Lords on vitamins
The Telegraph has an update about the vote in the House of Lords on the European Union curbs on the sale of vitamins and mineral food supplements. Peers voted by a majority of 53 last night to call...
View ArticleAmendments
This article is from nearly a week ago, but it is of interest still, I think: Newspaper owners responsible for publishing racist or xenophobic articles in Britain are to be protected from being sent...
View ArticleEU privacy ‘blocking terror fight’
CNN reports that America’s top security official has urged European leaders to cooperate with U.S. demands to share information on airline passengers such as names, place of birth and date of birth,...
View ArticleLiberty groups attack plan for EU health ID card
Disturbing news in the Telegraph about the European Union taking its first step last week towards the creation of an EU-wide health identity card able to store a range of biometric and personal data on...
View ArticleThis EU road pricing system is more intrusive than what they want to forbid,...
Patrick Crozier of Transport Blog links to this piece from last August at Tollroadnews about the EU banning one kind of road pricing technology, in order to make things easier for its own preferred...
View ArticleSchengen Information System and Biometrics
It was very hard to pick the correct category for this particular (if outdated) story: European Union, Civil Liberties or Biometrics. The Schengen system is the agreement between European Union Member...
View ArticleEuropean Roundup: Arrest Warrants and Healthcards
First of all, the new European arrest warrant was exercised today for the first time. Michael Kurt was wanted in Sweden on drink-driving charges and was arrested in Alicante. He will be taken back to...
View ArticleEU collects PNR as well!
In Euractiv, it is reported that the next Justice and Home Affairs Council on the 19th-20th February will pass a draft directive authorising the collection of Passenger Name Record (PNR) data from...
View ArticleBlunkett raises spectre of fingerprinting entire EU population!
Mentioned en passant in another alarming article in which David Blunkett threatens yet further abridgements of civil liberties under the guise of ‘fighting terrorism’, it is noted he and the European...
View ArticleEU accepts UK anti-terrorism surveillance plans
10 Downing St says the EU Justice Council has agreed to all UK anti-terrorism proposals, including communications data retention standards. The Council: agreed to establish new common standards for...
View ArticleTesting the EU Arrest Warrant
The European Union instituted a European wide arrest warrant in order to speed extradition between Member States, without providing some of the basic precautions that a citizen would expect before...
View ArticleFingering EU
A reader forwards the following information: On October 25th, without any consultation, the Council of European Union introduced a change to this legislation, calling for the mandatory fingerprinting...
View ArticleOne way to be a media celeb is to be a lousy finance minister
This item at the EconLog blog caught my eye. It has the ring of truth about it: And yet, good for him, this is exactly the outcome of his short time in Greek government. As a Minister, he has nothing...
View ArticleBritain leaving the EU will be disruptive: that is (mostly) good
In recent years it has become fashionable to hail changes and technologies that are “disruptive”. The example of Uber, the business that Brian Micklethwait of this parish and others have saluted, being...
View ArticleYou are not allowed to play our game, nyah, nyah, nyah
The Guardian is covering German finance minister Wolfgang Schäuble’s interview comments that he will not let Britain play with him or his EU friends if it does not do what he wants. Germany’s finance...
View ArticleDiscussion point: would you miss it?
Donald Tusk: Brexit could destroy western political civilisation
View ArticleThe one-world government logic of Remain
One of the arguments of those wishing the UK to stay in the European Union is that if the UK decides to leave, it will still need to accept most, if not all, EU laws if the UK wants to continue to...
View ArticleIn partial defence of two Red Princes
Over the last two days two scions of notable political families have attracted controversy related to the referendum. In a leaked telephone call, Will Straw, Remain campaign director and son of Jack...
View ArticleSamizdata quote of the day
“England has saved herself by her exertions, and will, as I trust, save Europe by her example.” – William Pitt, the Younger
View ArticleThe risks we run
In all the talk and words about the UK Brexit vote last Thursday, a regular line is that the Leave side has been “misled”, and doesn’t know what it is doing, and it is going to have buyer’s remorse,...
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