Neale Richmond – Slugger O'Toole

Austrian General Election 2017 Preview

Neale Richmond on October 13, 2017, 4:17 pm

| Readers 869

Background This Sunday 15th October, the Austrian people will head to the polls for a general election. This snap election was called in May following the resignation of vice-chancellor Reinhold Mitterlehner of the centre-right People’s Party (ÖVP). The incumbent ‘grand coalition’ of the ÖVP and the centre-left Social Democrats (SPÖ), led by current Chancellor Christian Kern, had stagnated as the two parties failed to resolve disagreements regarding a number of policy issues. This, along with increasing concerns related to the …

A guide to securing EU employment

Neale Richmond on October 9, 2017, 11:00 am

| Readers 425

How to Launch an EU Career Since our accession to the European Economic Community in 1973, numerous Irish people have forged successful careers in European affairs. Today, Ireland can be proud that it is well represented at all levels of the European Union’s institutions and agencies. The various EU bodies offer unique international careers which can make a real difference to the lives of the over 500 million EU citizens. I myself worked in European politics in Brussels for three …

President Jean-Claude Juncker’s “scenario six” for the future of Europe

Neale Richmond on September 18, 2017, 4:41 pm

| Readers 1088

In March of this year, the European Commission published a White Paper on the future of Europe that laid out five possible future scenarios or paths for the European Union. In a series of previous articles published on this platform, I outlined and discussed each of these five scenarios in turn. The goal of this White Paper, according to European Commission President, Jean-Claude Juncker, was to “launch a process in which Europe determines its own path” by fostering a cross-continent …

German Federal Elections: Chancellor Merkel is a beacon of consistency in turbulent times

Neale Richmond on September 15, 2017, 4:34 pm

| Readers 383

On 24 September, the German people will head to the polls for federal elections. Chancellor Angela Merkel is seeking a fourth term, with her Christian Democratic Union party (CDU) defending its position against the Social Democratic Party (SPD), led by former European Parliament President, Martin Schulz. In the 2013 elections, the CDU and its Bavarian sister party, the Christian Social Union (CSU), received a combined 42% of the vote, their best result since 1990, and subsequently formed a ‘Grand Coalition’ …

EU Commission White Paper – Scenario Five

Neale Richmond on August 28, 2017, 4:10 pm

| Readers 364

Scenario Five: Doing Much More together The final scenario is the most ambitious laid out in the white paper. By pursuing the fifth scenario, the EU27 would agree to do much more together across all policy areas. This would involve member states pooling together their resources, power and decision-making capacity, in every facet of governance. Consequently, decisions are made much faster, while their implementation is rapidly enforced. This would facilitate cooperation on a level that has not been seen before. …

Scenario Four: Doing Less, More Efficiently: Overview.

Neale Richmond on August 15, 2017, 10:59 am

| Readers 264

Scenario Four presents a radical new modus operandi for the European Union. From this avenue, we would see the EU focus its time and resources on delivering more (and faster) in targeted policy areas, while doing less in areas which have traditionally proved to be difficult in forming consensus. In this scenario, the EU27 recognize that in order to achieve successful results on its priorities, the EU27 must work together. Therefore, the EU is able to act decisively and with …

Scenario Three: Those Who Want To Do More: Overview.

Neale Richmond on August 9, 2017, 4:23 pm

| Readers 511

Scenario three presents a more positive outlook for the future of the European Union. Through this scenario, the EU continues operating much as it does today, however, the Union avails itself of ‘coalitions of the willing’, allowing some member states to do more in specific areas. These areas include but are not limited to, monetary policy, security and social policy. This idea is not particularly novel, nor is it without precedent, a similar process has allowed member states to produce …

Scenario Two: Nothing But The Single Market: Overview

Neale Richmond on July 31, 2017, 11:57 am

| Readers 956

Scenario two in the white paper, presents a much different picture of the future of Europe than that of scenario one (or what we recognise today). Under this scenario the EU recognises its failure to form a broad consensus on many of the critical issue facing the continent. Having found that issues such as migration, security and monetary policy, have been too divisive to form any effective policy to address the root problems, the EU decides to shift its focus. …

EU White Paper – Scenario One: Carrying On

Neale Richmond on July 25, 2017, 2:47 pm

| Readers 854

Following on from earlier introductory article, the first scenario laid out in the white paper, is one in which the EU27 continues down the path the Union is currently on. Under this plan, the EU would maintain its focus on delivering its positive reform agenda. This is supported by President Junker’s ‘New Start for Europe’ and the ‘Bratislava Declaration and Roadmap’, published in 2014 and 2016, respectively. The former, represents the continued focus by the EU on jobs and growth, …

White Paper: The Future of Europe: Overview

Neale Richmond on July 17, 2017, 2:41 pm

| Readers 646

In the last decade, Europe has faced some of its most formidable challenges in the post war era. The European Union has been shaken by a wave of terror attacks across cities in several member states and the influx of refugees, fleeing war and economic stagnation, bringing into question the notion of border controls within the EU. Furthermore, the sluggish economic recovery in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis has sowed disquiet among factions of the political spectrum, leading …

