This page is dedicated to events and news in Brussels and Strasbourg, as well as key events in EU countries.

A major reason many people voted to leave the EU was anger at the anti-democratic and unaccountable nature of the organisation. So this new section is dedicated to exposing the worst excesses of the EU - its hypocrisy, dishonesty, extravagance and autocratic behaviour. We also post what UKIP is doing in the two cities. It also covers news from other EU countries and their people's fight to escape rule from Brussels. If you have any examples first- or second-hand, please share them with the branch IT Officer who will review and post them. Send Mail

The EU is facing the most serious crises in its history. Many are wondering if anyone's really in charge

(14/2/21) The year is only six weeks old, but 2021 is already revealing the European Union's inherent limitations. While the EU is no stranger to crises, the past few weeks have thrown up issues that highlight the chasm between the grand ambition of Brussels and its capability. Things have been so bad that two of the bloc's most senior officials have been called on to resign, while serious questions are being asked of the EU's executive arm, the European Commission. Read the full post on CNN.

Angela Merkel’s disastrous legacy is Brexit and a broken EU

(19/1/21) Angela Merkel is more responsible for Brexit than any other political figure in Europe, on either side of the Channel. She bears the greatest responsibility for the ‘Japanisation’ and austerity bias of monetary union. She exalts the German mercantilist trade surpluses that render the whole euro project ultimately unworkable. Read the full post in the Daily Telegraph.

Farage: European Union’s greed is helping Communist China ‘Take Over the World’

(7/1/21) In response to the mass arrests of pro-democracy activists and politicians in Hong Kong, British politicians called on the European Union to abandon the investment pact it struck with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), including Brexit leader Nigel Farage who said that “Brussels’ greed is helping the regime to take over the world.” Read the full post on Breitbart.

Merkel pushes EU-China investment deal over the finish line despite criticism

(29/12/20) EU diplomats and officials say the German chancellor played a crucial role in finalizing the long-delayed EU-China investment agreement, which has taken more than seven years of negotiations. Those talks are set to be wrapped up Wednesday in a high-level videoconference between Brussels, Berlin and Beijing. Read the full post on Politico.

EU rejects UK plea to allow asylum seeker returns after Brexit

The UK is set to lose its ability to send asylum seekers back to other EU countries after the Brexit transition period ends, according to reports. Read the full post on LBC News.

The Dutch have replaced Britain as Europe’s top troublemakers

The UK spent so long leading the “No” lobby that voters eventually tired of the whole charade and voted to leave. No one especially enjoys being the “bad country”. Will the Netherlands go the same way? That is still a long way off. But if it happens, historians may mark the Coronavirus summit of July 2020 as the start of the process. Read the full post in the Daily Telegraph.

Unilever to set up UK headquarters after U-turning on move to Netherlands

(11/6/20) Unilever, the maker of a host of brands including Marmite and Ben & Jerry’s, is to combine its Dutch and UK businesses in one company based in London after U-turning on a previous decision to move its headquarters to Holland. Read the full post in The Independent.

Margrethe Vestager: a symbol of all that’s wrong with the EU

It is increasingly becoming clear that Margrethe Vestager, the EU’s competition commissioner, is out of control and that her frequently illegal decisions, and her absurd faith in the power of regulation, are doing huge damage to the European economy. Read the full post in the Money Week.

Hungary gives €30,000 to refurbish churches vandalized by migrants in Greece

(18/5/20) As part of the Hungary Helps Programme, the Government of Hungary is contributing HUF 10 million (€30,000) to the refurbishment of churches vandalized by illegal immigrants on the Greek island of Lesbos, the government has announced. Read the full post in the Remix News.

Sweden: Kurdish migrant charged with murdering his girlfriend and chopping her into pieces

(13/5/20) A Kurdish migrant has been charged for the murder of his girlfriend, 17-year-old Wilma Andersson, who went missing six months ago. Her body was cut up into many pieces, some of which have not yet been found. Wilma’s head was found in a suitcase in the migrant’s flat. Read the full post in the Voice of Europe.

Europe’s level playing field has disintegrated – and so has Mr Barnier’s Brexit

The central pillar of the EU’s Brexit strategy is crumbling. Brussels can no longer plausibly pretend that Europe’s state aid and competition regime is sacrosanct. North and South are today pursuing radically different policies, according to their economic means, and this will lead to radically different outcomes when Europe emerges from the Covid-19 depression. Read the full post in the Daily Telegraph.

Fishing outrage: Dutch trawlers plunder British waters with UK boats unable to sail

(1/5/20) Three Dutch supertrawlers have been ruthlessly plundering UK fish stocks with British boats unable to sail during the coronavirus lockdown, environmental campaigners Greenpeace have warned. Read the full post in the Daily Express.

Rift fears as eurozone bailout fund is sunk

(14/4/20) The eurozone’s emergency plan to fight Covid-19 has unravelled within days. Italy’s prime minister has rejected the central element of the €540bn (£470bn) package as a “trap”. Read the full post in the Daily Telegraph.

EU supertrawlers plunder British waters as UK fleet struggles with impact of coronavirus

(12/4/20) Five vast European Union fishing factory ships have steamed into British waters as the UK industry struggles to stay afloat amid collapsing sales as a result of the coronavirus crisis. Read the full post in Daily Express.

For first time: Muslim call to prayer sounded over Berlin overwhelming church bells

(6/4/20) For the first time ever in German history, the Muslim call to prayer was blasted on loudspeakers with the government’s approval on Saturday. The effort was initiated to show solidarity during the current time of crisis amid the coronavirus pandemic. Read the full post on BreakingIsraelNews.com.

Coronavirus outbreak eats into EU unity

(3/4/20) The coronavirus crisis really brings into question what the EU is all about. Clearly not a United States of Europe, as eurosceptics have often claimed. Far from it. Right now, every European government is struggling to protect their populations - their jobs, their health and their economy. Read the full post on BBC online.

