF)

In December 2003, the governments of the EU agreed a tough-worded European Security Strategy, emphasising the need to spread good governance and build more effective multilateralism. Although widely welcomed, this document will prove irrelevant if it is not put into practice through concrete policies to revitalise the UN and pressure authoritarian states. The Foreign Policy Centre is publishing the first major action-plan for achieving these goals are titled Global Europe: Making the European Security Strategy Work.

Edited by Mark Leonard, Tom Arbuthnott

The British Council

December 2003

Download the report (740 kilobyte PDF)

Between December 2001 and July 2003, Europe's great and good were convened to find a way that the European Union could 'be brought closer to its citizens.'

These six essays outline a somewhat different picture of democracy in Europe to that of the Convention. They argue that the problem of democracy will not be solved by constitutional reform alone.

Successful European democracy will allow strong national and regional identities to be combined with the effective policies that European citizens demand. Citizens will feel that they have some kind of control over the whole set of issues that can no longer be dealt with by national governments working alone, and which are best dealt with in Brussels. These essays, written by a wide range of leading academics and practitioners from across Europe, abound with ideas about how this can be made to happen - with or without constitution.

Mark Leonard, Phoebe Griffith

British Council, Sciences Po

October 2003

Download the report (160 kilobyte PDF)

The European Inclusion Index will rank European member states' attempts to promote progressive citizenship and inclusion policies. The Index will assess the policies put in place to challenge discrimination, as well as the ability of migrants and ethnic minorities to participate actively in the social, political and economic lives of their host communities.

The Index aims to become an indispensable tool for campaigning organisations and advocacy groups; policymakers from member and accession states; the media and the general public.

Mark Leonard

June 2003

Download the report (20 kilobyte PDF)

The Foreign Policy Centre's roadmap for joining the Euro has been endorsed by leading pro-Europeans.

Nick Clegg, Michiel van Hulten

May 2003

Download the report (250 kilobyte PDF)

In this policy brief Nick Clegg and Michiel van Hulten combine a punchy analysis of the challenges facing the parliament with a detailed consideration what needs to be done to resolve them.

It starts from the premise that a credible European Parliament needs to focus less on far-reaching political ambitions and more on the nuts and bolts of its representative role in order to engage the public in political debates.

While its institutional powers and legislative authority have steadily increased, political credibility has lagged behind.

The challenge is clear: MEPs are at risk of wielding power and authority without adequate legitimacy and responsibility.

Next Generation Democracy

Claes de Vreese

British Council & Weber Shandwick Public Affairs

April 2003

Download the report (400 kilobyte PDF)

Democracy relies on communication between citizens and those in power. However, at the European level, too often the strategy is to focus on sending out pro-European messages, rather than presenting the EU as a political system with room for disagreement, discussion and debate. Unless the Convention takes account of how the newly constitutionalised EU links to its citizens via the media, it will produce solutions that fail to engage its stakeholders, and will reinforce the 'democratic deficit'. Based on a unique study of the broadcast media across the EU, de Vreese defines how the media actually covers European issues, and lays out some concrete recommendations about how the EU must change. The EU must redesign its communication strategies to take account of the methods broadcast journalists actually use to produce European stories; to use all the advantages the EU has to give the institutions a 'human face'; and to develop strong links between the European level of policymaking and the national media marketplaces.

Further information 

"Claes de Vreese, like the FPC, can see which side of history he's on. But he can also see history heading out the door" Peter Preston, the Guardian

Next Generation Democracy

Tom Arbuthnott

British Council & Weber Shandwick Public Affairs

February 2003

Download the report (380 kilobyte PDF)

The accountability of national government has changed in the past twenty years. People's capacity to hold their governments to account has been complicated by the rise of new communications media, the rise of a 'permanent campaign' and the embedding of national government in a highly complex international system.

In this policy brief, Arbuthnott argues that Europe is a key part of the solution. Comparability is the new accountability in the EU. And the heightened capacity of the EU to allow people to make meaningful comparisons between their own governments' performance and others has subjected national politicians to an ever-higher degree of scrutiny.

