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
Brexit: The worst is yet to come
Barry Davis / CC BY In recent weeks Michael Gove has admitted to the House of Commons that the end of the transition period could lead next year to queues of “up to 7000 HGVs in Kent” and that a system of “Kent Access Permits” would be necessary [...]
RECENTLY PUBLISHED
Brexit: The choices become clearer
Mr Johnson’s decision last week to bring in a bill which will contravene a critical portion of the Withdrawal Agreement has at least had the merit of clarifying the real nature of Brexit and thus [...]
Brexit: Little lies have long legs
One of the more optimistic interpretations placed by some commentators on Boris Johnson’s crushing victory in the General Election last year was that his new large majority would make it easier for him to negotiate [...]
A Weird Midsummer Night’s Dream
by Isador Strakhovsky (also known as Ira Straus) On a late summer day in a 2020 that was already surreal, German medics announced that Alexei Navalny had been poisoned by Novichok. It was the same [...]
Level Playing Field, Lopsided Logic?
When the United Kingdom (UK) finally left the European Union (EU) earlier this year, it did so on the basis of a Withdrawal Agreement, attached to which was a Political Declaration. This latter text included [...]
17 million mobile citizens need a voice in the EU
This article was first published in the The Brussels Times One of the EU’s key achievements is freedom of movement. Nearly 17 million EU citizens live in another EU member state and far more travel [...]
Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, and Vladimir Putin: an interview with Olivier Védrine
Interview by Martin Banks with Olivier Védrine This article was first published by EU Today Olivier Védrine is the Chief Editor of the Russian Monitor and a director of the civil rights movement New Europeans, [...]
The Abbott’s tale
The Abbot(t)’s tale The Prime Minister, demonstrating an extraordinary vote of no confidence in Britain’s reserves of domestic talent, and perhaps an even more extraordinary insouciance towards the extremely technical nature of contemporary international commercial [...]
“NO DEAL” BREXIT:AN ACCIDENT WAITING TO HAPPEN
“NO DEAL” BREXIT: AN ACCIDENT WAITING TO HAPPEN In an interesting article in this weekend’s Sunday Times, its political correspondent Tim Shipman warns that the chances of a “no deal” Brexit are higher than usually [...]
Can Johnson avoid a no-deal Brexit?
This article was first published by The Parliament Magazine. There was a time when Brexit was the only thing we wanted to talk about. Now it seems to be a conversation stopper on both sides [...]
The EU and media freedom
This is a shortened version of a joint article by Eszter Nagy and Roger Casale published on Voxeurop on 28th July 2020 (No impunity for the abuse of press freedom in Hungary). No sooner [...]