Trading Partners Wanted: looking at Japan

Neale Richmond on July 7, 2017, 1:02 pm

| Readers 843

As it stands, arguably one of Ireland’s most important trading and investment partner is the United Kingdom. This has been the case since Independence although the balance has shifted greatly since Ireland entered the EEC in 1973 with the UK no longer wholly dominant despite our reliance on the UK in certain sectors such as beef, timber, pork and much more. As Ireland’s reliance on the UK as a trading partner has diminished, it has been able to look to …

Trading Partners Wanted: Looking at France…

Neale Richmond on June 23, 2017, 11:14 am

| Readers 891

As it stands, arguably Ireland’s most important trading and investment partner is the United Kingdom. This has been the case since Independence although the balance has shifted greatly since Ireland entered the EEC in 1973 with the UK no longer wholly dominant despite our reliance on the UK in certain sectors such as beef, timber, pork and much more. As Ireland’s reliance on the UK as a trading partner has diminished, it has been able to look to a wider …

Partners Wanted: looking at Germany

Neale Richmond on June 19, 2017, 1:06 pm

| Readers 861

As it stands, arguably Ireland’s most important trading and investment partner is the United Kingdom. This has been the case since Independence although the balance has shifted greatly since Ireland entered the EEC in 1973 with the UK no longer wholly dominant despite our reliance on the UK in certain sectors such as beef, timber, pork and much more. As Ireland’s reliance on the UK as a trading partner has diminished, it has been able to look to a wider …

Trading Partners Wanted: Looking at South Korea…

Neale Richmond on June 10, 2017, 6:30 pm

| Readers 774

As it stands, Ireland’s most important trading and investment partner is the United Kingdom. This has been the case since Independence although the balance has shifted greatly since Ireland entered the EEC in 1973 with the UK no longer wholly dominant despite our reliance on the UK in certain sectors such as beef, timber, pork and much more. As Ireland’s reliance on the UK as a partner has diminished, it has been able to look to a wider market largely …

Trading Partners Wanted: Looking at Canada

Neale Richmond on May 3, 2017, 2:39 pm

| Readers 559

As it stands, Ireland’s largest trading partner is the United Kingdom. This has been the case since Independence although the balance has shifted greatly since Ireland entered the EEC in 1973 with the UK no longer wholly dominant although our reliance for trade with the UK continues in certain sectors such as beef, timber, pork and much more. As Ireland’s reliance on the UK as a trading partner has diminished, it has been able to look to a wider market …

Trading Partners Wanted: looking at Australia

Neale Richmond on April 15, 2017, 6:24 pm

| Readers 1022

As it stands, Ireland’s largest trading partner is the United Kingdom. This has been the case since Independence although the balance has shifted greatly since Ireland entered the EEC in 1973 with the UK no longer wholly dominate although our reliance on the UK in certain sectors such as beef, timber, pork and much more. As Ireland’s reliance on the UK as a trading partner has diminished, it has been able to look to a wider market largely thanks to …

Trading Partners Wanted: looking at Vietnam

Neale Richmond on April 7, 2017, 1:27 pm

| Readers 705

As it stands, Ireland’s largest trading partner is the United Kingdom. This has been the case since Independence although the balance has shifted greatly since Ireland entered the EEC in 1973 with the UK no longer wholly dominate although our reliance on the UK in certain sectors such as beef, timber, pork and much more. As Ireland’s reliance on the UK as a trading partner has diminished, it has been able to look to a wider market largely thanks to …

Trading Partners Wanted: Looking at Georgia…

Neale Richmond on April 1, 2017, 8:55 am

| Readers 814

As it stands, Ireland’s largest trading partner is the United Kingdom. This has been the case since Independence although the balance has shifted greatly since Ireland entered the EEC in 1973 with the UK no longer wholly dominate although our reliance on the UK in certain sectors such as beef, timber, pork and much more. As Ireland’s reliance on the UK as a trading partner has diminished, it has been able to look to a wider market largely thanks to …

Trading partners wanted, apply within…..

Neale Richmond on March 13, 2017, 11:27 am

| Readers 481

In the past twelve months, politics has changed the world utterly and impacted directly on the trading potential of Ireland. Ireland makes do as being a small, open economy, seen as a stepping stone into the European Union. The top export destinations of Ireland are the United States ($28.5B), the United Kingdom ($19.2B), Belgium-Luxembourg ($18.2B), Germany ($10.8B) and France ($7.98B). Concluding a free trade deal between the EU and the USA remains a key priority of the European Commission, however, …

Back to life, back to Brexit reality

Neale Richmond on March 7, 2017, 4:00 pm

| Readers 1439

Given the superb contributions posted on Slugger over the past few weeks, I thought it best to voluntarily suspend my regular postings until the Assembly election was over. So now that all the votes have been counted, the seats declared and the government negotiations underway, I thought I’d return to the massive elephant in the corner of the room: Brexit. We are now into March and it is expected that this will be the month that Theresa May triggers Article …