Italy demands solidarity from Germany – or else EU 'will cease to exist'

(31//3/20) Italian politicians took out a full-page advertisement in one of Germany’s most prestigious newspapers on Tuesday as they urged parsimonious northern Europe to do more to help the south through the coronavirus crisis, amid an increasingly bitter rift within the EU. Read the full post in The Telegraph.

EU can start talks with Albania and North Macedonia over joining

(23/3/20) The EU can start membership negotiations with Albania and North Macedonia, according to a draft decision by the bloc’s 27 member states due to be finalised this week. If approved as expected, the agreement would end two years of delays and signal new momentum for all six western Balkan countries – Serbia, Kosovo, Montenegro, Albania, Bosnia and North Macedonia – seeking to join the EU. Read the full post in The Guardian.

Video Shows Greek Mobs Attacking Migrant Boats and Aid Workers

(3/3/20) Frustrated residents on the Greek island of Lesbos are attacking journalists, aid workers, and activists, as tensions surge over a new wave of migrants arriving by boat from Turkey. Read the full post on Vice.com.

Europe’s Borders at Breaking Point as Migrants Shipped to Frontier in Unmarked Buses

(2/3/20) Tensions on Europe’s borders with Turkey are rising as thousands of migrants are brought to the frontier on unmarked buses and state-owned railways. There are now thousands of migrants packed into the so-called no man’s land on the Greco-Turkish border. Read the full post on Breitbart London.

Credibility of European Court of Human Rights lies in ruins after judges’ links to Soros revealed

(25/2/20) A study by the European Center for Law and Justice in Strasbourg has revealed several conflicts of interest between judges at the European Court of Human Rights and NGOs funded by George Soros. The study has found that, out of the 100 judges who have served on the bench of the European Court of Human Rights in the period 2009-2019, nearly a quarter (22) have strong links to George Soros’ Open Society Foundation or to NGOs like Amnesty International and others which are funded by it. Read the full post on RT.com.

Orbán: “It’s forbidden to say so in Europe, but migration is an organized invasion”

(15/2/20) Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán – the only head of state in Europe who’s been willing to take any real action to stop the ongoing migrant invasion of Europe – on Thursday spoke of the mounting migratory pressure on Hungary’s southern border. Read the full post on Voice of Europe.

Net payer countries push back on EU budget plans

(17/2/20) EU net payer countries have pushed back after the latest proposal for the seven-year EU budget was put forward by EU council president Charles Michel last Friday. Read the full post on EU Observer.

An industrial crisis is brewing in Germany

(30/9/19) In the darkest days of the 2009 recession, Germany’s industrial output was collapsing at an annual rate of more than 20%. An unfathomable implosion but one that thankfully ended almost as quickly as it started. Some 10 years on, a crisis is brewing once again in the country’s industrial heartlands. The pain could prove more enduring this time. Read the full post on Bloomberg.

Eurozone manufacturing sector suffers worst month in seven years

(1/10/19) The Eurozone’s manufacturing sector suffered its worst month in seven years in September, according to a closely-followed industry survey, as the malaise in the area’s economy shows no sign of relenting. Read the full post on City a.m..

Farage: The EU is building an empire. Why deny it?

(17/9/19) Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage has criticised senior Eurocrat Guy Verhofstadt for praising the new “world order” of “empires”, but said it was time to be straight about Brussels’ intentions to build a new European Empire. Read the full post on Breitbart London.

EU's proposed Commissioner for Justice faces corruption probe

(17/9/19) Belgium’s foreign minister Didier Reynders, unveiled last week as incoming president Ursula von der Leyen’s pick for Justice Commissioner, has been accused of being involved in arms sales to the Congo and Libya as well as money-laundering and taking bribes. Read the full post on Euro Guido.

How fair are the trials of Catalan pro-independence politicians?

(28/3/19) DW's Conflict Zone put this question to Spain's foreign minister, Josep Borrell. During the heated discussion, the politician walked off the set, but came back to finish the interview after speaking to his aides. Read the full story on Deutsche Welle.

Why this growing mountain of lifevests in Greece shows that migration is the issue of the century

(19/6/19) Since 2015, over a million migrants have arrived in Greece from trouble spots around the world. Some left here for other countries, some stayed, others remain in camps. And still they come - just this month over a thousand have arrived on the island. That is a spike in numbers which concerns many. Read the full story on ITV.com.

EU leaders fail to reach agreement on replacements for Donald Tusk and Jean-Claude Juncker

(22/6/19) European Union leaders have failed to reach an agreement on who should replace the likes of Donald Tusk and Jean-Claude Juncker as they gathered for a summit in Brussels. Discussions lasting four hours reached a conclusion with no majority reached on any candidates for the top jobs in the bloc, with leaders set to meet again for talks later this month. Read the full story in the Evening Standard.

European Elections: Scandal behind the EU president vote process - even Germany is FURIOUS

(15/5/19) The best candidate to replace outgoing European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker is likely to be denied the chance to do so - and voters in the forthcoming European elections will have no say in the matter, a senior German commentator has raged. Read the full story in the Daily Express.

Punish Gerard Batten for 'inflammatory' language in EU Parliament, urges Scottish MEP Alyn Smith

(4/4/19) The Ukip leader, Gerard Batten, is facing calls to be stripped of his European parliament allowance for a month over “inflammatory” language in the Brussels chamber. A Scottish National party MEP, Alyn Smith, has written to the European parliament president, Antonio Tajani, calling for sanctions after Batten accused British politicians of being “traitors, quislings and collaborators” in a speech that also compared EU leaders to Adolf Hitler. Read the full story in The Guardian

The EU is quietly seizing control of its members' finances - fiscal union beckons

(28/2/19) Over the winter, as Westminster argued about how and when to leave the EU, a vital development in Brussels went virtually unnoticed. Having failed for years to persuade sufficient Member States that the EU should become a fiscal union, in the days before Christmas the European Commission announced its intention that the EU, nevertheless, is in effect about to become just that. Read the full post on The Telegraph.

