Democracy Impacts

EU Official Seeks Political Union Through Eurozone Integration

January 02, 2018

Reuters reports that European Commissioner for Economic and Financial Affairs Pierre Moscovici recently asserted that proposals to deepen the integration of the eurozone "should advance the unity of Europe through greater convergence within the euro area and the wider Union" and must place more power over the eurozone bailout fund in the hands of the European Parliament.
Letter Pushes for Conditions on Brexit Payment

December 28, 2017

A group of euroskeptic British Members of Parliament, civil society representatives, and others have published an open letter calling for the UK to agree to make a "goodwill payment" to the EU only if EU negotiators agree to the broad outlines of a free trade deal and allow for the jurisdiction of the EU Court of Justice over the UK to cease on Brexit day.
NYT: UK Caves to EU Terms on Brexit Deal

December 28, 2017

An article in The New York Times highlights how UK Prime Minister Theresa May has shifted from her position that no Brexit deal is better than a bad Brexit deal in an agreement with EU officials with reported terms that include a large Brexit "divorce" bill and a transition period that would keep Britain under EU Court of Justice jurisdiction for at least two years after Brexit.
Official Seeks Strong Post-Brexit EU Defense Architecture

December 28, 2017

In a recent speech in Berlin, the European Commission's Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier characterized the UK's decision to leave the EU as a refusal to "stay shoulder to shoulder with the Union" on security issues and praised the efforts of EU institutions and member states to shape a pan-European military architecture to provide for a common defense after Brexit.
WTO Chief: "No Deal" Brexit Would Be "Manageable"

December 19, 2017

In November remarks in Geneva, the Director General of the World Trade Organization (WTO) Roberto Azevedo predicted that a scenario in which the UK failed to reach a deal with the EU on free trade after Brexit and was required to operate under WTO rules in its trade with the bloc was "perfectly manageable."
EC Pushes for Common Education Policies

December 19, 2017

In November, the European Commission (EC) released a document pushing for the development by the year 2025 of a European Education Area that would, among other things, provide for recommendations from supranational institutions on curricula content in EU member states.
Lawyer: The City Should Not Fear a "No-Deal" Brexit

December 18, 2017

British lawyer Barnabas Reynolds of Shearman & Sterling explains why the "cliff-edge" no-deal-Brexit scenario dreaded by many London financial firms would in fact offer few obstacles to continuing to carry out transactions smoothly both with EU-based and non-EU-based customers.
Barnier: EU-UK Trade Deal Depends on Regulatory Compliance

December 15, 2017

In a recent speech in Brussels, the EU's chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier said Britain's willingness to comply with EU regulations in such areas as "fair competition, state aid, tax dumping, food safety, social and environmental standards" would be "decisive" in the country's ability to obtain a free trade deal with the bloc after Brexit.
EU Parliament Votes to Consider Polish Sanctions

December 15, 2017

The New York Times reports that the European Parliament voted in November to invoke a portion of the EU treaties that could trigger sanctions against Poland, such as the loss of its EU voting rights, over legislative measures the country has undertaken asserting more political influence over the judiciary.
EU Ministers Sign Pact on Defense Cooperation

December 07, 2017

Reuters reports that, in November, foreign and defense ministers from 23 EU member states signed a pact for an initiative called Permanent Structured Cooperation that provides for collaboration on joint EU military projects, sets up a common EU fund for the purchase and development of weapons, and requires national reports on military preparedness.