It is time to put Europe on hold

The best proposal would be to call a halt to further institutional deepening and make the existing union work better, writes Samuel Brittan
At a time of economic uncertainty European voters turned to the centre-right, underlining the resilience of the European model of welfare state capitalism in the face of the worst recession since the 1930s
David Cameron unveiled the Tories’ anti-federalist European Parliament alliance, prompting rivals’ accusations he was trading influence for ideological isolation
A blog to encourage young people to vote in the European parliamentary elections proved far more popular than EUTube, the European Union’s online television channel
France and Germany have set their sights on a combined effort to steer the European Union out of economic crisis and away from political discord after scoring election triumphs
The Fianna Fáil-led coalition’s poor showing at the European and local council elections which left the government with a narrow majority, raised fresh doubts over the coalition’s ability to push ahead with economic reform
The UK prime minister routed an attempted coup to remove him from office, as party heavyweights rallied behind him after a week of Labour bloodletting, ministerial resignations and poll defeats
FT correspondents give a snapshot of the political fallout
Interactive map of the European Parliament elections

The best proposal would be to call a halt to further institutional deepening and make the existing union work better, writes Samuel Brittan

Extreme-right and extreme-left parties could now account for about 12 per cent of the new European parliament, while hardline Eurosceptics will be another noisy grouping. These diverse entrants will give the decorous proceedings a shake-up, writes Gideon Rachman
Cameron’s determination to quit the dominant centre-right alliance in the European parliament is foolish and counter-productive
Voters in the European elections returned a parliament that is economically liberal, but in the coming far-reaching economic reforms, Europe will be guided by the right
At a time of unprecedented insecurity, because of the global economic downturn, European voters clearly opted for the safety of the right, although only a minority bothered to vote in most countries.
The EU parliament is a body that deserves public support. If it fails to attract it, governments across Europe should examine why and national leaders should think hard about how to boost its profile