The recalling of the French ambassador to Rome is the culmination of years of bad blood between France and Italy

(8/2/19) Paris recalled its ambassador to Rome on Thursday — the last time that happened was in 1940, when Italy declared war on France. This time it was “repeated, baseless attacks” from the ruling Italian parties that caused France to make its diplomatic move. Here are just five of the most recent spats between Paris and Rome. Read the full post on Politico.

Swedish Liberalism is struggling under the weight of immigration

(31/01/19) Sweden once welcomed more refugees per capita than any other European Union nation. In the past five years, the country of 10 million accepted more than 400,000 asylum-seekers and relatives of previous immigrants. Read the full post in Bloomberg.

US downgrades EU diplomatic status in Washington

(10/1/19) The EU says the US government has changed the bloc's diplomatic status in Washington, in practice downgrading it. The EU has asked the US to explain the move. It was noticed that at the state funeral for the late President George HW Bush, on 5 December, the EU's ambassador was not called up in the usual chronological order, from the longest-serving to the newest ambassador, "but he was called up as the last person", an EU official said. Read the full story on the BBC website.

Belgium bans ritual halal and kosher animal slaughter over welfare concerns

((9/1/19) A Belgian ban on the Muslim and Jewish ways of ritually slaughtering animals went into effect on New Year’s Day, as tensions grow across Europe over the balance between animal welfare and religious freedom. Read the full story in Read the full story in the The Independent.

‘Kick them out’: Syrian women tell Europe to send men home to rebuild country

(26/12/18) Syrian women are complaining that there are not enough men to rebuild the county, and have told Europe and other Western countries that have absorbed their young men to “kick them out” and send them home. Read the full story on Breitbart London.

France calls for Europe to become 'an Empire' to rival China and the US

(12/11/18) Europe must 'become an Empire' to rival China and the US, a French minister said yesterday. Economics and Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said the EU must project its power around the globe to promote peace and protect the environment. Read the full story in the Mail Online.

Emmanuel Macron calls for 'real European army' to defend against Russia and US

(6/11/18) A "real European army" is needed to defend itself against Russia and even the United States, Emmanuel Macron has said. The French president has pushed for a joint European Union military force since his arrival in power. Read the full article on Sky News.

Austria rejects UN migration pact to 'defend national sovereignty'

(31/10/18) Austria will not sign a United Nations migration pact that is set to be adopted in December, in order to "defend its national sovereignty." The United States and Hungary have already rejected the Global Compact for Migration, which aims to boost cooperation to address the world's growing number of migrants. Read the full story in the Telegraph.

EU Commission formally rejects Italian government's budget

(24/10/18) The unelected EU Commission have now formally rejected the budget of Italian government in an unprecedented move. They will now demand a new budget from Italy ready within three weeks. Brexit Britain’s Nigel Farage responded by saying: “Italy has three weeks to respond to the Brussels gangsters, this is national democracy versus globalist bureaucracy.” Read the full post on Westmonster.

The EU did NOT defeat the Nazis! Farage EXPLODES at Italian EU boss’s INSULTING claim

(24/10/18) Nigel Farage ripped into the President of the European Parliament, the Italian Antonio Tajani, during a furious row in Strasbourg over Hitler and who defeated Hitler's Nazis. Following a row about Nazism, Mr Tajani branded the Nazis and Soviet communism “ghastly and devastating” political systems, before adding: “Thank God these two dictatorships are vanished thanks to the European Union.” Farage had something to say about this complete mistruth. Read the full article in the Daily Express. You can also view Farage's full response on YouTube (4+mins).

EU to keep electro-pulse fishing despite MEPs vote

(11/10/18) UKIP fisheries spokesman slams EU efforts “to usurp democracy” by keeping electric fishing method blamed for making the seabed “a wasteland.” Mike Hookem MEP has described EU efforts to keep electro-pulse fishing until 2022 as “a dangerous and greedy delaying tactic, that usurps democracy and could see huge areas of UK’s coastal ecology destroyed.” Read the full story on UKIP Daily.

French foreign minister: We no longer want to pay for Poland and Hungary

(5/9/18) France does not want to finance a populist Europe, the country’s foreign minister Jean-Yves Le Drian has indicated, just as the fight over the EU’s new long-term budget begins in earnest. These strong words were said in Paris on Wednesday (29 August) during the annual conference of French ambassadors, a meeting at which the French head of diplomacy officially indicates the most important directions of the country’s foreign policy. Read the full story on Euractiv.

Salvini takes aim at ‘EU hypocrites’ over migration

(31/8/18) Matteo Salvini, the Italian interior minister, called President Macron of France a “chattering hypocrite” yesterday as the EU rebuffed demands from Rome that other states accept more migrants rescued from the Mediterranean. Mr Salvini, leader of the far-right League, said that Mr Macron had refused to let 40,000 migrants enter France from Italy last year yet preached on behalf of migrants. Read the full article in The Times.

Sabotage: Italian President Blocks Eurosceptic Coalition Govt, Populist Leader Calls for Impeachment

(27/5/18) Italian President Sergio Mattarella has announced his rejection of Italy’s populist coalition government. Mattarella’s move is being widely interpreted as a rejection not only of the government but of the national will as expressed in democratic elections, and massive demonstrations are expected Monday. The Italian president was reportedly under heavy pressure from Brussels, Berlin, and other centres of European power to abort the eurosceptic government, which they viewed as a threat to European stability. Read the full story on Breitbart London.

Sacre bleu! French politicians furious after European Commission signals English will be main language after Brexit

(7/05/18) Slighted French politicians have hit the roof after the European Commission signalled the English language will become more important in Brussels after Brexit. New budget proposals reveal funding for English translation will be maintained despite Britain leaving the EU. The Sun.