"Full of excellent insights." Lord Howell of Guilford
"This is an important theme. Well done." Denis MacShane MP

Giles Radice

KPMG

February 2003 Hard copy: £9.95, plus £1 p+p. Buy it on CentralBooks.co.uk

Download the report (420 kilobyte PDF)

In "How to join the Euro", prominent pro-European and former Chairman of the Treasury Select Committee Giles Radice examines the practical hurdles facing British entry: the Treasury's Five Economic tests, the criteria set out in the Maastricht treaty, the disciplines of the European Stability and Growth Pact, how to minimise the costs of changeover for Business and the thorny question of the UK's exchange rate.

Radice argues that a clear strategy is absolutely essential to reduce fears of the unknown during a referendum and make joining easier once a decision has been made. Without such a strategy, there is a danger that the decision about entry could be taken without sufficient forethought, or be botched altogether.

Read Lord Radice's introduction below

Further information 

Roger Mortimore, Simon Atkinson

Trade Unionists for Europe

January 2003

Download the report (540 kilobyte PDF)

Discussions of the euro battleground tend to focus on the 32% of the people who are implacably opposed and the 16% of people utterly in favour. These analyses miss out, though, on the most important group: the 45% of people who confess to not having made up their minds on the euro.

'Who are the Euro Waverers' profiles these swing voters. Based on specially commissioned polling data, the report analyses their common characteristics. Do they have a mortgage? Have they used the euro? Which newspapers do they read? How politically active are they? How highly do they rate Tony Blair? Above all, perhaps, will they actually turn out to vote?

Please read the foreword by Mark Leonard below.

Further information 

Next Generation Democracy

Mats Engstrom

British Council Brussels & Weber Shandwick Public Affairs

November 2002

Download the report (100 kilobyte PDF)

Without open and common political arena, confidence in European institutions will remain low, no matter how they are designed. This pamphlet examines how digital technologies such as the internet can help develop European political spaces. It includes twenty concrete proposals for action.

There is a choice to be made. One way is open dialogue in electronic commons. Another possibility is a division of citizens in privately-owned networks where entertainment and scandal are the main elements of politics, and only an elite use the new technology to influence decisions. A political strategy is urgently needed to make digital technologies contribute to a more democratic Europe.

European Rural Communities Paper 3

Chris Haskins

RSPB, Tesco

November 2002

Download the report (160 kilobyte PDF)

The farming community in Europe has had a very tough few years, especially in the UK. The natural reaction is to keep firm hold of what they do have, especially in the form of subsidies. It is not surprising that many people view moves to reform the CAP with suspicion.

But there is no reason that farming could not have a viable and successful future in Europe. All the key attributes are there, from farmers' resourcefulness, to the rapidity of technological change, through to the fact that a reformed CAP will still reward farmers who deserve support.

This essay argues that, whatever happens in the protracted negotiations about the CAP, farming can flourish in Western Europe. It may require a change of mindset from farmers - and they may have to be entrepreneurial in their approach to markets. But the farming community should not resist change just because it is change.

European Rural Communities Paper 2

Vicki Swales

RSPB, Tesco

October 2002

Download the report (620 kilobyte PDF)

As the European Union stands on the brink of enlargement eastwards, the need for a rural policy that can deliver economic prosperity, social progress and environmental protection has never been clearer. But, the inability of the current major rural policy - the CAP - to deliver these objectives has never been more apparent, even though it commands over half of the EU's total budget.

This report explores what progress has been made to date in establishing a new architecture for the CAP - the so-called Second Pillar of the CAP. It asks whether this policy instrument, on which so much hope is rested, is really up to the job and makes clear recommendations for future policy reform.

European Rural Communities Paper 1

Jack Thurston with an introduction by Chris Haskins

RSPB, Tesco

September 2002

Download the report (740 kilobyte PDF)

The Common Agricultural Policy has come to represent all the failings for which the European Union is criticised. It's bureaucratic, expensive, wasteful, undemocratic, open to fraud and stubbornly resistant to change. CAP reform holds the key to enlargement of the EU and a successful round of WTO negotiations. With radical proposals now on the agenda in Brussels, the time for reform has never been better.

For years European policy circles have been debating alternative ways of supporting farming and rural areas, and a model for reform is clear. The question is how to get there.

