Diana Wallis

[Diana Wallis | European Network for Mediation | Sofia 2012] Thank you so much for inviting me to this important conference of the European Network for Mediation. It is a real pleasure to be here with mediators from all around Europe and I look forward to sharing some thoughts with you. I am forever and constantly … Continue reading →

Last week I wished I were in London for the UK Feminista descent on Parliament. I have never regarded myself as a particularly radical feminist but as I get older perhaps I find myself less and less tolerant of inequality. I remember as a teenager that it was a book which first made me fully … Continue reading →

EU LAW MAKING | A POLITICAL ART OR A LEGISLATIVE SCIENCE Diana Wallis opening keynote speech at ELI Conference 2012 Thank you for inviting me here today to give this address. Earlier this week I struck by a report in the Belgian press which seemed rather relevant to my theme today. The headline ran; ‘How Belgium … Continue reading →

Last week was billed as an important crunch week for the EU as we had the decision of the Karlsruhe Court, the annual State of the Union address, not to mention the Parliament meeting in session in Strasbourg. Yet as I searched the UK weekend press for any reporting of the outcomes of this anticipated … Continue reading →

Yes, the London Olympics were a triumph. However, there was one incident replayed on our TV screens which I found unsettling: the footage of Home Secretary, Theresa May, being booed by the crowd as she was announced as part of a presentation party. What is it that should attract or cause this sort of behaviour, … Continue reading →

Last week I had what could either be described as a ‘crash course’ or maybe perhaps more correctly an ‘intensive revision course’ in European mediation. As is clear from previous blogs here, mediation is something I have always felt an affinity towards without perhaps understanding all the ins and outs of its practice; rather just … Continue reading →

Yesterday was Europe Day and the State Opening of the Westminster Parliament. I note from today’s Independent that one to those to raise this conjunction was the eurosceptic, pro-democracy, Tory MP Douglas Carswell. Just occasionally I agree with him – though please don’t panic – seldom on Europe. However, despite all the pomp, pageantry and … Continue reading →

Subsequent to writing the earlier posting on The Brussels Business I have had some communication from ALTER-EU who are concerned about the way they appear to have been connected with the film. I reproduce here part of the e-mail I have received from Koen Roovers, the coalition co-ordinator of ALTER-EU: «I understand you have been … Continue reading →

Last Thursday evening I happened to be in Brussels which coincided with the first public screening of a film (a self-styled documentary thriller ) ‘The Brussels Business’ – which business according to the film is the shady world of corporate lobbying of the European institutions. Of course, given my previous responsibility for ‘transparency’ in the … Continue reading →

One thing I never got used to as a Euro MP was the reaction of certain British people who seemed to think that everything that had any slight connection with Europe must be related to some covert attack on our national way of life in Britain. Yet sadly this mistrust is all pervasive, so imagine … Continue reading →

Former Yorkshire & the Humber Euro MP, Diana Wallis, received the Outstanding Political Initiative Award this yesterday in Riga at the 112 Awards Ceremony for her work in promoting Europe’s emergency number 112. Diana Wallis, who has long campaigned for greater awareness of the Europe wide emergency number in the UK where knowledge is amongst the lowest … Continue reading →

Ever since I was a young lawyer in London back in the eighties I have always felt there had to be a better way to solve legal disputes than that provided by our current legal systems. The position becomes even more dire when you take it into the area of cross border litigation, which I … Continue reading →

Yes, it is April Fools Day. However, this is no joke. This day marks the beginning of the life of a new democratic instrument for the European Union. This will make the EU more democratic and, arguably, closer to the people than our own rather historic brand of democracy at Westminster. This is about letting … Continue reading →

I have been intending to write this post all week but then last night in Bradford West George Galloway wrote it for me. I am not claiming any amazing powers of foresight nor would I anyway seek to detract from his quite clearly stunning win. No, the main story this week should have remained the … Continue reading →

In recent months Sir David Attenborough brought extraordinarily vivid scenes of life in the Arctic and Antarctic into the living rooms of the British people through the critically acclaimed BBC TV series ‘Frozen Planet’. Everyone, everywhere, who saw this series, has had their curiosity and sense of care for the Arctic awakened. This popular interest … Continue reading →

The Arctic has been described as the last imaginary place. Certainly it is a place that deserves the attention of all peoples of the globe. What is happening there with ice melt has consequences for sea level and weather patterns all around the globe. Of course, we can worry about the habitat and survival of … Continue reading →

My last two weeks involved a week’s beach holiday in the sun, meaning much reading and a week back in Brussels both to finalise loose ends and take my first step in a new minor role as a member of a Commission expert committee on Media Futures. My weeks reading in the sun got me … Continue reading →

It is now a few days since I completed my first full week out of the Brussels bubble no longer having those letters MEP after my name; my verdict on life as a European citizen, – a relief. Ironically a good part of my first week was taken up with going to a conference at … Continue reading →