Herman and Cathy

The controversial posts of EU President and High Representative have now been chosen and it is to be a Belgian, unsurprisingly, and a Brit, but not Blair. Lots of questions being asked which you may have a view on - are Van Rompuy and Ashton too obscure to make a difference or are they the consensus builders that an organisation with 27 members needs? Is Baroness Ashton experienced enough for the post? What is the message the powerful countries are sending out about the future direction of the EU? See here for some articles and links from the BBC.

Constitution passion

A passionate argument is put forward in favour of a written constitution for the UK in the Times today by Antonia Senior, see here. She argues that our system is broken and that, particularly on Europe, changes are being made that we do not have a say in. She believes that a written (codified) constitution or at least a debate on one, would change this. What do you think?

The Irish decide

Today is the Irish referendum on the Lisbon Treaty. The fate of 26 other countries, all who have now ratified the Treaty, depend on Ireland's decision. Have a look at the Irish Times site here for news, background to the Treaty and comment.