Blog

On Sunday evening, two separate fires broke out in the Samos Refugee camp. There are more than 100 people without even the most basic...

Next April will mark the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement. It seems like yesterday that Tony Blair felt the “hand of...

As David Gillick said, Europe came to Dublin last weekend and what an amazing occasion it was. Thousands of men and women from around...

Chancellor Merkel may be in the waning days of her extraordinary tenure but she has lost none of her influence. Surefooted on COVID, she...

There are 705 Members of the European Parliament, down from 751 since the UK left earlier this year. Most people would be hard-pressed to...

Last week I wrote about the Renew Europe think-in of 100 MEPs in Paris. Later that week, I went straight to Cavan for a couple of days of...

Although my mother was given a due date of 24th April 1967, I did not arrive into the world until almost a full month later on the 16th...

This column is supposed to be about Ireland and the EU so I may be taking a liberty in writing about the Euro 2020 soccer tournament...

As so often in public policy, the European Council is in danger of fighting the last war. The easy dismissal of mutualised debt post 2010...

Summary note by Billy Kelleher MEP and Barry Andrews MEP 6th May 2020 As an open trading nation, Ireland needs a well-functioning and...

Weird yuletide traditions Most Irish people like to be at home for Christmas. So, they know relatively little about Christmas traditions...

EU leaders were stunned to learn that 17 African countries abstained on the UN vote to condemn Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. However, a...

The leadership of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) is being fought between Sir Jeffrey Donaldson and Edwin Poots. The latter is a...

Four related things happened last week. If not already obvious, I will explain the connection at the end. But in summary, for those of us...

It’s a big deal to be given a legislative file in the European Parliament. At the start of September I was appointed by my group to be...

Anti-lockdown campaigns are spreading across Europe. Governments need to be strong in the face of these protests and be clear and honest...

A surprising sub-plot of the Afghan crisis was the effort to evacuate an animal sanctuary. The British owner of the Kabul pet sanctuary...

The world of disinformation came to my desk last week with extraordinary force. According to some of the 5000 emails I received, what I...

There is a book called ‘Heirs to Forgotten Kingdoms’ by Gerard Russell that describes all the religions that are in decline in the Middle...

When I worked in GOAL we had a thing called ‘kidnap and ransom’ insurance. K&R operated like any other insurance product although nobody...

The Government has already adopted a curious position on the Conference on the Future of Europe before it has started. Effectively,...

Below is an article I wrote in 2015 about Brian Lenihan and I thought it would be appropriate to republish it here on the 10th...

In the UK, the stigma against breaking international law, domestic law and constitutional norms has been significantly eroded since Boris...

Last week, Michel Barnier was awarded European of the Year in a virtual ceremony organised by the European Movement in Ireland. In...