Belgium
Welcome to my clippings.me site.
Here you will find a series of my blogposts, articles, media clippings and videos - principally related to Burson-Marsteller's Europe Decides project.
Interviews and media quotes
Quote in online article on the nomination of a new EU Trade Commissioner, Cecilia Malmström.
Quote in newspaper article on contenders for the European Union's top jobs. In Danish.
Quote in newspaper article on contenders for the European Union's top jobs. In Danish.
Quote in online news agency article on the August 2014 European Council meeting. In Spanish.
Quote in online article on contenders for the European Union's top jobs.
Television interview on contenders for the European Union's top jobs. Written article also available at http://www.euronews.com/2014/07/17/eu-top-jobs-puzzle-more-time-to-scratch-heads/
Quote in online article on the choice of a new foreign affairs chief for the European Union. In Danish.
Television interview on negotiations to form a far-right group in the European Parliament. Written article also available at http://www.euronews.com/2014/05/28/le-pen-looks-for-allies-to-form-european-parliament-bloc/
Television interview on the latest opinion polls ahead of the European Parliament elections. Written article also available at http://www.euronews.com/2014/04/22/the-centre-right-gains-ground-ahead-of-next-month-s-european-elections/
Radio interview on Enda Kenny's chances of becoming President of the European Commission or President of the European Council in 2014.
Quote in newspaper and online article on Enda Kenny's chances of becoming President of the European Commission or President of the European Council in 2014.
Articles, blogposts and videos
Online article about the fall-out from the 2015 UK general election.
1. Mission Accomplished (I): Cameron survives (mostly) intact A Prime Minister, having to defend a record, is naturally on the defensive in such events.
Today, the 55th parliament of the United Kingdom will be 'prorogued' - a suspension of proceedings (to be followed by dissolution), involving red robes and ermine, royal 'inconvenience', slammed doors, ceremonial hat-doffing, and royal assent in Norman French. In Britain, some things stay - perhaps reassuringly - constant.
One year of institutional change ends; another year of political and policy change begins: on 16 December 2014, the new European Commission agreed its Work Programme for 2015. The new programme, like the new Commission, aims to break with the past and introduce a new (and more political) way of working.
That was the year that was... Check out our Review of the Year with the fifteen key images and events from Europe's Year of Change, including the party congresses, the European Parliament elections, the drama of the Commission presidential nomination and election, the selection of a new College of Commissioners, and the election of a new President of the European Council.
The final piece of Europe's jigsaw is almost in place. On Monday, Donald Tusk (pictured above) - elected by the national leaders at the end of August, becomes President of the European Council. But what faces the former Polish prime minister when he arrives in his new office on Monday?
(pp 172-177) Article in European Magazine Media Association publication looking ahead to the long-term impact of changes in the European institutions.
Here's our five-point guide to Saturday's meeting and what it means - and have your say on one of the key issues of the summer by voting in our poll. After the failure to agree on the top jobs at the last summit in July, European Union leaders are under pressure to reach an accord.
A big week, and a careful balancing act Centre-right leaders hold a numerical advantage in the European Council, and in the European Parliament, strengthening their negotiating hand in the discussions over the top jobs. The European People's Party has already said that it wants the European Council presidency - the other top-tier job along with the Commission presidency - and wants the Eurogroup presidency, too.
With the choice of a President of the European Commission still up in the air, we are a long way off knowing the full team that will occupy the upper floors of the Berlaymont for the next five years. Nevertheless, national governments are already putting forward their proposed nominees to sit in the new College.
Crowdsourcing of information on the new political groups in the European Parliament, with nearly 250 comments supplied on the blog and more via Twitter.
That was the week that was: an odd few days where the European People's Party won the European Parliament elections, but was also the biggest loser; and where Socialists in the Parliament backed the EPP lead candidate for the European Commission presidency, only for some centre-right leaders to apply the brakes in the European Council.
