Democracy Impacts

British MEPs Seek to Stay in EU Market, Customs Union

January 10, 2018

The Guardian reports that a letter from 20 British Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) calls on UK Prime Minister Theresa May to keep Britain in the EU's internal market and customs union, despite warnings from some politicians and lawyers that such a move would subject the UK to EU rules without permitting the country a say in making them.
US Official Calls for UK Rejection of EU Food Standards

January 10, 2018

Bloomberg reports that, in a recent interview, US Department of Agriculture trade official Ted McKinney stated that a US-UK trade deal is far more likely after Brexit if Britain rejects EU food and environmental safety standards with which the country currently must comply.
Hungary, Poland Push for Larger Voice in EU

January 10, 2018

Reuters reports that, at a recent joint news conference, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki asserted that the EU's "failed" policy of migration quotas "infringes on sovereign decisions of member states" and called for "a strong say" for the national governments of Central and Eastern Europe in EU governance.
Guidelines Seek UK Submission to EU Rules After Brexit

January 09, 2018

The BBC reports that European Commission guidelines on the next phase of Brexit talks, which will focus on the terms of a transition, or "implementation," period after the UK leaves the EU, demand that Britain follow all EU rules, stay in the EU customs union, and remain subject to rulings of the EU Court of Justice during such a period.
Article Questions Plans for Post-Brexit "Implementation" Period

January 08, 2018

Michael Burrage of Economists for Free Trade and the think tank Civitas writes that the UK government has failed to explain why it is necessary to agree with the EU to a two-year "implementation" period delaying Britain's exit from EU institutions at considerable cost to British taxpayers.
UK Lawmaker Criticizes Plans for Post-Brexit "Transition"

January 08, 2018

UK Member of Parliament Jacob Rees-Mogg has called on the UK government to avoid making Britain a "vassal" state during a planned transition period after Brexit by accepting EU regulations and the jurisdiction of the EU Court of Justice without having a say over legislation in the bloc.
EU Members Disagree on Solution to Migration Flows

January 08, 2018

Voice of America reports that, at a recent summit of EU member states, Western EU members complained of the rejection of future migration quotas from members of the Visegrad Group - the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, and Slovakia - which instead offered funds for EU border security.
EU Bodies Battle over Future of Migration Quotas

January 08, 2018

EUobserver reports that the European Commissioner for Migration Dimitris Avramopoulos has criticized an assertion by EU Council President Donald Tusk that mandatory EU quotas for migration are unworkable as "unacceptable" and contrary to "one of the main pillars of the European project, the principle of solidarity."
UK Announces Plans for "Settled Status" of EU Citizens

January 05, 2018

The Guardian reports that UK Minister of State for Immigration Brandon Lewis has announced UK plans to permit EU citizens who have resided in Britain continuously for five years and wish to stay in the country after Brexit to apply for "settled status" by paying a fee and submitting to a criminal background check.
German Politician Calls for "United States of Europe" by 2025

January 04, 2018

Politico reports that, as part of his demands for upcoming talks on forming a coalition government in Germany, leader of the German Social Democratic Party Martin Shulz has called for the future government to advance a "constitutional treaty" that will convert the EU into a "United States of Europe" by the year 2025.