Democracy Impacts

EU Official Touts Role of Interest Groups in Energy Policy

July 30, 2018

At a recent European Economic and Social Committee meeting on the transition to renewable energy in the EU, European Commissioner for energy Maroš Šefčovič highlighted the important role environmental interest groups must play in shaping EU-wide policy toward a centralized Energy Union.
EC Issues Report on Members’ Compliance with EU Rules

July 30, 2018

The European Commission (EC) recently published its Annual Report on monitoring the application of EU law with the aim of encouraging better and smoother member-state compliance with EU rules and naming and shaming countries that failed to effectively implement EU legislation.
British PM Rejects Calls for Second Brexit Referendum

July 27, 2018

The Evening Standard reports that British Prime Minister Theresa May has stated in response to calls from various Members of Parliament for a second Brexit referendum that there will be no such vote “under any circumstances.”
Paper Calls for EU Roadmap to Zero Emissions

July 27, 2018

The European Trade Union Institute has published an article calling on EU institutions to publish a roadmap explaining how the supranational organization will fulfill an “equitable transition to a zero-carbon economy,” meaning a total phase-out of emissions by the year 2050, under the UN’s Paris climate accord.
EC Reviews Policies to Promote Subsidiarity

July 26, 2018

A European Commission (EC) Task Force has presented a report to EC President Jean-Claude Juncker on how to respond to the concerns of Europeans about the ballooning power of the EU, pushing for an “active subsidiarity” approach to encourage greater ownership of EU actions by member states.
EU Agency Seeks Emissions Limits in Transportation, Farming

July 26, 2018

A briefing from the European Environment Agency points to the road transport and agriculture sectors as the greatest impediments to EU members’ efforts to meet supranational limits on air pollution and calls for government policies clamping down on emissions from these sectors to help meet EU targets.
EU Agency Calls for More Data on National Climate Policies

July 26, 2018

The European Environment Agency has produced a report warning that EU member states must disclose more quantitative data about the impacts and costs of their policies promoting a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions as part of the EU’s climate monitoring mechanism.
EC Supports Integration Through DiscoverEU Project

July 25, 2018

The European Commission (EC) has selected 15,000 young Europeans to participate in the first round of the DiscoverEU initiative, which offers them travel funding to explore other EU member states with the aim of making them “ambassadors” for the EU project and supportive of political integration.
EU Institutions Agree to Renewable Energy Legislation

July 24, 2018

The Council of the EU has announced that EU ambassadors have reached a deal with the European Parliament on a proposal to revise the EU’s renewable energy directive to help fulfill European commitments under the UN’s Paris climate accord with a target of 32 percent renewable energy in Europe by the year 2030.
EU Ambassadors Agree Direction of “Solidarity Corps”

July 24, 2018

An article from the Council of the EU describes an agreement among ambassadors for EU member states on funding for and future activities of the European Solidarity Corps and outlines the purposes of the project focused on the political integration of the EU as promoting a “tangible expression of European values.”