The Group of the European People's Party will be the largest formation in the new European Parliament according to the final PollWatch 2014 prediction. With voting due to begin in less than 48 hours, PollWatch 2014, a project developed by VoteWatch Europe in partnership with Burson-Marsteller and Europe Decides, puts the centre-right group on 217 seats, taking just under 29 per cent of the seats in the new European Parliament.
Click the slices to see the group names, predicted number of MEPs and share of total representation in the Parliament However, the future looks less bright for the Greens / European Free Alliance Group, which is set to win 38 seats (including those from the N-VA), putting it in seventh place out of the seven existing groups.
Click the slices to see the group names, predicted number of MEPs and share of total representation in the Parliament The ECR Group is forecast to win members from only six member states - one below the required threshold - but could well pick up new members from the Alternative for Germany (AfD) or Belgium's New Flemish Alliance (N-VA).
After weeks of slowly making up ground on the centre-left Socialists & Democrats Group in the PollWatch 2014 predictions, the centre-right Group of the European People's Party has now surged into the lead.
There is little change in the latest PollWatch 2014 predictions with the centre-right Group of the European People’s Party maintaining a narrow – and narrowing – lead over the centre-left Socialists & Democrats Group.
One of the quirky sub-plots of this year's European Parliament elections is that the success of one 'independence' movement could inadvertently boost the prospects of another. Scotland's independence referendum is just a few months away. The polls are tight: a recent poll says that 42% of Scots would vote to remain part of the United Kingdom, while 39% would support independence.
As the countdown to the European Parliament elections enters its final month, the centre-right Group of the European People's Party maintains its lead over the centre-left Socialists & Democrats Group. The EPP is on 217 seats, nine ahead of the Socialists, in the latest forecast by PollWatch 2014, a project developed by VoteWatch Europe in partnership with Burson-Marsteller and Europe Decides.
I ghost-wrote this book for the Socialists & Democrats Group in the European Parliament.
A little bit of European political history was made yesterday, with the first televised head-to-head debate between candidates for the European Commission presidency. The first debate between Jean-Claude Juncker and Martin Schulz - the lead candidates for the European People's Party and the Party of European Socialists - took place in Brussels and was broadcast live on France 24, with a replay later that evening on Radio France International.
The gap between the centre-left Socialists & Democrats Group and the centre-right Group of the European People's Party has disappeared in the latest PollWatch 2014 prediction. The Socialists - who led in the first three predictions - are now on 212 seats in the European Parliament, equal with a resurgent EPP in the latest forecast by PollWatch 2014, a project developed by VoteWatch Europe in partnership with Burson-Marsteller and Europe Decides.
All the main European political parties have chosen their lead candidates for the campaign and the people they will back for the Commission presidency. Jean-Claude Juncker, the former prime minister of Luxembourg, and Martin Schulz, the President of the European Parliament, head the campaigns for the European People's Party and the Party of European Socialists respectively.
(pp 60-64) Article in Spring 2014 edition looking ahead to the European Parliament elections. Also available at revolve.media/europes-moment-of-truth
The centre-left Socialists & Democrats Group and the centre-right Group of the European People's Party are neck-and-neck in the race to become the biggest political group in the next European Parliament, according to the latest PollWatch 2014 prediction.
Online article about British political parties' approaches to the idea of 'lead candidates' for the presidency of the European Commission.
The second PollWatch 2014 prediction sees the centre-left Socialists & Democrats Group still on course to be the biggest political group in the next European Parliament.
(with Sofia Tzortzi, Julia Riss, Christian Thams) With less than 100 days to go to the European Parliament elections, Greece, Bulgaria and Germany are making changes to the rules governing the choice of candidates. What are the changes and what will they mean?
Videos I made of the launch of PollWatch 2014. Simon Hix and Matina Stevis discuss the European elections and predictions of the results.
