One diner’s casual satisfaction is another’s fight to survive. Deeply aware of being a tourist in an age of mass migration, Fay Young enjoys one of the best meals of her life cooked by a warm-hearted refugee in Imad’s Syrian Kitchen.
Brexit’s most elaborate fudge may not save May
‘The question is not whether the EU will accept or reject these plans. Of course it will reject them. The question is whether the EU will engage in discussion about a future trade relationship, even knowing what these plans are.’
Brexit, devolution and local government
‘One thing is clear – the days of a neat division of powers between UK, Scottish and local government are gone. Brexit will paradoxically make these multilevel dynamics very much like those of the regionalised states in the EU27,’ the bead of COSLA office in Brussels writes.
The future of Europe depends on democracy
‘I call them the cheerleaders of Putin – Farage, Le Pen, Wilders. They were doing only one thing. They take the money from the Kremlin. They take the intelligence of the Kremlin. Like Mr Arron Banks, for example, the friend of Mr Farage. ..’ (Guy Verhofstadt)
Brexit and the coming break-up of Britain
Westminster and the three devolved governments should conclude a new constitutional settlement for pooling sovereignty within the UK, with fresh powers and competences given to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland to control their people’s destinies. Otherwise, it will only undermine the current devolution settlement and assume even greater central powers in the name of national (UK) sovereignty’.
May’s unpalatable choice: concede or #indyref2
‘The polls do not indicate a pro-independence surge, but after the shock of 2016 only a fool would predict the outcome with confidence. Westminster could in principle refuse to allow another referendum, but emulating Madrid’s handling of Catalonia would surely not be the right course of action.’
Kicking the can down the road to Norway
‘ The story of betrayal is already being constructed. It is a dispiriting prophecy that foretells we will still be arguing about our relationship with Europe, and only that, in four years’ time’.
A leur façon: the French and pop music
‘This further reinforces a sense of opposition to the system, yet while French rap artists address burning social issues, they incorporate French regard for poetry and philosophy to achieve music more lyrical and subtle than that of their American counterparts.’
Forget Brexit! The EU needs to reform
‘In the continental pre-summit debate, Brexit hardly gets a mention. The June summit is seen as the great test of President Macron’s ability to deliver some form of credible reform plan. The precise details may be less important than a sense of a clear direction of travel – the impression that the EU is willing to look beyond its familiar muddle and fudge and take charge of its own destiny.’
Scotland, Northern Ireland and Brexit
“With the UK taking Scotland in a direction that most of the public do not support, the alienation of Scotland from the rest of the UK should be of great concern – however it appears that London’s attention would only be secured if there was growing support for Scottish independence.”