European Union proposes to INCREASE foreign aid budget to £108 BILLION

The European Union’s Foreign Policy Chief Federica Mogherini is set to propose a huge 30 per cent increase in the bloc’s foreign aid budget for 2021-2027, in a bid to increase its influence in the world following the US’s threats to withdraw funding. The EU is the world’s biggest aid donor, and the European Commission will outline its common budget proposal on Wednesday. Read the full article in theDaily Express.

Valéry Giscard d’Estaing: Toward a smaller Europe

(11/4/18) Valéry Giscard d’Estaing wants to restart Europe — and move forward with fewer countries. He wants a rebooting of the European project, with the “urgent” construction of a “strong and federated” entity of 12 European nations that would include the six founding members (Germany, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg) plus Spain, Portugal, Ireland, Austria, Finland and Poland. Read the full post on Politico.

'Hair-Raising': Sharia Law makes its debut in Swedish Court

(6/3/18) "The man stems from a good family, unlike the woman." With this argument, a Swedish court has acquitted an Iraqi man charged with abusing his wife, sparking outrage over the first instance where "Sharia Law" was applied by the Nordic nation's legal system.

Comment by us: If this is an example of Swedish law in practice, no wonder Julian Assange decided not to risk appearing before a Swedish court! Read the full article on Sputnik News.

Europe: What surprises are in store for 2018? - by the BBC's Katya Adler

(30/12/17) An interesting summary of the European political landscape and what 2018 has in store for the EU, by the BBC's Europe Editor, covering Brexit, euroscepticism, Macron, and Merkel, and more. Read the full article on BBC website.

Which countries feel they've benefited from the EU?

6/11/17) Despite the turmoil, majorities in most countries feel they have benefited from EU membership. According to the European Parliament, 90 percent of people in Ireland feel their country's decision to join the EU has paid off. Only 55% of British people feel that the UK has benefited. Read the full article on the World Economic Forum website.

British MEPs in line for €6m 'golden goodbye' when UK leaves EU

(12/11/17) British Members of the European Parliament (MEPs), including leading Brexit campaigner Nigel Farage, will be in line for a "golden goodbye" pay out of over €6m (£5.3m) when the UK leaves the EU. These so-called "transition payments", in effect redundancy money for MEPs when they stand down or lose their seats, will be paid to Britain's 73 MEPs. Read the full story on Sky News.

Eurosceptic, anti-open borders parties are dominating Central and Eastern Europe

(8/11/17) The European Union is in big, big trouble. Right across Central and Eastern Europe, Euroscepticsm is on the rise and nations are even joining forces, rallying against what they see as the creation of an EU superstate. Read the full article on Westmonster.

Macron's plot to DICTATE in EU: French leader pushes for MORE POWER to choose next Juncker

(23/10/17) Emmanual Macron is planning a major shakeup of the European Parliament in a bid to influence the appointment of Jean-Claude Juncker’s successor. For almost 40 years, EU politics has been dominated by the three major groups in the European parliament: the centre-right European People’s party, the centre-left Socialists and Democrats and centrist Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe - and Mr Macron wants this to change. Read the full article in the Daily Express.

MEP expenses should be kept secret to avoid ‘pressure’ from media

(22/10/17) If EU lawmakers were forced to declare how they spend their monthly expenses, they would be criticized so much that they could struggle to do their job, a lawyer representing the European Parliament said Thursday. “MEPs need to be given a space to think,” she added. Read the full, sorry article on Politico.

Rice to become more expensive due to 'disastrous' EU import rules

(14/10/17) The price of a curry will rise from December due to “disastrous” new EU import restrictions on rice, politicians have warned. The EU Commission has ordered basmati manufacturers to slash levels of the pesticide Tricyclazole to a hundredth of its current legal level, despite being told it is impossible to do so sustainably in less than three years. Read the full article in the Telegraph.

Demographers say that Germans will become a minority in their own country, possibly in fifteen to twenty years.

(5/10/17) The median age in Germany is now 46.8. A gradual replacement of the non-Muslim population with a Muslim population is taking place. Forty percent of children under five, born in Germany, have foreign roots. Since 2005, the population of new arrivals has increased by 24%, while the native population has decreased by 5%. Read the full article on the Gatestone Institute website.

UKIP congratulates AfD on entry to Bundestag

(25/9/17) The interim leader of UKIP, Steve Crowther, has congratulated the Alternative fur Deutschland (AfD) on achieving its electoral breakthrough and entering the German Parliament with 13.5% of the vote. Read the post on the UKIP website.

(23/9/17) This first hand account by a female Brit and two female friends tells of their horrific experiences in Milan, Venice, Florence and Rome over the Summer when they were sexually assaulted and harrassed by hordes of mainly African migrants. It is clear that these cities are now no-go areas for unaccompanied females. Read the full account on Kipper Central.

(24/8/17) Angela Merkel was bombarded by shouts of “get lost” and angry boos amid a tough week of campaigning - two years after she announced her controversial open door immigration policy. The German Chancellor faced a barrage of loud protestors during her pre-election tour, as she stopped to give a speech to crowds of around 4,000 people at Bergisch-Gladbach. Meanwhile a plane towing a 'Vote AfD' flew overhead! Read the full article in the Daily Express.

EU Commissioners spent €500,000 on travel in two months

(9/8/17) In 2 months last year European Commissioners, the unelected elite that drive forward the EU's political agenda, spent between them over EUR 500,000. Spanish transparency organisation Access-!nfo has fought for the release of details of EU expenses against classic bureaucratic stonewalling and but they have succeeded in getting some limited release. Read about the scandal on Politico.

Oceana: EU is failing to bring down high overfishing levels

(6/7/17) The European Commission has today released its annual communication on the state of fish stocks and the progress in achieving the commitments of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP). The information presented by the European Commission confirms that since the adoption of the current fisheries framework regulation in 2013, no substantial improvements have been made in the sustainability of fish resources. Read the full article on Oceana.

