By Giles Chichester MEP

10th September 2008

When reflecting on the role Conservative MEPs play in the European Parliament one must emphasise how different things are from the House of Commons. There is no government, no opposition and no majority in the house. At home we represent huge areas comprising many multiples of Westminster seats and, crucially, we represent all those parts of England, Wales and Scotland not presently blessed with a Conservative MP in their constituency.

By George Parker in Berlin

The Conservative leader’s meeting with Ms Merkel in Berlin is the latest stage in a charm offensive designed to rebuild a relationship badly damaged after he decided to pull the Tories out of the main centre-right grouping in the European parliament.

Mr Cameron has also invested in his relationship with Nicolas Sarkozy, the French president, who also opposes Mr Cameron’s decision to withdraw the Tories from the “federalist” European People’s party after next year’s European elections.

From The Daily Telegraph 26/08/2008

By David Cameron and Mirek Topolánek

It is now more than two weeks since Russian forces moved into Georgia, and Russia continues to flout the terms of the ceasefire it signed. For Czechs, Russia’s invasion of Georgia has had a particular historical resonance.

Forty years ago, Moscow invaded Czechoslovakia. Tanks and troops rolled into the country to crush the so-called Prague Spring, the flowering of free speech and liberal reform.

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A wake-up call for the "special relationship"

From The Times (23 July 2008)

Sir, In his warning to Barack Obama about the EU, William Rees-Mogg (Opinion, July 21) falls into the UK-centric trap of assuming that Washingtons view across the Atlantic should only be seen in the context of a special relationship with the UK. I would beg to differ.

The UK has officially ratified the Lisbon Treaty. Conservative Group for Europe Chairman Ian Taylor MP welcomed the move, stating:

'I wholeheartedly support the UK’s decision to ratify the Lisbon Treaty. The move draws the process of Parliamentary scrutiny to its logical conclusion and should be welcomed by proponents of Parliamentary sovereignty as well as supporters of the Treaty itself.

From Robert Walter MP

Sir, Philip Stephens' call for Britain and France to do a deal on European defence in their own self-interest is both timely and obvious ("The pressing logic of Anglo-French defence", July 15). Both nations have aspirations for foreign policy projection and military technology beyond their individual budget capacities.

As some 500 people gathered in The Hague to celebrate the 60th Anniversary of the original Congress, from whose small beginnings grew the European Union as we know it today, it was timely to remember the difficulties and dangers posed to those delegates in 1948, and to reflect on how the Union sees its future.

By Timothy Garton Ash

By Willem Buiter

The case for the UK shedding sterling and adopting the euro has never been clearer.