Go to pollwatch2014.eu Download a PDF of data from the study The centre-left Socialists & Democrats Group is set to be the biggest political formation in the next European Parliament according to the first PollWatch 2014 predictions.
(with Anna Ranki) For some countries, nominees to the European Commission often emerge as a result of national problem-solving exercises - focusing on who needs to be removed from the national political arena without their pride being damaged, who needs to be compensated for poor treatment in the past, or whose departure causes the fewest ripples.
At 07:00 CET on Tuesday 11 February, there was exactly 100 days to go to the opening of the polls for the European Parliament elections.
(with Jean-Charles Seghers) In Belgium, nothing is simple when it comes to politics - and in May 2014, that statement will be truer than ever. Not only will Belgium hold its European Parliament election on 25 May, it will also hold elections to the powerful regions and the federal parliament on the same day.
In 50 days' time, the European People's Party will open its electoral congress in Dublin and select its common lead candidate for the European Parliament elections. While the Socialists, Liberals, Greens and Left have all selected their lead candidates for the position of President of the European Commission (or at least have a selection process ongoing), the field for the EPP nomination is wide open.
(with David Earnshaw) Next summer, David Cameron faces a tough decision: who to choose as the United Kingdom's next nominee to the European Commission. The opinion polls suggest that the choice will follow a defeat for the Conservatives - possibly into third place, behind the UK Independence Party (Ukip) and the Labour Party - in the European Parliament elections.
Video I made of the Europe Decides event 'What's happening in the EU in 2014 - and will it make a difference?' Luke Baker of Reuters, Jenny de Nijs of League of Young Voters Europe, David Earnshaw of Burson-Marsteller Brussels and Johannes Hillje of the European Greens debate the issues.
Notre Europe - Jacques Delors Institute, a Paris-based think-tank, has recently published a must-read policy paper in which it predicts that the centre-left Socialists & Democrats Group (S&D) will oust the centre-right European People's Party Group (EPP) as the largest group in the new Parliament.
(with Marie Trancart) Rightly or wrongly, France - like most European Union member countries - does not tend to get very excited about the European Parliament elections. However, the 2014 vote will be different. Not only do the elections take place soon after what should be keenly-contested local polls, they are also seen as a potential milestone in the rise of the National Front (FN).
It's official: Martin Schulz, the current President of the European Parliament, is the only nominee to be the common candidate of the Party of European Socialists (PES) at the next European Parliament elections. A year from now, he could be President of the European Commission.
While the talk of Westminster is the debate on a referendum on the EU, a 33-year-old British constitutional conundrum is finding a new parallel at EU level.
The European Union's Lisbon Treaty is an awkward-looking animal - the proverbial 'camel' that emerges from discussion by committee. Formed out of the discarded limbs of the Union's more elegant, but doomed constitutional treaty, this animal is not pretty, but was built to serve a vital function - improving efficiency and democracy in the EU.
(p15 and pp 20-21) Two articles on the new European Parliament.
The weeks of campaigning are over, and Europe has spoken (or at least the four in ten people who turned out to vote - a record low turnout). Across the European Union's 27 member states, votes were being counted on Sunday night as people chose the 736 Members of the European Parliament that will represent them for the next five years.
At the end of August, I blogged about Gordon Brown, "Britain's beleaguered prime minister", who was on the brink of falling to an internal coup, and heading to certain defeat at the next general election. What a difference a few weeks make.
August is normally a quieter time for Europe's leaders, but not so this year. With the Olympics and Georgia on their minds, it has been a busier-than-usual month for many - not least Britain's beleaguered prime minister, Gordon Brown, who has a further preoccupation - a challenge from one his most senior ministers.
Media coverage of Europe Decides
Online article on Europe Decides. In French.
Online article mentioning Europe Decides. In Finnish.
Online article based on one of my Europe Decides blogposts. In French.
Radio feature mentioning Europe Decides. In French.
Online article mentioning Europe Decides. In Finnish.