Half of Turks in Germany do not work, majority ‘not interested in a job’

(13/7/17) Figures show that almost every second Turk of working age in Germany is “economically inactive”, meaning they are either not in work or officially registered as unemployed. The latest data from European statistics bureau Eurostat shows that 43 per cent of Turks living in Germany are economically inactive, a figure which rises to 48 per cent according to the country’s Federal Statistics Office. See the full report in Breitbart London.

Dutch block aspirational communique at EU-Ukraine summit

(12/7/17) A summit between top Ukrainian and European Union officials to take place over the next two days in Kiev is likely to end without a final joint communiqué because of Dutch objections over wording that the EU “acknowledges Ukraine’s European aspirations.” Read the full article on Politico.

Europe triumphs at G20, Merkel survives it

(10/7/17) Angela Merkel was careful to set a low bar for the G20 summit. Few expected her to trip over it. But stumble the German chancellor did, as street violence engulfed Hamburg and the gathering of world leaders entered the theater of the absurd. See the full story on Politico.

'EUROPE IS DYING' Italian MP's furious rant at EU chiefs over migrant crisis

(6/7/17) Luigi Di Maio, MP for the Five Star Movement, made the staggering claim as refugees continue to arrive in Italy in large numbers. He declared his nation was "alone" as the biggest migrant crisis since the 1940s continues to grip the continent. Italy has taken in more than 85,000 refugees and migrants so far this year, making it the main point of entry into Europe. Read the full article in the Daily Express.

EU on the BRINK: Brussels leaders DESPERATE as inflation sinks further below ECB target

(1/7/17) The European Central Bank has been dealt a heavy blow after inflation in June tumbled further below target, despite extreme measures from policymakers to stoke the economic measure. Policymakers have slashed interest rates below zero and signed off a money-printing program that injects billions of eurozone every month. Yet price growth across the bloc remained weak last month, coming in at just 1.3 per cent. In a major setback, the ECB recently revised inflation forecasts for the eurozone down. Low inflation can indicate weak consumer demand and an ailing economy. Read the full article in the Daily Express.

Germany and Italy meet for emergency talks as EU migrant crisis reaches boiling point

(3/7/17) More than 12,000 landed in Italy last week alone as the scramble to reach the Continent from Libya shows no sign of slowing. The onslaught showed just how much of a disaster the EU immigration policy was, said UKIP home affairs spokeswoman Jane Collins. The “unsustainable” influx has seen Libya – a gateway to Europe for thousands of sub-Saharan Africans – threaten to shut its ports and send back boatloads of asylum seekers. Germany, France and Italy will meet for top-level discussions after the EU was told to urgently revise its asylum rules and become part of the solution not the problem. Read the full story in the Daily Express.

European establishment and members of the public poles apart on EU, Immigration, Islam, confirms study

(22/6/17) The Royal Institute of International Affairs, commonly known as Chatham House, has published research which indicates there is a huge divide between Europe’s media-political establishment and ordinary members of the public on the EU, mass immigration, and Islam. Read the full article in Breitbart London.

EU’s post-Brexit vote unity masks fragile foundations

(22/6/17) How did they do it? Almost exactly a year ago the EU was reeling from a Brexit vote that reversed 60 years of expansion and threatened the European project with, in the words of one finance minister, a “Lehman Brothers moment”. Fast-forward to June 2017 and those dystopian visions of disintegration have given way in Brussels to airy confidence. Populists are at bay, the prospect of other countries following Britain out of the bloc has receded and a new French president is on the scene, proud to bear an EU flag. Read the full article in the Financial Times.

Angela Merkel open to common eurozone budget

(20/6/17) Germany's chancellor says she is prepared to consider a euro budget, as well as a joint finance minister for the eurozone. But she stressed that such profound changes would only make sense if they increased prosperity. Read the full article in Die Welt.

Brussels to launch £80BN raid on City of London in grab on capital's clearing houses

(13/6/17) Officials in Brussels are set to force parts of London's lucrative Euro clearing business to relocate to the European Union in the days after Britain's exit from the bloc. The European Commission is expected to introduce a new system that will be used to vet if, and under what conditions, non-EU clearing houses would be allowed to handle large volumes of euro-dominated business. Read the full article in the Daily Express.

Macron to hand all sovereignty to Brussels

(11/5/17) Emmanuel Macron’s victory promises no change for Europe and it has been the blessing Brussels wanted so badly to further advance the federalization of Europe. Macron will surrender far more French sovereignty to Brussels than anyone suspects based upon reliable sources. Read the full article on Armstrong Economics.

EU Free Movement leads to 'Brain Drain' in poorer countries - shocking report

(12/5/17) The Free Movement regime in the European Union, which requires member-states to permit unlimited and largely unvetted intra-bloc migration, has led to a significant brain drain in the bloc’s poorer countries, claims a new report. Read the full post on Breitbart.

Big Tech companies could face more rules in the EU

(10/5/17) Tech companies in Europe face the prospect of more rules dictating how they conduct business. The European Union’s executive body is considering new rules that would prevent web platforms, such as Alphabet Inc.’s, Google, Amazon.com, and TripAdvisor Inc.,from offering unfair terms to small businesses that use their services to sell or promote products. Read the full article on the Wall Street Journal.

European Union may create new class of 'supranational' MEPs after Brexit

(28/4/17) Europe should create a new class of supranational MEPs after Brexit in order to demonstrate that the European project is “alive and kicking”, a high-level EU ministers meeting was told on Thursday. Under the new plan, the 73 British seats in the European Parliament that will fall vacant after Brexit will be transformed into new seats representing a “a single European constituency”. Read the full article Telegraph.

The murder that shocked Germany - and why its leaders are still in denial over migrant crisis

In the week that Hussein Khavari, an Afghan asylum seeker, goes on trial for raping and throttling to death 19-year-old German medical student Maria Ladenburger last October, it was revealed that the crime rate among German’s migrant population rose by more than 50 per cent last year. The news coincided with figures yesterday from the EU’s data arm Eurostat showing the number of refugees granted asylum in the European Union has doubled in just 12 months — from 333,305 in 2015 to 710,395 last year. Read the full article, and weep, in the Daily Mail.

