Not one but two AGMs to report on this month – our own at Cornwall for Europe (by Bev), plus that of the European Movement (by Caroline).
Cornwall for Europe AGM
By Bev Haigh-Jones
The CfE AGM took place via Zoom on Thursday 6 November, and we were delighted to have more members than ever before join us for the meeting.
The meeting followed the standard agenda: Apologies, welcome from the current Chair, approval of 2024 AGM minutes, then reports from the current officers beginning with the then Chair, Howard Farmer.
Chair’s report
Howard explained that he was not standing again for Chair, partly because of health issues, but also because he felt it was time for someone else to take the role. He talked of being more optimistic about the chances of rejoining the EU in the current climate, especially as we had a positive response from Jayne Kirkham to the latest stall Opinionometer that had been sent to her. However, he went on to add that one of our difficulties is a shortage of volunteers to help with stalls, or even with the running of the group, and asked that anyone with relevant skills or just a willingness to help, get in touch to let us know.
Howard went on to thank the newsletter team for a successful run that has reached its fiftieth edition, and which is opened by an average of 800 people every month. He also confirmed our continued association with the European Movement (EM), with two of the committee members standing in the upcoming National Council elections, and encouraged any CfE members who haven’t yet joined to do so.
Treasurer’s report
Ann Higgins, the current Treasurer, presented a verbal report on the accounts. Ann explained that our income comes almost entirely from donations, that when we run the coaches to London for the marches we are sometimes out of pocket, but that the talks we arrange usually pay for themselves. She went on to explain that we do have regular overheads, such as paying for Zoom and Mailchimp, and as a result our balance has dropped by 30% since last year – but is still healthy.
Secretary’s report
Bev Haigh-Jones advised that membership of the group remains fairly static across the platforms, with almost 2,700 on Facebook, almost 2,000 signed up to email, and 27,000 followers on our public Facebook page. We also have close to 2,500 followers on BlueSky, and Instagram remains the same as last year. We no longer interact with Twitter (X).
Our newsletter is still going well, and we have some great regular contributors, but we’d really like more people to do the same.
Likewise with campaigning, we’ve tried to keep going with regular street stalls, but struggle for volunteers. We’d love to see more of you there, even if you just pop along for a short while.
Our Zoom café remains popular and it’s lovely to chat to people from across the UK and the EU, and at the last one we even had someone from Florida. As for other events, the social afternoon was very successful and included a showing of the European Movement’s film, “Flags in the Wind”.
We’ll be looking to hold more events and talks, although we’re struggling to find speakers who are willing to travel to Cornwall, as most live in the South East. It would be good to know if members would be as interested in attending a talk if the speaker was presented on screen, as that would make things much easier.
Election of officers and council members without portfolio
With only one nomination for each of the officer positions, Ann Higgins was appointed as Chair, Bev Haigh-Jones was appointed as Secretary and Sue Miller was appointed as Treasurer. There were no new nominations for committee, but all other existing committee members were elected unopposed and they are: Howard Farmer, Emmanuelle Brook, Anita Graafland, Caroline Hager, Charles Boney, Rosemary Kluth and Tom Scott.
Plan for 2025-26
New Chair, Ann Higgins, thanked the outgoing Chair, Howard, and led a discussion on plans for the coming year.
Ann emphasised the need for more volunteers to be active in the group, both on the stalls, and with general admin and/or IT. She also made the point that being on a stall can be very rewarding and not at all daunting, as some might fear.
The issue of future events was discussed, and talks will certainly be a possibility, though we would also like to hear from members about ideas they may have for other events.
The meeting closed with two of the members present indicating that they might be happy to get involved with street stalls, which is great news – but we need more!
European Movement UK Annual General Meeting 2025 – Personal Highlights from Oxford
By Caroline Hager
I’ve been a supporter of European Movement UK since Brexit, marching to rejoin, watching EM’s informative webinars, donating to campaigns, and signing petitions. Now retired from the European Commission and spending more time in Cornwall, I wanted to become more active. Earlier this year, I received a warm welcome when I joined Cornwall for Europe and its active volunteers keeping the European conversation alive through street stalls – come and join us! – hosting CfE events about the UK and Europe and producing this informative newsletter. This month, I decided to attend the European Movement’s AGM in person, curious to meet those driving the EM’s strategy and to meet local groups. Online meetings are a fantastic communications tool, but you cannot beat a chat over a cup of tea!
Taking place in the rather grand examination hall at Oxford University on 15 November, the AGM was dedicated to the presentation of Board and committee reports, the election of officers and representatives to the EMUK’s Council for the next two-year term. With a big thank you to our supporters, Cornwall for Europe committee members Bev Haigh-Jones was re-elected and I was elected to the EMUK Council’s South West Region. This means that Bev and I will have access to the grassroots hub, making full use of the EM’s support and campaigning tools for CfE events, as well adding a Cornish voice to the Council’s debates on the EM’s public policy.
