Democracy Impacts

EU May Sanction Poland for Judicial Changes

July 21, 2017

Politico reports that the European Commission is considering plans to sanction the Polish government, in a process that may lead to the country's loss of EU voting rights, in response to proposed Polish judicial reforms that, according to Commission Vice President Frans Timmermans, “greatly amplify the threat to the rule of law.”
Kelly: Trump's Warsaw Speech Reflects a Personalist Nationalism

July 20, 2017

In his recent speech in Warsaw, Poland, President Trump set forth a vision for a Personalist Nationalism, the key features of which Pope John Paul II first articulated.
EU May Struggle to Enforce "Brexit Bill"

July 20, 2017

The Daily Mail reports that, in the run-up to the UK general election in June, the European Commission rejected advice from EU lawyers that enforcement of a so-called "Brexit bill" of 100 billion euros would be "legally impossible" and decided to pursue the payment to plug a substantial hole in the bloc's budget.
German Officials Consider UK Fee for Market Access

July 20, 2017

Reuters reports that, in order to defray the added costs Germany would have to pay to the EU budget following Brexit, German officials have floated the idea of granting the UK access to the EU "single market" in return for a fee after Britain leaves the bloc.
EU Issues Proposals for Post-Brexit Euro Clearing Rules

July 19, 2017

The New York Times reports that, in the lead-up to the UK general election in June, the European Commission published a set of proposals indicating that, following Brexit, EU institutions would still seek to regulate firms located in the UK that perform euro clearing transactions and that "play a key systemic role for EU financial markets."
EU Calls for Future Phaseout of Border Controls

July 19, 2017

In a recent recommendation, the European Commission called on Austria, Germany, Denmark, Sweden, and Norway to phase out their temporary border controls over the next six months, finding that the EU has made sufficient progress in securing the bloc's external borders from large waves of migration to justify opening borders within the Schengen area.
UK Negotiator Maintains Hard Line on ECJ

July 19, 2017

According to The Daily Express, UK Brexit Secretary David Davis has indicated that the UK will not accept any proposal by the EU that provides for the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) in Britain after the UK leaves the bloc.
EU May “Stall” Brexit Negotiations over Exit Bill

July 19, 2017

Politico reports that Michel Barnier, the EU’s chief negotiator in Brexit negotiations, is prepared to “stall” negotiations if the UK government fails to present a proposal for calculating the country’s financial exit bill in what he considers to be a timely manner.
EU Files Financial Reporting Complaint Against Ireland

July 18, 2017

The European Commission recently announced that it is taking Ireland to the Court of Justice of the EU for failing to transpose provisions of the EU's Accounting Directive, creating EU-wide standards on information businesses must disclose in their annual financial statements, into the country's national law.
EU Demands Austria Reform Minimum Wage Laws

July 18, 2017

Highlighting the difficulties faced by EU member states in applying social legislation to foreign companies and workers operating in their territories under "internal market" rules, the European Commission has opened legal proceedings against Austria for applying its minimum wage rules to international road transport services.