‘If you don’t like it, leave!’ EU's Brexit negotiator issues bombshell ultimatum to Hungary

(26/4/17) BREXIT negotiator Guy Verhofstadt today delivered an extraordinary ultimatum to Hungary’s prime minister saying the country could no longer keep taking EU money whilst refusing to obey the rules of the club. The former Belgian prime ministers launched a scathing attack on Viktor Orban, comparing him to notorious Communist dictators Josep Stalin and Leonid Brezhnev and branding his right-wing Government cowardly and paranoid. Read the full article in the Daily Express.

(26/4/17) Another barnstorming 2min speech in the EU Parliament by Nigel Farage as he says to visiting Viktor Orbán, PM of Hungary: 'The EU will never change, time to hold a referendum!'. Watch the full speech here.

MEPs call for Trump to dump the Paris climate deal

(20/4/17) UKIP’s Energy spokesman, Roger Helmer MEP, has drafted an open letter to President Donald Trump, and signed by twenty MEPs, from six countries and three political groups, calling for early implementation of his campaign pledge to pull the USA out of the Paris Climate Treaty. See the full text and signatories on Roger Helmer's blog.

A new book which aims to sound the alarm over the fate of the EU and the “dark age” to come. The focus moves from East to West but finds its center of gravity in a chapter called “France without Jews.” The author analyzes the rebirth of anti-Semitism in Europe, adding it to his broader argument that the 1945 political consensuses of pax europaea is in jeopardy. The book plainly states its mission: to deliver 20th century European history to its readers lest they be forced to repeat it. Read the full review on The Slate.

Britain betrayed by Labour MEPs and their federalist cabal on Brexit vote - Paul Nuttall MEP

(5/4/17) In response to the European Parliament’s joint resolution from the main federalist groups, UKIP proposed 14 separate amendments to protect British interests, from controlling immigration to protecting Gibraltar’s sovereignty. All of these amendments were voted down today with help from Labour MEPs. Read more.

Rome treaty: Jean-Claude Juncker says it is a 'tragedy' that EU is celebrating 60th anniversary without Britain

(25/3/17) Brexit is a “tragedy” for the Europe Union, the bloc’s chief Jean-Claude Juncker lamented yesterday, as the leaders of the remaining 27 EU member states gathered in Rome to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the organisation’s founding treaty. "Brexit, the exit of Britain, is a tragedy,” Mr Juncker said as the leaders proclaimed that the EU was “undivided and indivisible” despite the fierce disagreements that have roiled the bloc in recent years over immigration, the euro and the ongoing sovereign debt crisis. Read the full article in the Daily Telegraph.

Preview of the working document in preparation for the Rome Declaration to be made on 25th March 2017

(10/03/17) This absurd document shows the leaders of the future 27 states in the EU really are living in La La Land. It talks of securing a 'safe and secure European Union' (completely forgetting that Europe, especially Germany, has let a unassimilable migrant Trojan horse within its borders). It also talks of a 'prosperous and sustainable European Union: a Europe which creates growth' - completely forgetting the basket case countries which have no chance of achieving this, at least until they leave the Euro.

The most contentious point in the document is towards the end where it states that 'we work together' but 'on the understanding that some of us can move closer.' That is code for agreeing that a multi-speed Europe will become the norm rather than exceptional EU operating procedure. Thank the stars we are leaving this rotten, doomed organisation. Read the full document at Politico.

Eirexit: Could Ireland follow Britain out of the EU?

(12/11/16) Until very recently, the very notion of Ireland leaving the EU was so outlandish and marginal that it did not feature in any public discourse in a meaningful way.

But it has now been thrust more into the limelight by a combination of Brexit, the Apple case, fears of an EU stealth attack on Ireland’s most sacred cow, corporation tax; and now, the election of Trump. Read the full article in the Irish Times.

London Stock Exchange merger with Germany's Deutsche Borse looks to be blocked by EC demands

(27/02/17) This is great news The London Stock Exchange's £24billion merger with Germany's Deutsche Borse looks set to be blocked by the European Commission. The LSE has failed to meet the Commission's demands, after Brussels had ordered the London bourse to sell its majority stake in its Italian business MTS. The Commission gave the exchange until this morning to sell MTS, but the LSE labelled the demand 'disproportionate'. Many in the City of London have been sceptical about the deal after German politicians demanded Frankfurt be the headquarters of the group. Read the full story in the Daily Mail.

Greek economy unexpectedly contracts as next crisis brews

(14/02/17) Greece’s economy unexpectedly contracted in the fourth quarter, putting a dampener on its growth throughout the year and adding to Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras’s woes as he tries to find a way to unlock bailout funds.

Gross domestic product fell 0.4 percent in the final three months of 2016 after growing a revised 0.9 percent in the previous quarter, the Hellenic Statistical Authority said in an e-mailed statement on Tuesday. The median estimate in a Bloomberg survey was for a 0.4 percent expansion. The economy grew 0.3 percent over the whole year, according to Bloomberg calculations. Read the full article on Bloomberg.

Juncker plans radical shake-up to save the EU from itself as he says bloc is in “existential crisis”

(10/02/17) Jean-Claude Juncker has had enough of EU states scapegoating Brussels for their failures. Over his first two years as president of the European Commission, he has been repeatedly undermined by countries passing the buck to Brussels on toxic decisions about controversial topics like genetically modified food and pesticides.

In response, Juncker is preparing to hit back. Next week, he is expected to launch an overhaul of the EU’s obscure and dysfunctional decision-making process, which allows countries to saddle the Commission with the final call on critical but potentially unpopular policies.

He also expressed fears that the bloc had slipped into an “existential crisis” and accused member countries of never having been “so weakened by the forces of populism and paralyzed by the risk of defeat in the next elections.” Read the full article on Politico.