Caroline Lucas, Vice-President, gave a welcome address thanking members for their support. Presenting the EM’s Annual Report, CEO Sir Nick Harvey welcomed the shift in the national debate on the UK’s relationship with Europe after years of division and denial. Five years after leaving the EU, the UK and the EU re-set their relationship in May 2025 with an agreement to cooperate in a number of areas. The EM has become a credible authority on the areas under discussion with the EU, providing factual and evidence-based advice on the youth mobility scheme and rejoining Erasmus+, improving trading arrangements for business, aligning environment and climate to EU policy, and, in these highly volatile times, cooperating on defence and security. EM now has a strategic focus and is increasing its impact as a result.
Two motions for resolution were carried by AGM members: the first aims “to support a dynamic but stepped campaign to rejoin the EU.” The EM is building its influence in numerous ways: gathering support among businesses and unions through Business with Europe, among MPs through the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Europe, and specific campaigns aimed at convincing key “swing” segments of the population. The second motion called for “a bolder campaign for mobility for people of all ages.” The AGM welcomed the EM’s campaign to rebuild freedom of movement between the UK and Europe to complement the youth mobility campaign.
The AGM concluded with two excellent and thought-provoking speeches from Dominic Grieve, EM Co-President, and Professor Timothy Garton Ash .Do watch these on YouTube! To sum up the speech highlights:
Dominic Grieve, EM Vice-President, shared his frustration over those politicians calling for the UK to leave the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). Leaving the Convention, signed by all European countries except for Russia and Belarus, would have serious consequences: this move would put the Trade and Cooperation Agreement in question and the security angle may disappear. And the Good Friday Agreement is untenable without shared adherence. Leaving the ECHR is wholly irrational as it would not solve the asylum seekers crisis or impact on plans to deport failed asylum seekers or those released from prison back to their countries of origin.
Grieve then turned to the UK’s future relationship with the EU, drawing on a speech he gave in Luxembourg. It’s time to get real and look at the data. Over the course of the UK’s membership to the EU (1973 to 2020), its economy grew by 103%, outperforming other countries. The UK enjoyed 2.1% growth annually as a member and this was higher than growth between 1872 and 1914, when the UK was an empire. Trade increased and raised real income for every person by 10%. Since the UK left the EU, the economy has flatlined and, compared with the rest of Europe, the UK will have serious difficulties in raising its GDP and national wealth unless it returns to a closer trading relationship. The statistics show the reality of the damage done by Brexit and it’s the EM’s mission to make the point that the UK needs to return to a closer relationship with the EU. The government knows this well.
As Grieve put it, the EM has an opportunity to put out a positive message but how can we romanticise that message? How to inspire people to work together with other people who share your values? The EM can do a lot more. We have a role to break down barriers. He’s confident that the EM has the capacity to make a profound impact over the next three years. We can make progress to building a closer relationship to take us back into the EU, but it remains to be seen in what form.
Professor Timothy Garton Ash spoke passionately about the folly of Brexit caused by the stupidity of Boris Johnson, Michael Gove and others. Ten years after the Brexit referendum it’s time to say we need to “rejoin the EU while recognising that rejoining will be a marathon up a very steep hill to reach the shining castle of the EU.” Getting back into the EU will not be easy and never again will the UK get the favourable conditions it enjoyed as a member. Moreover, the EU is now in crisis. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine ended the post-war and post-wall period.
This new period is characterised by three big external shocks: the Putin shock, the Xi shock and the Trump shock. Non-Western powers such as Brazil, India, China, Russia, South Africa have sufficient wealth to counterbalance the West. We are in a new post-Western order. Inside the EU, a battle of two Europes is raging between liberal internationalist open pro-Europeans on the one hand, and anti-liberal, Eurosceptic, nationalist, and populists on the other. While the policies are EU, the politics are mainly national, meaning that national elections impact on the EU’s direction. Professor Garton Ash argues that Viktor Orban’s Hungary inside the EU is more of a problem for the EU than Britain. A suite of national elections are coming up, which will decide which way the EU goes. There’s hope that Viktor Orban will lose next April. In 2027, the French presidential elections (with a likely far-right win) will take place, as well as elections in Poland, and possibly Spain and Italy.
Professor Garton Ash’s surprising view is that the UK-EU reset has failed in its ambition and that the UK has missed a great opportunity. The reset works well in defence and security cooperation as the UK is adding value. However, the UK government is being too timid on free movement, social and economic cooperation. Blue Labour is terrified of breaking the red lines and losing the red wall. The EU is being extremely hardline about UK financial contributions to EU programmes. Neither the UK nor the EU is putting the necessary political weight behind an ambitious reset, leaving the negotiations to middle-ranking civil servants. The outcome of EU elections, in particular a possible win for far-right Le Pen and Jordan Bardella in France, may close the UK’s window of opportunity for cooperation with the EU, as there may no longer be a strategic majority to support an agreement. This is why the UK has to start the marathon now! Professor Garton Ash looks forward to joining the national march in June 2026 and to start that uphill marathon in the hope that the UK could become a member by 2030-35, perhaps together with Ukraine.
I left the European Movement’s AGM feeling inspired and encouraged that the EM’s strategy is bearing fruit and, with the shift in Labour policy, that its campaigns are influencing the UK debate on the EU. Of course, those campaigns depend on the engagement of hundreds of local groups such as Cornwall for Europe to spread the message about European cooperation. Cornwall for Europe will certainly keep that European conversation going with more street stalls and events planned for 2026. Come and join us! It’ll be worth it.
