St Andrews For Europe

14/06/2019

The campaign team that created this page mostly graduated. If you would be interested in taking it over to continue this positive platform for pro EU campaigning please get in touch! A message to the page is ideal.

06/09/2017

What shall become of Northern Ireland? Part 1: Politics. My own column on my homeland published by VoteWatch Europe - one of the most prominent think tanks in Brussels. Many thanks to Leo Mulholland and Patrick Thompson for your expert contributions.

http://www.votewatch.eu/blog/what-shall-become-of-northern-ireland-post-brexit-part-1-politics-in-britains-most-fragile-region/

The think tank most followed by European Parliamentarians

06/05/2017

https://www.ft.com/content/5df9835e-28dd-11e7-bc4b-5528796fe35c

We back Emmanual Macron in tomorrow's election. Of the two candidates, he is more capable of restoring vitality to the France's sluggish economy, restoring France's place in Europe and the world, and combating terrorism. Most developed economies have to deal with these problems, Macron does not fall into the trap of offering easy solutions with soundbites.

He took a huge risk in running as an independent and has been handsomely rewarded

01/05/2017

https://www.ft.com/content/b2c842a6-2b64-11e7-bc4b-5528796fe35c

The European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruled in 2015 that it was acceptable for Britain to be home to euro-clearing, even though it was outside the Eurozone. The situation is very different when a country is outside the EU altogether. Is such action by the EU punishment, or reciprocity? Is it being spiteful, or a normal reaction to seismic event?

Plans seek EU policing or operators’ relocation for €850bn-a-day business

23/04/2017

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2017/apr/23/tony-blair-vote-tory-or-lib-dem-where-they-are-open-minded-on-brexit

The General Election provides a great opportunity to reach a much softer Brexit than the previous direction of travel had intended. Predicted gains for pro-European Liberal Democrats and pro-European Conservatives may well achieve this. This explains the rise in the value of sterling after the announcement.

Blair’s call for voters to consider backing Conservatives or Lib Dems to maximise MPs willing to vote against ‘hard Brexit’ seen as unhelpful by party figures

22/12/2016

Merry Christmas All ... Thanks to all those who supported us during the referendum. We'll end the year on a happy note, Estonia was a close contender in The Economist's country of the year competition.'It is only a single generation since Estonia was a wretched colony of the Soviet Union, now it looks almost Nordic'
It is one of the few members of NATO to keep to its 2% GDP spending commitment, its schoolchildren were some of the highest performing in PISA tests. It is one of the few countries that has a budget surplus. The home of Skype, It is now a start up hub - Startup Estonia. Neighbours Lithuania and Latvia are not far behind them, the Eurozone Baltics steaming ahead. These things don't make the news. Anyway, well done Baltics, well done Estonia! Happy New Year...

http://www.economist.com/news/leaders/21712136-which-country-improved-most-2016-our-country-year?fsrc=scn%2Ffb%2Fte%2Fbl%2Fed%2Fthestateofstatesourcountryoftheyear

13/12/2016

Nearly 7 months after Brexit, we've decided to comment from time to time on the negotiations and on European affairs. We will advocate that Britain follows the closest possible relationship to the EU. We'd love to hear your thoughts and ideas about what could follow in private messages.

In the meantime, here's an article from VoteWatch, an influential think tank in Brussels. asking 'Is Brexit a Blessing in disguise?'

VoteWatch European Parliament

30/10/2016

Today the EU and Canada signed an historic free trade deal - CETA. It is a very high quality deal, not one in which one side buys out the other, or one side floods the other's markets with their products or capital. At the same time, this deal safeguards diverse interests, from executive search rights in Slovenia to farmer's rights in Quebec.

One of the Leave Campaign's central arguments was that we will be able to free ourselves from the shackles of Brussels and sign free trade deals with other, fast growing parts of the world, such as the former commonwealth. This always ignored the fact that Germany trades more with the emerging markets than the UK (from within the EU). Today's events also show that the EU has for a long time been satisfying British hunger for free trade deals abroad, with a commonwealth focus. A report by British Influence deals with this in depth and can be found here:http://www.anthonybailey.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/Brexit-the-Commonwealth-Dimension-1.pdf

Trade deals seldom include services, take a long time to negotiate and are very complicated, CETA took 7 years. As such, it makes sense to negotiate as blocs. Should we leave the customs union, we will have to renegotiate access to this great deal and the 50+ other quality deals which the EU has with other countries around the world.

A historic juncture in EU-Canada political and economic partnership. For more info see: http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-16-3582_en.htm

30/06/2016

One Week ON - The European Independence referendum has been a long and turbulent journey. A journey that did not have the ending anyone at St Andrews for Europe had ever imagined.
We are very proud of the campaign as it was positive and honest and did not hide behind deceit and fabrication. Some ballot boxes were coming back overwhelmingly for remain as well as postal votes being extremely high from students abroad. The university itself maintains it’s internationalist identity and we are happy to say the campaign represented this.
We are extremely disappointed in the result of the referendum and will continue to ask ourselves whether we could have done more. However the St Andrews for Europe group will not give up and we will continue to highlight the positive impact of the European Union to individuals at the university and in the town.
There is a great deal of discussion over what will happen to the European Union and the United Kingdom itself but we hope that the future will be stable and progressive no matter the outcome. St Andrews will continue to be an international town with friends from all across the EU and the rest of the world. We would hope that these individuals feel no less welcome than previously, and as September comes ever nearer that they can continue to call St Andrews home.
The referendum has highlighted many issues concerning the economy, security, immigration and human rights but most importantly, for us, it has emphasised an issue of identity. From birth till death we will be European Union citizens and will continue to fight for our European identity.

22/06/2016

I'm often asked where my dedication to the European project comes from. People often think it is the Irish experience - seeing a backwater turned into a financial hub in one generation because it was inserted into the wider market system of the European Union. That is to a certain extent true. But my main inspiration comes from my study of International Relations, together with some stints I've done outside of Europe which have made me believe we have taken for granted that we work together with our neighbours.

Latin America still cannot reach mature economic development, and peace in the Middle East remains a chimera, with various proxy wars being fought in the region. By contrast, Europe stands as an example of how achieve regional peace and prosperity,

Indeed, we are seeing the beginnings of the European trade bloc model being copied in other parts of the world. But still, in what other continent of the world are there transfers of wealth from the rich parts to the poor parts? In what other continent of the world can students study in each others' universities, retire on each others' beaches, work in each others' factories? What other continent has put an end to one thousand years of war?

We stand a matter of hours away from potentially breaking up the most successful venture in peace, prosperity, harmony, and cooperation in human history ...

21/06/2016

Nearing the end of the road. Here are two short articles from our Founder and Coordinator, Sean McLaughlin
1. The Information war in the referendum
https://sm218.wordpress.com/2016/06/21/information-war-in-the-european-union-debate/
2. The Unwilling Captain - Britain and the EU
https://sm218.wordpress.com/2016/06/21/the-unwilling-captain-britain-and-the-european-union/

20/06/2016

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iAgKHSNqxa8

Preach John Oliver, preach.
If you're still making up your mind about how you should vote on June 23rd, watch this Brit abroad give his critique of why it's best to stay in Europe.

Britain could soon vote to leave the European Union. John Oliver enlists a barbershop quartet to propose a smarter option. Connect with Last Week Tonight onl...