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Papers

Discussing European integration and Britain's special path in history

The Principles of British Foreign Policy

Philip Vander Elst

Should British foreign policy reflect any political and moral principles or should it merely be shaped by current conceptions of national self-interest, which may change from decade to decade? Does Britain have any particular long term or permanent interests as a nation state or are we living in an age so radically different from previous ones that none of the assumptions and traditions of the past have any relevance today? Has Britain's foreign policy traditionally had a special pattern to it that makes it unlike the foreign policy of other countries?

Philip Vander Elst, who has written extensively on political and philosophical matters, tackles those questions in the second edition of the revised Bruges Group paper The Principles of British Foreign Policy. He discusses the gradual disappearance of anything resembling British independence as the country becomes more and more enmeshed in the European Union, comparing and contrasting this development with previous attempts to unite Europe and British reaction to those.

Philip Vander Elst demonstrates that Britain, has, indeed, followed a very special path in history in her foreign policy, skilfully enmeshing true liberalism and love of freedom with an acute understanding of her interests. While not refusing to look at certain unhappy and unattractive aspects of British foreign policy (such as behaviour in Ireland or, at times, in some of the colonies) the author shows through opinions expressed in Britain and other countries that this country was, for a very long time, perceived as the beacon of liberty and constitutional democracy in the world. It is time, he proclaims, for the country to abandon the ill-fated European adventure and return to her political and ideological roots.

Click here to read the full publication online

The Bruges Group spearheads the intellectual battle against the notion of "ever-closer Union" in Europe and, above all, against British involvement in a single European state.

Rejecting the EU's regulatory instrument
Saying No to the Single Market
Ruth Lea
Barry Legg
Dr Andrew Lilico
Ian Milne
Professor David Myddelton
Professor Jean-Jacques Rosa

What a British Military Hero Can Teach Those Fighting Today's War on Terror
Montgomery and the First War on Terror
Robert Oulds

Divide and Conquer
British Regionalization
George Buchan
John Griffing

Amounts, safeguards and breaches in the dyke
The UK’s risks and exposure to the EIB and other European financial mechanisms
Bob Lyddon

'Isolation' and inward investment
Does the EU’s Single Market Encourage FDI into the UK?
Michael Burrage

Enlightened despotism is despotism nonetheless
National Interests and the European Union
George Buchan

The End of Imitative Europeanization?
The Eastern Partnership’s Troubles
Dr Andrey Karbovskiy

To protect liberty we must preserve national sovereignty
Sovereignty and Liberty: An American Perspective
John Griffing

A viable alternative to EU membership
EFTA or the EU?
Hugo van Randwyck

Why the Euro cannot survive with Germany at its centre
German Economic Policy and the Euro 1999 - 2010
Richard Conquest

The stark economic facts as to why the UK should leave the EU
The Single Market and British Withdrawal
Ian Milne

The Ideology of Anti-democratic Governance
European Union Power
George Buchan

The anti-democratic system by which we are governed
How EU Laws are Made
Dr Lee Rotherham

Comparing the EU and the US response to climate alarmism
A Lesson in Democracy
Jeremy Nieboer

How trust broke down in Britain
A Crisis of Trust
Stuart Wheeler

The EU and its attack on Britain’s most successful industry
The City of London Under Threat
Professor Tim Congdon

The Cameron approach does further damage to Britain’s ‘broken politics’
Tory ‘renegotiation’ is a slogan not a policy
Gerald Frost

The impact of European Union legislation on Britain’s railways
On the Wrong Track
John Petley

The United Kingdom and the European Union
Our Fight for Democracy
John Strafford

Why the EU’s climate alarmism is both mistaken and dangerous
Cool Thinking on Climate Change
Roger Helmer MEP

Analysis of the potential disaster facing the eurozone
Is the euro Sustainable?
Richard Conquest

EU recovery plan costs UK £25 billion
The EU’s Credibility Crunch: Creator of economic downturn, Impediment to recovery
Damon Lambert

£106,117 Per Minute Scandal
How much does the European Union cost Britain? 2008
Gerard Batten MEP

Corporate Tax Threat to the Economy
Costly, Complex and Counterproductive: The Case Against a Common Consolidated Corporate Tax Base
Damon Lambert

Submitting to authority dressed as virtue
Are the British a Servile People? Idealism and the EU
Professor Kenneth Minogue

The radical changes needed if we are to survive as a free people
The Costs of Regulation and How the EU Makes Them Worse
William Mason

Galileo up-date
Black is White: Government deception and the Galileo project
Gawain Towler

Exposing the revived and renamed EU Constitution
A look at the Lisbon Treaty
Robert Oulds

Discussing European integration and Britain's special path in history
The Principles of British Foreign Policy
Philip Vander Elst

Britain in the 21st Century
Lost Illusions: British Foreign Policy
Ian Milne

EU costing Britain £60.1 billion per year
How much does the European Union cost Britain? 2007
Gerard Batten MEP

