Europe

[Furunculus]

the level of intelligence and technology cooperation between the US, UK, Oz and Canada is pretty fundamental, i don't see that changing any time soon.

[gaelic cowboy]

I thinking more population wise USA will experience a more hispanic/mexican future hell some people are even trying to legislate aginast it in Arizona. Its not neccessarily a given the the USA will care a fig for Britain's strategic future as she orients even more to the south and east the west ie the old world will decline in importance.

So Britain does not want anything to do with Europe thats fine just dont assume as junior partner that your input is required for the future just cos it was useful in the past.

[Furunculus]

i'm not afraid of britain carving it own path in the world (albeit one in close cooperation with Europe), because as long as we retain the second most potent expeditionary capability (and the will to employ it) we will be a valuable partner, and we will always be a useful link between the two halves of NATO.

[Furunculus]

Hague just delivered a terrific speech on Foreign Policy, lets hope the words match the deeds:

http://www.politicshome.com/uk/artic...speech%29.html

.....................For although the world has become more multilateral as I have described, it has also become more bilateral. Relations between individual countries matter, starting with our unbreakable alliance with the United States which is our most important relationship and will remain so. Our shared history, value and interests, our tightly linked economies and strong habits of working together at all levels will ensure that the US will remain our biggest single level for achieving our international goals.

.....................Furthermore within groupings such as the EU, it is no longer sensible or indeed possible to focus our effort on the largest countries at the expense of smaller members. Of course France and Germany remain our crucial partners which is why the Prime Minister visited them in his first days in office. But for the UK to exert influence and generate creative new approaches to foreign policy challenges we need to look further and wider. The EU is at its best as a changing network where its members can make the most of what each country brings to the table. We are already seeking to work with many of the smaller member states in new and more flexible ways, recognising where individual countries or groupings within the EU add particular value. To take just one example, newer member states which were formerly under Soviet control have a wealth of experience of the transition to democracy after decades of dominion which they could share with EU candidate countries and others further afield. That should be built into the European Union’s approach to common foreign and security policy.

................I have begun discussing how we could form an initiative in this area with the Foreign Ministers of some of these countries. We should also see the value of Turkey’s future membership of the European Union in this light. Turkey is Europe’s biggest emerging economy and a good example of a country developing a new role and new links for itself, partly on top of and partly outside of existing structures and alliances and is highly active in the Western Balkans, the wider Middle East and Central Asia. We will make a particular diplomatic effort to work with Turkey, starting with a major visit by the Turkish Foreign Minister to Britain next week at my invitation.

................And fifth, we are determined as a Government to give due weight to Britain’s membership of the EU and other multilateral institutions. It is mystifying to us that the previous Government failed to give due weight to the exercise of British influence in the EU. They neglected to ensure that sufficient numbers of bright British officials entered EU institutions, and so we now face a generation gap developing in the British presence in parts of the EU where early decisions and early drafting take place. Since 2007, the number of British officials at Director level in the European Commission has fallen by a third and we have 205 fewer British officials in the Commission overall. The UK represents 12% of the EU population. Despite that, at entry-level policy grades in the Commission, the UK represents just 1.8% of the staff, well under the level of other major EU member states. So the idea that the last government was serious about advancing Britain’s influence in Europe turns out to be an unsustainable fiction. Consoling themselves with the illusion that agreeing to institutional changes much desired by others gave an appearance of British centrality in the EU, they neglected to launch any new initiative to work with smaller nations and presided over a decline in the holding of key European positions by British personnel. As a new Government we are determined to put this right.

looking good..........

[Subotan]

I am much more pleased by the first inkling's of the Coalition's Europe policy than I thought I would be. Isn't that strange? Although with point five, let us hope that a change in policy doesn't just result in monoglot, Eurosceptics being stuffed into posts rather than people who want and can do the job

[Furunculus]

I am much more pleased by the first inkling's of the Coalition's Europe policy than I thought I would be. Isn't that strange? Although with point five, let us hope that a change in policy doesn't just result in monoglot, Eurosceptics being stuffed into posts rather than people who want and can do the job

as hannan has often noted, it is often the europhiles who are monoglot, and it is both a cheap and innaccurate slur to label skeptics of EU federalism as monoglots.

[Subotan]

I was referring to the likes of Ashton with the monoglot reference that Eurosceptics, hence why I put Eurosceptics in as well.