Further information 

Next Generation Democracy

Mark Leonard, Jonathan White

British Council Brussels & Weber Shandwick Public Affairs

June 2002

Download the report (670 kilobyte PDF)

The European Union is underperforming in too many areas. Both pro-Europeans and eurosceptics argue that the EU's institutions are unloved because they are unelected and remote. In this policy brief Mark Leonard and Jonathan White take a different view: the problem, they argue, is a delivery deficit. Instead of relying on federal theories to decide where power should lie, the authors suggest that policy-makers embrace the principle of Earning the Right to Act where powers are allocated according to performance - moving up and down from a national to a European level to achieve specific objectives. They argue that EU institutions must earn their powers by proving their ability to execute them effectively. Ultimately this is the only EU that can count on the sympathy of its citizens.

"The report provides a robustly pro-European critique of where the EU is failing the delivery test" The Observer

Next Generation Democracy

Simon Hix

The British Council and Weber Shandwick Adamson

February 2002

Download the report (80 kilobyte PDF)

National Parliaments are among the most legitimate bodies in the European Union: they engage constituents with political debate and set the agenda for national political discussion. Simon Hix suggests opening up a European space for debates within national Parliaments by giving them a significant role in electing the Commission president.

Dick Leonard, Mark Leonard (ed.)

January 2002

This definitive guide to the case for Europe brings together a unique collection of political, cultural and social arguments for closer European integration and full and whole-hearted British participation in the European Union. Contributions range from political and historical debate, to consideration of the impact of Europe on our everyday lives. Influential figures quoted include Winston Churchill speaking on a United States of Europe in 1946, Mikhail Gorbachev on 'The Common European Home', Anthony Giddens' discussion of 'A Third Way for the European Union', and Milan Kundera on 'Europe and the Novel'.

"Packed full of wisdom and vision. Here's a book full of cures for prejudice and phobia" Neil Kinnock

Mark Leonard, Tom Arbuthnott

British Council Brussels & Weber Shandwick Public Affairs

2001

Download the report (810 kilobyte PDF)

This is the framework document for the Next Generation Democracy project. The democratic deficit is the biggest problem facing Europe today. But we will not solve it if we treat it as a 'European' problem. It is time to turn the debate on democracy in Europe on its head.

Mark Leonard, Tom Arbuthnott, Jiri Sedivy, Peter Drulak

September 2001

Download the report (240 kilobyte PDF)

Produced jointly with the Czech Institute of International Relations, this pamphlet examines the future of the EU and calls for a rethinking of the European political space.

This pamphlet formed the backdrop to a top level conference attended by senior political figures including the Czech Deputy Prime Minister, which was held at Prague Castle on 6-8 September 2001.

Sponsored by BSMG Worldwide

Mark Leonard (ed.)

November 2000

Europe's future is being debated as never before. Enlargement, the 'democratic deficit', new security challenges and a changing global economy all mean that the EU must reform. This collection provides the definitive guide to the new debate about the principles which should guide it.

Contributions to the debate from German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer, British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Italian Premier Giuliano Amato, French Foreign Minister Hubert Vedrine and Swedish Foreign Minister Anna Lindh show that European governments are grappling with the central questions of European reform and legitimacy in a new way.

Leading thinkers including Anthony Giddens, Jan Zielonka, Alison Cottrell, Ben Hall and Mark Leonard look at what a new case for Europe will mean in practice - in economics, Europe's global role, institutional reform and democratisation.

This project was kindly supported by BSMG Worldwide

"Its essence is the patriotic and pragmatic case for being both pro-European and pro reform in Europe" Peter Mandelson
"The Europe of Nice is a building site waiting for new master builders."

Sponsored by Clifford Chance

Mark Leonard

September 1999

Download the report (70 kilobyte PDF)

Mark Leonard sets out a radical new agenda for European reform, arguing that pro-Europeans must reshape the European debate if Europe is to be both effective and popular. Instead of the traditional federalist reform agenda, the EU should learn from successful network models of business organisation and introduce elements of direct democracy to reconnect to its citizens.

This project was supported by Clifford Chance

Further information 

"A radical agenda for reform from the government's favourite foreign policy think-tank" Stephen Castle, Independent on Sunday
"A welcome contribution to the important debate about Europe's future" Rt Hon Tony Blair MP, Prime Minister
"Extraordinarily stimulating" Jacques Delors