Democracy Impacts

UKIP Calls for 2015 EU Referendum

October 17, 2014

In a recent interview, leader of the anti-EU U.K. Independence Party ("UKIP") Nigel Farage says he will use UKIP influence in the British Parliament following next year's elections to move forward a referendum on U.K. membership in the EU to 2015.
EU Adopts New Regulations on Political Parties

October 08, 2014

The European Council has adopted new legislation on European political parties, setting up an independent body in the European Parliament that evaluates whether such parties, among other things, respect the values upon which the European Union was founded in granting and withdrawing legal status.
Cameron Raises Possibility of Leaving EU

October 01, 2014

The Telegraph reports that in an interview at the beginning of the Conservative Party Conference, British Prime Minister David Cameron stated that he would not campaign for the U.K. to remain in the EU in a proposed referendum in 2017 if, at that time, he finds it is not in the interest of the country to do so.
Mach Makes Libertarian Case for EU Withdrawal

September 24, 2014

On Reason.com, Petr Mach argues the strongest case for libertarians, in order to deregulate national economies and create competition among European jurisdictions, is secession from the European Union.
AfD Prods German Government to Address Voter Concerns

September 17, 2014

Comparing the anti-euro party Alternative for Germany ("AfD") to the American Tea Party movement, The Economist reports that the success of upstart AfD in local and European elections is placing pressure on the German Government to respond to the concerns of euroskeptic voters.
Civitas Explores Solutions to Issues with British EU Exit

September 17, 2014

The British organization Civitas has published a report examining concerns of business leaders and individuals with the possible exit of the U.K. from the EU and proposing solutions to these potential problems.
Lord Hill Faces Heat in New Commission Position

September 17, 2014

Following the offer to Britain's proposed representative in the European Commission Lord Hill to head the body's financial services portfolio, head of the U.K. Independence Party Nigel Farage warned that the Commissioner could not be trusted to act in the interests of the British people.
Tuttle Explores Recent UKIP Success

September 10, 2014

At National Review Online, Ian Tuttle explains how the popularity of the U.K. Independence Party ("UKIP") arises from the belief that British has ceded sovereignty to EU institutions, which, he argues, are "anti-democratic."
Irish Justice Expresses Subsidiarity Concerns over ECHR

September 10, 2014

Irish Supreme Court Justice Adrian Hardiman has questioned whether the European Court of Human Rights ("ECHR") has ignored the principle of subsidiarity by hearing a case when domestic remedies had not yet been exhausted.
German Euroskeptic Party Wins State Seats

September 03, 2014

Following up on the wave of victories for euroskeptic parties in the European Parliamentary elections, the anti-euro party Alternative for Germany, founded in 2013, has won its first seats in state parliament in Saxony.