How can we afford to stay in
How much does the European Union cost Britain? 2006
Gerard Batten MEP

Alternatives to the EU #1
The Case for EFTA
Daniel Hannan MEP

Alternatives to centralisation
Plan B For Europe: Lost Opportunities in the EU Constitution Debate
Dr Lee Rotherham

Micro guide # 3
Another slice of the Salami: How the European Criminal Code is being introduced by stealth
Gawain Towler

Micro guide # 2
The Corpse Bride
Dr Lee Rotherham

Micro guide #1
Can the EU be Reformed?
Robert Oulds

Exposing the facts, busting the myths
All you need to know about the EU
Robert Oulds

Europe's last chance
The Bottom Line
Robert Oulds
Dr Lee Rotherham

EU Constitution Briefing Paper # 06
Will the EU's Constitution Rescue its Currency?
Professor Tim Congdon

Paper No. 47
Galileo: The Military and Political Dimensions
Dr Richard North

A New World Order: What Role for Britain? #1
The Fate of Britain's National Interest
Professor Kenneth Minogue

EU Constitution Briefing Paper # 05
Health and the Nation
Dr Lee Rotherham

EU Constitution Briefing Paper # 04
Criminal Justice and the draft Constitution
The Rt Hon. Oliver Letwin MP

EU Constitution Briefing Paper # 03
Subsidiarity and the Illusion of Democratic Control
John Bercow MP

EU Constitution Briefing Paper # 02
A Constitution to destroy Europe
Bill Jamieson

EU Constitution Briefing Paper # 01
Giscard d'Estaing's "Constitution": Muddle and Danger Presented in Absurd Prolixity
Leolin Price CBE QC

Paper No. 46
Free Speech: The EU Version
Dr Brian Hindley

Paper No. 45
Federalist Thought Control: The Brussels Propaganda Machine
Martin Ball
Robert Oulds
Dr Lee Rotherham

Paper No. 44
Democracy in Crisis: The White Paper on European Governance
Nigel Farage MEP

Paper No. 43
European Union and the Politics of Culture
Dr Cris Shore

Paper No. 42
Britain and Europe: The Culture of Deceit
Christopher Booker

Paper No. 41
Ultimate Vindication: The Spectator and Europe 1966-79
Thomas Teodorczuk

Paper No. 40
William Hague's European Policy
Dr Martin Holmes

Paper No. 39
The Myth of Europe
Russell Lewis

Paper No. 38
Alien Thoughts: Reflections on Identity
Robert W Cahn
Yahya El-Droubie
Dr Helen Szamuely

Paper No. 37
The Bank that rules Europe? The ECB and Central Bank Independence
Mark Baimbridge
Brian Burkitt
Philip Whyman

Paper No. 36
Conservative MEPs and the European People's Party: Time for Divorce
Martin Ball
Jonathan Collett

Paper No. 35
Franco–German Friendship and the Destination of Federalism
Dr Martin Holmes

Paper No. 33
Aiming for the Heart of Europe: A Misguided Venture
John Bercow MP

Paper No. 32
Britain's Economic Destiny: A Business Perspective
Sir Michael Edwardes

Paper No. 31
Is Europe Ready for EMU? Theory, Evidence and Consequences
Mark Baimbridge
Brian Burkitt
Philip Whyman

Paper No. 30
Reviewing Europe: Selected Book Reviews 1991 - 7
Dr Martin Holmes

Paper No. 28
John Major and Europe: The Failure of a Policy 1990-7
Dr Martin Holmes

Paper No. 26
Professor A.J.P. Taylor on Europe: The Historian Who Predicted the Future
Peter Oborne

Paper No. 25
Godfather of the European Union: Altiero Spinelli
Lindsay Jenkins

Paper No. 24
A Single European Currency: Why the United Kingdom must say 'No'
The Rt Hon. David Heathcoat-Amory MP

Paper No. 23
The Conservative Conference & Euro-Sceptical Motions 1992-95
Martin Ball

Paper No. 20
From Single Market to Single Currency: Evaluating Europe's Economic Experiment
Dr Martin Holmes

Paper No. 17
The Conservative Party and Europe
Dr Martin Holmes

Paper No. 34
Bruges Revisited
The Rt Hon. Baroness Thatcher LG, OM, FRS

Founder President: The Rt Hon. the Baroness Thatcher of Kesteven, LG, OM, FRS
President: The Rt Hon. the Lord Tebbit of Chingford, CH, PC
Vice-President: The Rt Hon. the Lord Lamont of Lerwick, Chairman: Barry Legg
Director: Robert Oulds MA, Head of Research: Dr Helen Szamuely, Washington D.C. Representative: John O'Sullivan CBE
Founder Chairman: Lord Harris of High Cross, Former Chairmen: Dr Brian Hindley, Dr Martin Holmes & Professor Kenneth Minogue