Democracy Impacts

UK Parliament Votes Against No-Deal Brexit

March 13, 2019

The day after the UK House of Commons voted down a revised version of Prime Minister Theresa May’s proposed EU withdrawal deal, lawmakers voted in favor of a motion aimed at permanently preventing Britain from leaving the EU without first having negotiated exit terms with the bloc.
UK Parliament Rejects Revised Brexit Deal

March 12, 2019

The UK Parliament has rejected a revised version of the Brexit deal agreed by UK Prime Minister Theresa May and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker that would have limited, but not eliminated, the ability of the EU to keep Britain in its customs union on a permanent basis.
CDU Chief Outlines Vision of Balance Between EU, Nation States

March 11, 2019

Politico reports that the new leader of the governing German CDU Party Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer has responded to French President Emmanuel Macron’s vision for a “European renaissance” with an op-ed opposing “European centralism” but calling for focused EU policies on immigration, defense, and climate change.
UK Official Raises ECHR as Obstacle to Brexit “Backstop”

March 08, 2019

The Guardian reports that, in recent talks with EU negotiators, UK Attorney General Geoffrey Cox argued that the Irish border “backstop” contingency measure in the UK-EU withdrawal deal could violate the rights, under the European Convention on Human Rights, of the Northern Irish people to democratic representation in EU institutions.
UK Euroskeptics Offer Tests for a Successful Brexit Deal

March 07, 2019

Reuters reports that euroskeptics in the UK Conservative Party have offered three tests for a Brexit deal they can support, pushing for legally binding, clear language offering Britain an exit route from the Irish border “backstop” provision that would tie the UK to the EU customs union under the current withdrawal deal.
Macron's "European Renaissance" Focuses on EU Authority

March 06, 2019

In a letter published in newspapers across Europe, French President Emmanuel Macron calls for a “European renaissance” focused on the centralization of authority in EU institutions, such as a European Agency for the Protection of Democracies and a European Climate Bank, to advance a broad social and environmental agenda.
EU Ecosystem Mapping Lays Basis for Biodiversity Strategy

March 06, 2019

The European Environment Agency has issued a report highlighting its progress in mapping ecosystem types across Europe to lay the foundation for the EU’s 2020 biodiversity strategy.
Former London Official Explains Challenges Backstop Poses for Brexit

March 04, 2019

Former Deputy Chairman of Transport for London and adviser to the Mayor of London Daniel Moylan explains the significance of the “Irish backstop” provisions in the UK-EU withdrawal deal in terms of the future lack of independence from EU structures they would mean for Britain.
UK Opposition Party Calls for Second Brexit Referendum

March 01, 2019

The head of the UK Labour Party Jeremy Corbyn has announced his party’s support for a new British referendum on leaving the EU that would include an option on the ballot whether to overturn the result of the 2016 referendum that triggered the Brexit process.
EU Leaders Support Brexit Delay

March 01, 2019

The Independent reports that President of the EU Council Donald Tusk and Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar have supported a delayed Brexit, with the EU Council chief referring to a delay as a “rational” response to the failure of the EU and UK Prime Minister Theresa May to reach a withdrawal deal that is acceptable to the British Parliament.