Democracy Impacts

May Offers UK Parliament Vote to Delay Brexit

February 27, 2019

NPR reports that UK Prime Minister Theresa May has offered the House of Commons an opportunity to vote to delay Brexit for up to three months if they reject, in a series of votes in March, both the withdrawal deal she is negotiating with the EU and departure of Britain from the EU on WTO terms.
Spain Hinders Brexit Visa Rules with Gibraltar “Colony” Reference

February 22, 2019

The Guardian reports that the Spanish government has stymied legislation that would permit visa-free travel by UK visitors to the EU in case of a no-deal Brexit by including in the relevant legislation a reference to Gibraltar as a British “colony,” causing the European Parliament to reject the rules.
NGO Pushes Finance Ministers to Back EU Climate Plan

February 22, 2019

Environmental activist organization WWF recently called on EU national finance ministers meeting in Brussels to endorse the European Commission’s (EC) long-term plan to create a “climate neutral” European economy in Europe and to push the EC for more ambitious regulation of EU industry to meet its emissions goals.
UK Parliament Votes Against May’s Brexit Strategy

February 15, 2019

The UK Parliament has voted against Prime Minister Theresa May’s Brexit strategy to seek concessions from EU negotiators on the UK-EU withdrawal deal, as members of the euroskeptic European Research Group abstained from the vote due to the inclusion of a provision aiming to avoid a no-deal Brexit.
EU Members Mull Long Brexit Delay

February 15, 2019

The Express reports that, according to an EU diplomat, French President Emmanuel Macron is supporting a nine-month delay in Brexit to permit more time for negotiations, a move that would require the UK to participate in European parliamentary elections this May.
Dutch PM: Brexit Vote Has “Diminished” the UK

February 14, 2019

In a recent interview, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said the UK has become a “diminished country” since the Brexit vote that will be “too small to appear on the world stage on its own” after its withdrawal from the EU.
Soros: EU Is at Risk of Dissolution

February 14, 2019

George Soros warns in The Guardian that “Europe is sleepwalking into oblivion” as major parties fail to reform in recognition of threats to their power posed by rising euroskeptic movements in the upcoming European parliamentary elections.
EU Institutions Advance Common Rules on External Gas Pipelines

February 14, 2019

The European Commission has welcomed a provisional agreement among EU institutions on legislation setting out rules governing gas pipelines entering the bloc and providing oversight of EU members’ application of these rules, as officials seek to advance plans for an EU “Energy Union.”
UK Official Points to Brexit Delay as Negotiating Tool

February 14, 2019

ITV News reports on comments from UK Brexit negotiator Olly Robbins indicating that Prime Minister Theresa May will present her current Brexit deal to Parliament as the only way to avoid a “long” delay in withdrawing from the EU and that the Irish border backstop was intended as a “bridge” to a future close relationship with the EU.
UK Official: Brexit Delay “With No Clarity” Benefits No One

February 14, 2019

The Guardian reports that the UK Secretary for Brexit Stephen Barclay has stated that his government is not planning to delay the Brexit process, arguing that it is in neither the UK’s nor the EU’s interest to extend negotiations “with no clarity” on how they will proceed.