Democracy Impacts

Visegrad Leaders Push for Narrowed EU Focus

January 30, 2018

AP reports that, at a recent meeting, leaders of the countries in the Central and Eastern European Visegrad Group voiced their support of EU focus on infrastructure, defense, technology, and employment rather than moving toward a "United States of Europe" that centralizes decision-making on matters such as migration within supranational institutions.
UK Officials Preview "Enhanced Equivalence" Deal with EU

January 30, 2018

Bloomberg reports that both the UK Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond and Brexit Secretary David Davis have predicted that their government will strike a Brexit deal with the EU creating an "enhanced equivalence regime" under which the country will remain close to EU financial and other rules for the indefinite future.
Shankar: UK Must Stay out of Customs Union with EU

January 30, 2018

Aarti Shankar of the UK think tank Open Europe has countered the assertion by the Confederation of British Industry that Britain must form a comprehensive new customs union with the EU after Brexit, warning that doing so means the UK would have to accept EU common market rules and trade deals with new markets without having a say in their creation.
UK Official Rejects Concerns of Post-Brexit "Vassal" Status

January 29, 2018

The Guardian reports that the UK's Brexit Secretary David Davis has rejected arguments from Jacob Rees-Mogg MP, head of the euroskeptic European Research Group, that the UK's acceptance of EU Court of Justice rulings during a post-Brexit transition period would make it a "vassal state," responding that the concerns are unfounded due to the period's limited duration.
Committee Supports Proposal for Transnational MEPs

January 29, 2018

Politico reports that, in a recent vote by the European Parliament's Constitutional Affairs Committee to shrink the Parliament upon the departure of Britain from the EU, Members of Parliament (MEPs) included a provision to pave the way, if agreed by the Council of the EU, to create a new class of transnational MEPs who would represent the full EU.
Visegrad Members Debate Benefits of Euro

January 29, 2018

Reuters reports that, in the three Central and Eastern European countries forming the Visegrad Group that have not yet adopted the euro, some economists and others are calling for their governments to rethink their monetary policy, warning that failing to join the currency may mean they are left out of future EU political integration.
Commission Promotes EU Citizenship Education

January 29, 2018

EUobserver reports that, as part of a strategy toward Europe-wide policies on education systems, the European Commission recently issued guidance on what schools in the EU should be including in their curricula, including education on the European project to ensure students are "engaged citizens with a strong sense of belonging" to the multinational bloc.
EU Official Calls Summit on Enforcing Pollution Laws

January 24, 2018

European Commissioner for the Environment Karmenu Vella has summoned officials from nine EU member states to an "air quality ministerial summit" at the end of January pressuring them on reducing air pollution in line with EU law and has announced the creation of a Compliance Assurance Action Plan to guide governments through the process of combating pollution.
UK Business Group Pushes to Remain in EU Customs Union

January 22, 2018

Bloomberg reports that Director General of the Confederation of British Industry Carolyn Fairbairn has called for the UK government to negotiate a Brexit deal that would keep Britain within the EU customs union, meaning the UK could not negotiate separate free trade deals with countries outside the bloc.
EU Parliament Seeks Stricter Standards on Energy

January 19, 2018

Nature reports that the European Parliament has passed legislation pushing EU countries to obtain 35 percent of their energy from renewable sources by the year 2030 and raising a legally binding target for energy efficiency in buildings and in consumer goods after 2021.