15 Most Recent Stories From Liberal Democrat European Group (LDEG) News Stories

Wed 12th May 2010:

What does the coalition agreement say about the EU?

We agree that the British Government will be a positive participant in the European Union, playing a strong and positive role with our partners, with the goal of ensuring that all the nations of Europe are equipped to face the challenges of the 21st century: global competitiveness, global warming and global poverty.

Britain told it must fend for itself in the event of a crisis.

Britain cannot rely on any help from the EU in the event of another financial crisis after refusing to sign up to the rescue package for the eurozone says the head of the French financial markets, according to the Telegraph and EUObserver.

Mon 10th May 2010:

EU agrees Euro support.

The European Union will set up around half a trillion euros to protect weaker eurozone nations from market speculation. Finance Ministers agreed on the 'European Financial Stabilisation Mechanism' over the weekend. The European Central Bank has also said it will buy government bonds. Markets shot up on Monday in response to the news.

Wed 5th May 2010:

Why Nick Clegg IS Democracy.

Two new articles have been added to our briefings page written by Kevin Hannon of LDEG and the European Movement. The first tells us why recent happenings mean that Nick Clegg represents democracy. The second tells us why UK Generals should be voting for the Lib Dems.

Why Europe should be an issue in your campaigning!

Previously Tory MEP, Edward McMillan-Scott, now a Liberal Democrat, writes in The Guardian of how David Cameron's controversial European alliance is set to unravel even further. He also talks of how William Hague had distanced himself from Cameron's desire to associate with extremists including anti-Semitics, and homophobics. Edward says that, "Most people, including many Tories in touch with me, think that Cameron's strategy is simply bad for Britain."

Sat 24th Apr 2010:

Nick gets opportunity to talk about EU.

Europe was one of the main topics debated in the second party leaders election debate on Thursday 22 April. This is no doubt the first time that the EU has featured so prominently in a general election campaign. In the debate, which was initially focused on foreign affairs, Nick Clegg who was once a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for the East Midlands, was given the opportunity to set out the reasons why the Liberal Democrats are pro-Europe. For once, the British public was able to hear an honest debate rather than Eurosceptic propaganda.

Britain's election: the most European ever?

The European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR) says that governments across Europe are concerned that a UK government led by David Cameron could prove deeply Eurosceptic. However, Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg's recent surge in the polls suggests that a coalition government might be the result of the 6 May election. In his latest paper, Daniel Korski of ECFR argues that the rise of the Liberal Democrats may make this the most European general election yet in Britain and it is causing waves of excitement across Europe.

Thu 8th Apr 2010:

event - Britain, Europe and the General Election.

The Federal Trust are hosting a conference in London entitled "BRITAIN, EUROPE AND THE GENERAL ELECTION" on 14 April 2010, 15.00 for 15.30 - 19.00 followed by a drinks reception. At this conference they will be considering the European policies of the main British parties and asking how far they will be in a position to carry these policies out after the next General Election.

Europe on the doorstep.

Sarah Ludford MEP wrote the following in 2005. The parts below still seem to be very relevant now in 2010, giving helpful answers to some Euromyths and anti-EU opinions that could be met on the doorstep.

Richard Corbett on Lisbon.

Richard Corbett, former MEP, and now member of the cabinet of the President of the European Council, Herman Van Rompuy, spoke at the Federal Union conference on 6 March. Keith Best reports: Richard Corbett commenced by asking the audience if they could think of any other international structure as democratic as the EU with a directly elected Parliament etc and they concluded that there is none. All EU legislation requires prior scrutiny by the national parliaments, then the agreement of both the Council of Ministers and the EU Parliament. Thus, there is first an eight week period for national parliaments to look at draft legislation.

More websites giving info on Europe.

Here is another website that might be of interest to some: http://www.euroalter.com

Sun 21st Mar 2010:

Europe is a Vote Winner! .

According to a Liberator article, Hammersmith & Fulham Liberal Democrats have found that including Europe and European issues in their normal campaign strategy broadens their appeal and contributes to electoral success. Three years ago, they committed to having at least one article dedicated to a European issue in all their Focuses and campaign leaflets. Pan-European issues like air quality, carbon storage and recycling were given a local slant. This was sometimes easy - air quality resonates with residents up in arms about a third runway at Heathrow - but sometimes more challenging. However, inspiration, facts and figures were all readily available from campaigning Lib Dem MEPs like Chris Davies. Read on:

Tory MEP Edward McMillan-Scott joins the Liberal Democrats.

Graham Watson tells us the good news that Tory MEP Edward McMillan-Scott, former leader of the UK Tory MEPs and now a Vice President (deputy speaker) of the European Parliament, joined us last week. He is the third Tory MEP that Graham has helped to persuade to join the Liberal Democrats in his fifteen years as an MEP. (The first was James Moorhouse and the second Bill Newton-Dunn.) The Tory party's position on Europe makes serving in the EP extremely difficult for Conservative MEPs. For more information read our new third edition of EuroFile.

Fri 12th Mar 2010:

EuroFile 3 now available.

EuroFile 3 is now available. It includes interesting articles written by our MEPs on Liberal power within the EU; on environmental issues; on UKIP and the Tories; on the crisis in Greece; on CAP reform; on airport body scanners; and on many more important issues that our hard-working MEPs are involved with on a daily basis.

Thu 11th Mar 2010:

Diana Wallis stops personal attack against Catherine Ashton.

During a parliamentary debate chaired by UK Liberal Democrat MEP Diana Wallis, a Vice President of the parliament, a UKIP MEP began to make personal insults against High Representative Catherine Ashton. Diana switched off his microphone. Later it was necessary for the man to be removed from the building due to his angry behaviour. Diana has posted a video on her website regarding the incident.

Earlier Stories

Complete archive on the official site.