This does not oblige member states to do anything, but it reflects a spreading mood.

ECONOMIST: Women in business

The initiative seemed harmless: it can only place an idea on the agenda, not actually oblige the commission to do anything (nothing came from a million-plus signatures on a petition calling for an end to the parliament's monthly meandering from Brussels to Strasbourg).

ECONOMIST: Charlemagne

Like Mr Romney, he has said many things that are now anathema to the base: that government should oblige people to buy health insurance, for example, or that it should do something about global warming.

ECONOMIST: The Republican nomination