EU insists Greece's economy is on track despite IMF issuing a warning over the country's 'explosive' debt that could threaten the future of the Eurozone

(08/02/17) The European Union has insisted Greece's economy is on track despite an IMF warning over the country's 'explosive' debt that could threaten the future of the Eurozone. A standoff between the eurozone and the International Monetary Fund has dragged on for months, raising fears of a new debt crisis and sparking fresh talk of Greece tumbling out of the euro. The EU on Tuesday insisted Greece's economy remained on course to recovery despite a withering opinion by the IMF that Athens's debt was 'unsustainable' and calling for further European debt relief. Read the full story in the Daily Mail.

Eurocrats demand EU stars are placed on footballers and Olympians' shirts alongside national emblems

(02/02/17) The national emblem an athlete wears on their chest can trigger raw power and emotion - not to mention patriotism. But now famous sporting insignia, such as England’s Three Lions, could take on a dramatically different appearance thanks to an audacious plan concocted by officials in Brussels. Read more nonsense in the article in the Daily Mail.

Tusk calls on EU countries to renew their wedding vows

With the Continent facing what he has described as “unprecedented external threats,” European Council President Donald Tusk wants EU leaders to renew their wedding vows, committing to “an ambitious vision” of “political consolidation,” according to a document obtained by POLITICO.

The document, which will be circulated at the Malta summit today after Theresa May has left, leaving the remaining 27 EU leaders to ponder over the EU's future. It suggests using the celebration of the 60th anniversary of the Treaty of Rome — which laid the ground for an “ever closer union” — as an occasion to think beyond Brexit.

Among other things, the document calls for leaders to reflect on “greater unity in foreign policy and more investments in our defense” and “further deepening the Economic and Monetary Union.” Read the full article on Politico.

Five minutes of excellent theatre as our former leader Nigel Farage MEP lectures the Strasbourg parliament on what constitutes real democracy and takes it to task for its criticism of the Trump travel ban and its hypocrisy over the issue. This is vintage Farage. Enjoy. Watch on the EFDD website.

Eurozone 'destruction' necessary if countries are to thrive again, warns former ECB hawk

The eurozone must break up if its members are to thrive again, according to a former European Central Bank official. Jürgen Stark, who served on the ECB’s executive board during the financial crisis, said it was time to “think the unthinkable” and work towards a “reset” of Europe that pulled power away from Brussels.

The former vice-president of Germany’s Bundesbank said the creation of a two-speed eurozone, with France and Germany at its core, would help to ensure the smaller bloc’s survival. Read the full article in the Telegraph.

Whispers of ‘Grexit’ start again

(26/01/17) Halfway through its seventh year on financial life support from its European partners, doubts are again mounting over not only the stability of Greece’s government but its commitment to the long list of demanding reforms involving its labor force, state-owned businesses and banking sector. The country is in a race against time to make sure it can raise money on capital markets on its own by mid-2018 — the end date of its current €86 billion bailout package. Read the full article on Politico.

EU chief in SHOCK admission: Brussels' Single Market ‘does NOT function properly’ for UK

(16/01/17) Polish eurocrat Elzbieta Bienkowska conceded that the common economic area, which is usually presented as Brussels’ crowning achievement, “does not function properly”. Her comments were directed towards the services sector, which makes up 80 per cent of the British economy and accounts for around a third of all our exports to the continent.

And they will come as a hammer blow to europhile MPs trying to make the increasingly shaky economic case for shackling Britain to the struggling eurozone post-Brexit. Read the full article and see video in the Daily Express.

Why the EU's hypocrite-in-chief, Jean-Claude Juncker, is a prime example of the hubris that could tear it apart

(03/01/17) Time is now surely running out for European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker following the latest evidence of his rank hypocrisy — not to mention his pivotal role in a monumental tax dodge. The latest scandal follows the leak of classified documents involving a secretive EU committee set up to establish a code of conduct on tax policies. The idea was to prevent 'harmful competition' between member states. Read the full article in the Daily Mail.

Why 2017 Could See the Collapse of the Euro - by economist Joseph Stiglitz

(30/12/16) The ambition of the euro was to bring greater prosperity to Europe. This, in turn, would promote economic and political integration. The euro was a political project, but the politics weren’t strong enough to create the institutional arrangements that would ensure success. With the euro leading to stagnation and worse, it is no surprise that it has led to increasing divisiveness rather than to more solidarity. Today, it seems that the euro, which was supposed to be a means to an end, has become an end in itself—the pursuit of which poses perhaps the single most important threat to the European project. Read the full article in Fortune.

How the EU starves Africa into submission

A shocking indictment of the protectionist, dictatorial policy of the EU towards countries outside the Customs Union, in this case the continent of Africa.

(28/12/16) There are at least three ways in which EU policies affect Africa’s ability to address its agricultural and food challenges: tariff escalation; technological innovation and food export preferences. African leaders would like to escape the colonial trap of being viewed simply as raw material exporters. But their efforts to add value to the materials continue to be frustrated by existing EU policies. Read the full article on Cap X .

Fateful political year for Europe starts in Brussels

(28/12/16) 2017 kicks off with an open race for Parliament president, and it will indicate what political life will be like in the post-Juncker and Schulz bromance era. The policy battles will center on whether to abandon austerity and how to balance security and liberty.
The EU also sets off the new year determined to hang tough on Brexit. It “successfully played hardball with Switzerland’s direct democracy and won,” writes Eder, as a reminder that even if the U.K. hasn’t moved to trigger Article 50, the EU itself has moved well beyond Brexit rhetoric and into action. Read the full article on Politico.

