Democracy Impacts

Parks: Lack of Collective Purpose Portends EU Demise

December 15, 2015

Professor and author Tim Parks writes that the EU has lost any collective identity and purpose it once had and predicts the end of the union unless the UK renegotiation with the EU imbues the bloc with newfound purpose.
Juncker Calls for Future Shift to "Two-Speed" EU

December 02, 2015

In remarks that also included a call for "common, minimum social rights" in all EU countries, President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker has predicted a shift to a "two-speed" EU, in which some countries continue moving toward "ever-closer union" while other countries "position themselves in an orbit different from the core."
Article: National Referenda Are Obstacles to EU "Progress"

December 01, 2015

An article by Stefan Lehne of Carnegie Europe expresses concern that citizens of European countries are blocking European integration through their national referendum processes and calls for greater transparency and democratic participation in EU institutions to blunt these efforts.
MEP Calls for End to "Feeble" UK-EU Negotiation

November 30, 2015

UK Member of the European Parliament ("MEP") David Campbell Bannerman, a co-chairman of euroskeptic group Conservatives for Britain, has called for the UK to end what he deems to be a limited renegotiation of powers with the EU and instead give notice of its withdrawal from the bloc.
British Businesses Seek EU Reform

November 25, 2015

At a recent conference held by the UK publication The Telegraph, British business leaders and the director general of the British Chambers of Commerce John Longworth argued that business support for remaining in the EU depends whether Prime Minister David Cameron can negotiate meaningful reforms in the bloc.
Cameron Sets out EU Renegotiation Goals

November 11, 2015

In a speech and letter to European Council President Donald Tusk, UK Prime Minister David Cameron called for reforms in the British relationship with the EU, including measures that would prevent eurozone countries from discriminating against the UK, immigration reform, and an end to "ever closer union."
British MP: Renegotiation Provides Opportunity for EU Reform

November 04, 2015

UK Member of Parliament ("MP") Andrew Tyrie writes that Britain's renegotiation of competences with the EU provides the Brussels institutions and EU member states the opportunity to implement reforms ensuring that a powerful voice on behalf of national governments counters the unsustainable drive toward "ever-closer union."
Iceland PM: Decision to Avoid EU Was Correct

November 04, 2015

POLITICO reports that based on his country's ability to maintain its currency, its authority over economic and financial policy, and its control over natural resources, Prime Minister Sigmundur Davíð Gunnlaugsson has stated that Iceland "dodged a bullet" by declining to join the European Union.
Cameron Warns of Unfavorable "Brexit" Scenarios

November 04, 2015

The Telegraph reports that UK Prime Minister David Cameron is warning of a scenario in which the British people vote to leave the EU, and surrender voting privileges in the bloc, but fail to complete a deal in which the UK relieves itself from responsibilities under EU legislation.
Professor Calls for Common EU Migration Policy

November 04, 2015

Professor Thomas Straubhaar of the University of Hamburg has called for the authority to determine migration and refugee policy to be taken from the EU member countries and placed in EU institutions, in order to permit these institutions to form a common migration policy applicable across the bloc.