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So says Geoffrey Wheatcroft, an English journalist,  in an August 5 article in The New Republic. This, even though the new British Prime Minister David Cameron, on a recent visit to Turkey, said that Turkey should join the E.U. as soon as possible. Wheatcroft bases his argument largely on the economic and demographic disparities between Turkey and the rest of the Union.

So says Geoffrey Wheatcroft, an English journalist,  in an August 5 article in The New Republic. This, even though the new British Prime Minister David Cameron, on a recent visit to Turkey, said that Turkey should join the E.U. as soon as possible. Wheatcroft bases his argument largely on the economic and demographic disparities between Turkey and the rest of the Union.

Austrian writer Robert Menasse recently spent some time at the European Union institutions in Brussels on a research trip for a new novel that will be set in Europe in the year 2030. Formerly rather critical of the EU, the experience has led him to substantially change his mind and look elsewhere for the failures of the Union and underlying causes of discontent. In an essay for Graz-based Kleine Zeitung and several subsequent newspaper and radio interviews, he has elaborated on his observations and thoughts.

Britain and other European Union countries put their weight behind Franco-German calls for tougher eurozone rules at a summit today (29 October), agreeing on "limited" changes to the EU's main treaty in return for a cap on the EU budget.

Officials struggled to deliver the message that legal tricks could accommodate both Germany's push for treaty change and conflicting calls from several other countries which had rejected the idea. Regarding treaty change, the key word is "simplified", officials explained. A simplified provision, enshrined in Article 48, Section 6 of the Lisbon Treaty, allows member countries to unanimously adopt a decision amending all or part of the main elements of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU (TFEU), which governs how the Union carries out its work. Such a procedure would avoid the need to call a constitutional convention, experts explained. In addition, the European Parliament would only be "consulted" instead of enjoying full voting rights as part of the normal co-decision procedure. The changes to the treaty are to be settled by mid-2013, before the expiry of the present emergency fund agreed earlier this year to deal with crises such as the one that hit Greece. The objective is to replace that with a permanent mechanism. The simplified treaty change procedure will not enter into force until it is approved by member states in accordance with their constitutions. Most EU countries are expected to ratify the decision by a simplified procedure in their parliaments. As for Ireland, it remains unclear whether a change effected in this way would require another referendum.

UK Prime Minister David Cameron appears to have been instrumental in forging a deal, lending his backing to Franco-German calls for treaty change in return for keeping a lid on the EU's 2011 budget. 11 member states, including Britain, France and Germany, will send a letter to the European Commission and Parliament today saying that their plans to increase the EU budget by 5.9% in 2011 are "especially unacceptable at a time when we are having to take difficult decisions at national level to control public expenditure". The letter was signed by the leaders of the UK, Germany, France, the Netherlands, Sweden, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Austria, Finland, Slovenia and Estonia. The bloc's finance ministers had earlier voted for a limited increase in the EU budget of 2.9%. "We are clear that we cannot accept any more than the 2.9% increase proposed by the finance ministers," the leaders say in the letter. Cameron argued that a planned increase in the EU budget would cost his country's taxpayers the equivalent of one billion euros. The 2.9% rise would still cost them £435m (500m euros). Parliament to fight back By agreeing to cap the budget, EU leaders set themselves on a collision course with the European parliament, which has the power to approve or reject the proposed budget. Negotiations between the European Parliament and the Council, which represents the 27 member countries, over the EU's 2011 budget kicked off on 27 October (see 'Background'). "If Cameron is prepared to give up the British rebate [...] then we can for sure discuss a reduction of the budget," said Martin Schulz, leader of the Socialist & Democrats group in the European Parliament, speaking to EUX.TV, the European policy news channel powered by EurActiv. "The European budget is not to be compared with national budgets," said Schulz. "There are no own resources. We have no European taxes. We have no own money. It is money coming from the member states. We can make no debts. The British budget must be reduced because there is enormous debt. Europe has no debts," he said.

Ireland's fiscal sovereignty was hanging by a thread late on Tuesday evening (16 November) as eurozone finance ministers announced that EU and IMF overseers were to head to Dublin to supervise preparations for a fresh round of cuts for the next four years to ensure that they are as deep as necessary. Print Comment article Dublin appeared to stand up to massive pressure from the European Central Bank and other countries that use the euro, particularly Spain and Portugal, to sign up to a bail-out, with Taoiseach Brian Cowen announcing to the Dail, the country's parliament, that the debt-addled country will not apply for assistance.

Earlier in the afternoon, the Wall Street Journal reported that finance ministers were in fact looking at a dual package of between €45 and €50 billion to bail out Irish banks and a broader sum of €80 to €100 billion to shore up the country's public finances, quoting unnamed sources. One contact close to the discussions told EUobserver they "could neither confirm nor deny" the report, while another said the numbers in the Wall Street Journal article "are not a figment of anyone's imagination." In such a situation, reported the WSJ, the IMF would chip in about half the aid that the EU and the UK together would provide. The non-eurozone UK is reportedly under pressure to contribute to any deal, given the heavy exposure of British banks in Ireland, particularly RBS, although Prime Minister David Cameron has recently voiced support for the idea of bilateral financial support for its one-time colony. Shares in UK financial institutions have slid over the past week as a result of the tumult.

The Dayton peace agreement ended the war in Bosnia 15 years ago by effectively dividing the former Yugoslav republic along ethnic lines, but today that accord is an obstacle to the country’s development and European integration. The deal, brokered by the United States and accepted by Serbian, Croat and Bosnian leaders November 21, 1995, created a state with weak central authority and powerful, nearly sovereign ethnic entities.

It was about that time, in 2000, that Bosnia outgrew the Dayton peace agreement. The compromises aimed at preventing any side from gaining the upper hand led to the country’s political paralysis. With all the power concentrated in ethnic communities, fiery nationalist rhetoric remains a much safer bet for politicians than declaring a willingness to negotiate and compromise.

“Bosnia’s key problem is a vision of its future shared by political leaders,” an EU enlargement official, Dimitris Kourkoulas, said recently in Sarajevo. Until Bosnia finds a way to move forward, its Muslims, Serbs and Croats will remain stuck halfway between Dayton and Brussels, between the fatigued EU and their own bickering leaders.