Democracy Impacts

UK Official: Lawmakers Could Rescind Brexit Notice to Prevent “No Deal”

January 17, 2019

The Guardian reports that, in a telephone briefing for business leaders, UK Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond asserted that the British Parliament could take the prospect of a “no deal” Brexit off the table by rescinding the notification of the UK’s intent to withdraw from the EU.
EC Delays Plans to End Veto for EU Tax Legislation

January 16, 2019

Reuters reports that the European Commission (EC) has delayed until the year 2025 plans for an end to the EU requirement of unanimous member state approval to amend the bloc’s tax rules, which would ease the bloc’s plan to introduce a tax on corporate digital revenues.
Auditors Push for Access to ECB Records on Bank Supervision

January 16, 2019

The European Court of Auditors (ECA) has published a press release pushing EU lawmakers to force the European Central Bank (ECB) to open up its records to ECA scrutiny and allow proper auditing of the ECB’s banking supervision across the bloc.
AfD Manifesto Includes EU Withdrawal Threat

January 16, 2019

The Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) party in Germany has included in its manifesto calls for the abolition of the European Parliament and for Germany to withdraw from the EU if the bloc fails to meet AfD’s demands for reform.
UK Parliament Votes Down EU Withdrawal Deal

January 15, 2019

The UK Parliament voted today to reject a deal struck by Prime Minister Theresa May and EU negotiators on the terms of Britain’s withdrawal from the bloc, in what the BBC reports was “the largest defeat for a sitting government in history.”
EU Rejects Time Limit for Brexit Deal “Backstop”

January 15, 2019

The Guardian reports that, prior to the UK Parliament’s rejection of Prime Minister Theresa May’s negotiated withdrawal deal with the EU, the British government published an exchange in which EU leaders turned down proposals to set a time limit for the deal’s “backstop,” under which the UK could be forced to remain indefinitely within EU structures.
British PM Warns Defeat of EU Deal Could Halt Brexit

January 15, 2019

UK Prime Minister Theresa May has warned euroskeptics that the defeat of the British government’s EU withdrawal deal in the House of Commons, by leaving only a “no deal” Brexit option on the table, could ultimately prompt Members of Parliament to halt the Brexit process.
UK Sees Rise in Support of “No Deal” Brexit

January 15, 2019

An article in The Washington Post explains a rise in support in recent months of the “no deal” Brexit option among UK euroskeptics who prefer the short-term risks of economic disruption to a withdrawal deal proposed by Prime Minister Theresa May, whose suggested “backstop” would arguably keep Britain within EU structures for an indefinite period of time.
UK Ministers Eye Delayed Brexit in Case of Failed Withdrawal Deal

January 15, 2019

The Evening Standard reports that a group of unidentified UK Cabinet Ministers have indicated they would push for the delay of the UK’s exit from the EU in an “emergency crisis situation” following a defeat of the Prime Minister’s EU withdrawal bill in the House of Commons.
Former UK Officials Warn Brexit Deal Threatens Security

January 15, 2019

A group of British security experts, including former head of the British Secret Intelligence Service Sir Richard Dearlove, has called on UK voters to convince their Members of Parliament to vote against the withdrawal deal Prime Minister Theresa May has struck with the EU because it would “place control of aspects of our national security in foreign hands.”