OUT OF CONTROL: Anti-EU chief savages EU over Berlin attack and ‘awful migration policy'

(27/12/16) The European Union’s migration policy is “out of control” according to Italy’s most prominent Eurosceptic politician as he ripped into the crumbling bloc following the Berlin Christmas market attack. Beppe Grillo savaged Brussels and his own country for failing to do enough to stop terrorists coming into the continent and carrying out atrocities. The leader of the populist Five Star Movement said in a blog post: “The migratory situation is out of control.” Read the full article in the Daily Express.

Railtrack was an EU creation

(10/12/16) From Christopher Booker's column in the Daily Telegraph is this astonishing story:

Back in the Nineties, there were few better examples of how ignorant our MPs had become about the extent to which we were now being governed from Brussels than the controversial decision to separate ownership of our rail track from the train operating companies which pay to use it – the policy our transport minister, Chris Grayling, is now planning to reverse.

This separation was achieved by a statutory instrument, the Railways Regulations 1992. It had to be nodded through Parliament without debate because it was put through automatically under the European Communities Act. Britain thus became the first country in Europe to implement EC directive 91/440: the intention of which, in the name of integration, was to allow international companies to run trains across frontiers, while allowing each country to retain ownership of its own track.

Until I explained this, not a single MP seemed to have noticed it. A friend who sat on the British Rail Board told me that even they had assumed that it was just “a crazy idea dreamed up by the Treasury”. As we saw again in last week’s Brexit debate, our politicans have been so lobotomised by the 43 years when we have outsourced ever more of our law-making to Brussels that most haven’t really got the slightest clue how our European government works.

European nations will disappear unless they unite, Juncker says

(09/12/16) Europe's economic and demographic weight in the world is diminishing and its nations will disappear in time unless they stand together in the European Union, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said on Friday - Reuters.

EU unveils new £300m HQ 'symbolising' the Euro bloc

The EU has unveiled its futuristic new £300million (321million euro) headquarters today claiming it symbolised 'joy' at a time of rising populist anger against Brussels. But critics have hit out at how it cost £80million more than was budgeted for, was in development for 12 years and is made out of mainly glass. The Europa building is shaped like a lantern and made of recycled window frames sourced from across the 28-nation bloc, and has been dubbed the 'Space Egg' because of its unusual appearance. Read more about this vanity project in the Daily Mail.

EU showers gold on urine energy boffins - Euro Guido

The EU’s Renewable Energy Directive states that 20% of its total energy needs must be met with renewables by 2020. Time is running out, so Brussels is bankrolling boffins to avoid the embarrassment of missing the target. That’s why almost €3 million was spent on a four year project trying to generate electricity. From urine… Read more.

Matteo Renzi's Italian referendum defeat 'threatens survival of the euro,' warn German business leaders

(05/12/16) The euro's survival is under increased threat following the political instability caused by the Italian referendum result, German business bosses warned yesterday, raising further questions about the long-term viability of Italy’s membership of the currency union.

Ulrich Grillo, the head of the Federation of German Industries, or BDI, said the crushing defeat handed to the Italy’s centrist prime minister, Matteo Renzi, had worsened the outlook for the survival of the single currency.

The Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR), a leading economics consultancy, said that following the vote it now estimated the chances of Italy staying in the Euro for the next five years had fallen below 30 per cent. Read the full story in the Telegraph.

Europe’s panic room: An EU dinner called to discuss Trump ascendancy showcases the Continent’s divisions

(13/11/16) Filled with shock and horror over America’s election of Donald Trump as president, Europe did what it always does in moments of crisis — it met. Instead of a full-blown, formal summit of the 28, or even an informal gathering of the 27 Remainers, Europe settled for a dinner between the bloc’s foreign ministers on Sunday. As is often the case when Europe tries to be bold, the initiative collapsed under its own weight long before the serving of the hors d’oeuvres. Read the article on the Politico website.

(26/11/16) Here Nigel Farage slams into the EU, speaking on behalf of the EFDD group. He criticises the fact that the EU Council only gave our Prime Minister 5 minutes to speak at 1am at the recent meeting of EU leaders. He also lambasts Jean-Claude Juncker for refusing to accept the verdict of the British people in the EU Referendum and refers to Nick Clegg and Ed Miliband as 'quislings' for seeking to overturn the result. This gets President Schultz very animated.

Farage continues, stating that "every single day... is a lost opportunity" - we must serve Article 50 as soon as possible given that we are paying net £30m every day. He also criticises the newly-found fact that 5% of EU employees can retire 5 years early and receive full pay and entitlements for 5 years for "doing absolutely nothing". This is vintage Farage - enjoy. Watch the 6 min video.

EU leaders gather for a two-day summit that has already become a debacle

EU leaders set out to think big at their autumn summit. Instead, they are on the edge of a big fail, before they even sit down to meet. A step-back discussion on long-term Russia policy has been hijacked by events in Syria. Hopes of sealing a trade deal with Canada have been dashed by regional Belgian lawmakers. As Prime Minister Theresa May attends her very first European summit on Thursday, the EU could hardly have put on a better display of dysfunction and disarray to justify her country’s decision to bow out of the whole mess. Read the article on the Politico website.

The European Union's Court of Auditors has failed to give the accounts a clean bill of health for the 22nd year in a row. The report, which can be read here, blasts the payments underlying the accounts as being 'materially affected by error', leading the Court to issue an adverse opinion on the legality and regularity of the payments underlying the accounts. Read the article on the UKIP national website.

Euro 'house of cards' to collapse, warns ECB prophet

The European Central Bank is becoming dangerously over-extended and the whole euro project is unworkable in its current form, the founding architect of the monetary union has warned.

"One day, the house of cards will collapse,” said Professor Otmar Issing, the ECB's first chief economist and a towering figure in the construction of the single currency. Read the article in the Daily Telegraph.

UKIP question on safety of UK lorry drivers dismissed by EU as ‘offensive to migrants'

UKIP have reacted with fury after they were told they could be refused permission to grill senior eurocrats over the safety of British truck drivers in Calais - after Brussels ruled their question ‘offensive’ to migrants. Read the article in the Daily Express.