Welcome
The Federal Trust is a research institute studying the interactions between regional, national, European and global levels of government. Founded in 1945 on the initiative of Sir William Beveridge, it has long made a powerful contribution to the study of federalism and federal systems. It has always had a particular interest in the European Union and Britain’s place in it.
The Federal Trust has no allegiance to any political party. It is registered as a charity for the purposes of education and research.
QUICK LINKS
FEATURED ARTICLE
Video podcast: Brexit can’t work
In this new video, our director Brendan Donnelly discusses why Brexit cannot be made to “work” without considerable accompanying political and economic drawbacks. He argues that those who wish for the UK to rejoin the EU should start making the intellectual for this now: Click here to read [...]
RECENTLY PUBLISHED
England’s Scotland Panic – What is to be Done?
This article was first published by the Scottish Centre on European Relations There is more than a whiff of hysteria in the air about the possibility of the UK fragmenting via Scottish independence and [...]
Video podcast: Brexit can’t work
In this new video, our director Brendan Donnelly discusses why Brexit cannot be made to “work” without considerable accompanying political and economic drawbacks. He argues that those who wish for the UK to rejoin the [...]
Navalny arrest an early test for Biden, EU and the ‘new transatlantic relationship’
This article was first published in Italian by EuractivItalia. One thing we have come to expect of Russia is the unexpected. No one predicted the gains made by the Russian opposition in regional elections [...]
Britain and the EU – where next?
This article was first published by The Brussels Times Boris Johnson likes to model himself on Winston Churchill but the comparison does not stand up to scrutiny and the conclusion of his Brexit deal [...]
Brexit as Tragedy of Errors
by Jaap Hoeksma Philosopher of law and director of Euroknow; Author of “The Case Bundesverfassungsgericht versus EU Court of Justice – Can the EU function as a democracy without forming a State?” In hindsight, Brexit bears all the hallmarks of [...]
Britain As A Neutral State? Britain’s Defence Dilemmas post Brexit
“We are experiencing the brain death of NATO” argued President Macron of France after a meeting with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg in Paris, November 28, 2019. Britain’s decision on a future defence strategy appears [...]
Video podcast: “Brexit: The “Deal” is less than it seems
Watch the latest video podcast by our Director Brendan Donnelly, in which he discusses the Brexit deal and argues that there is less to it than meets the eye: You can also read Brendan's blog [...]
Was Godot worth the wait? The EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement explained
Since the white smoke emerged from the European Commission chimney on the afternoon of Christmas Eve, journalists, commentators and representatives of just about every conceivable interest have been crawling over it to work out what [...]
Farewell to freedom of movement
This article was first published in The New European Free movement of people is one of the EU’s most celebrated achievements. According to the December Eurobarometer survey, 81% of Europeans think free movement has benefitted [...]
Brexit: Fishing for reality
by Richard Carden Richard Carden is a retired senior civil servant who has worked at top level in the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, the Department of Trade and Industry and the European Commission. [...]