Central London Europe Group
a branch of the European Movement
 

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Join the European Movement

Building a new consensus for Europe

Even with a referendum on the EU constitution deferred, Europe remains centre stage in British politics. On no other issue do the public have to contend with such a weight of misinformation and propaganda from the media and elsewhere. Almost twenty years of anti-European conditioning have secured a fundamental - but ill-conceived and unsoundly-based - change of attitudes.

As the European Movement's section for inner London, Central London Europe Group's task is, within this area and where necessary throughout London, to help unravel that. We are under no illusions as to the size of the complexity of the task!

We hope you will want to join CLEG and contribute to the historic challenge that confronts us.

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CLEG AGM

Our AGM takes place on Monday 12th May - at King;s College London Franklin-Wilkins Building, Stamford Street, SE1 with speaker Peter Luff, chairman of European Movement-UK. For details please see Events.

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From Europe With Love

Celebrate Europe Day 2008 with a night of classic and contemporary European cinema. After an overdose of treaties and legislation, it's time to put it all aside, relax and enjoy our shared culture with the continent.

CLEG will be supporting From Europe With Love - the EM's all-night European film festival for Europe Day. Prince Charles Cinema, Leicester Place, WC2.

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Lisbon treaty

CLEG's programme for 2008 began with an evening conference on the reform treaty - Tuesday 11th March at St Bride's, EC4. Speakers included EM-UK president, Rt Hon Charles Kennedy MP. For full details - and recordings of two of the speeches - see Events.

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Speak Up Europe

Last year, CLEG took an active part in the Speak Up Europe campaign, supported by the information network Europe Direct and intended for the public.

Successful events, all at St Bride's EC4, took place on:

  • 27th March: Keeping the lights on... (Energy security in Europe);

  • 23rd May: China - opportunity or threat - how Europe is or should be contending with the emerging superpower.

  • 11th October: What has the EU done for women?

    Please see Events for further details on all these successful past events.

What has Europe ever done for us?" is an all too familiar rhetorical question from those of a different persuasion! Answers may be found on the new site as above...

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EM - the national perspective

CLEG try to contribute strongly to the European Movement nationally - and has continued to do for the past year with:

  • Richard Laming elected secretary of EM-UK;

  • John Preston and Richard Wassell elected to the EM national executive;

  • Jason Williams elected to the EM National Council;

  • Isabel Obert elected London branches representative to the National Council;

  • Richard Wassell taking over as national coordinator of the EM's flagship Speak Up Europe campaign.

They are all introduced on our profiles page.

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Moving with the times... with facebook

CLEG has recognised the new ways of networking - by developing our own page on facebook. It is an early stage as yet... but in any case, if you're a facebook member, please join the CLEG group and help us make best use of it. Our facebook page can spread the word in ways this site (we must admit) cannot match! CLEG events will each be promoted via a separate page. Our facebook group has 54 members at the last count.

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Calling postgraduates

Postgraduate members and friends may like to know of a call for papers on:

The European Union after the Reform Treaty: a new era?

issued by the Centre for European Politics at Royal Holloway College in connection with an all-day workshop on Tuesday 17th June with guest speaker Roger Liddle.

For full details please see RHC workshop or contact Isabelle Hertner at RHC.

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CLEG Annual General Meeting

At CLEG's AGM on 16th April 2007 Maurice Fraser, LSE Fellow in European Politics, spoke on "Britain's European policy in the age of Brown and Cameron".

Soon Yeng Chiam retired on completing three years as one of our vice-chairmen - but remains a member of the committee. She is succeeded by Eva Eberhardt.

Other new committee members this year are Petros Fassoulas and Patrick Montgomery.

Again all these are introduced - or soon will be - on profiles.

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Schools initiative

We have developed, for the first time, a proactive programme of speakers for local schools. Please see our community page for more details.

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Claude Moraes MEP

Our president, Claude Moraes MEP - who is most enthusiastic to play a full part in our work - contributes a quarterly President's Letter, written especially for CLEG members and friends. The latest issue focuses on enlargement

Claude spoke at our annual dinner in December - on "The EU's role and record on human rights".

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Publications

Writing for the Federal Trust, Richard Laming discusses Four routes to the new Europe - possible solutions to the problem of the constitutional treaty.

New European Movement publications accessible through this page include:

  • Create a European FBI? by Bill Newton Dunn MEP - proposing a European solution to the challenge of organised crime;

  • The Euro - Success or Failure by ex-MEP Ben Patterson - which questions the prevailing assumption that the euro not lived up to its advance billing within the Eurozone;

  • A Tale of Two Models by Ken Daly, analysing the differences between and comparative performance within various sectors of the "European" and "Anglo-Saxon" economic models.

All these provide valuable support in the interests of accentuating the positive.