Democracy Impacts

EU Summit Reaches Limited Deal on Refugee Centers

June 29, 2018

Politico reports that leaders of EU institutions and member states have secured a deal to create voluntary "controlled centers" in the EU to process and house asylum seekers, including aspirational language on limiting the free movement of asylum seekers throughout the EU and setting up migrant centers outside the bloc's borders.
French Official: Eurozone Budget Is Not Negotiable

June 27, 2018

Politico reports that French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire, on the eve of an EU summit exploring eurozone reforms, has warned other eurozone governments that, for France, the introduction of a common eurozone budget to spread risk and consolidate financial authority within the bloc is "not negotiable."
UK Officials Eye Extension of Brexit Transition

June 25, 2018

Bloomberg reports that senior officials in the UK are discussing the extension of the planned "transition" period, during which Britain would remain subject to EU customs and other rules and subject to the jurisdiction of the Court of Justice of the EU, beyond December 2020 to permit the country's development of new border measures.
EC Aims to Ramp up DiscoverEU Project

June 25, 2018

AP reports that, in its efforts to promote a transnational, "European" identity and increase support for the political aims of the EU project, the European Commission (EC) is seeking to expand funding for its recently launched DiscoverEU initiative, which funds the travel of young people to explore other EU member states, to 100 million euros.
Times Editorial Warns of Blowback from EU Funding Threats

June 25, 2018

An editorial in The New York Times warns that proposals within the EU institutions to respond to threats to the rule of law in EU member states by cutting their access to development funding would only embolden the leaders of these countries in their criticisms of the liberal, "know-it-all" West.
EC Raises Budget Despite Loss of British Funding

June 08, 2018

Politico reports that, in its recent budget proposal for the years 2021 to 2027, the European Commission (EC) responds to the €13 billion annual gap in its finances left by Brexit by calling for an "ambitious" rise in the bloc's annual spending to meet new priorities and a focus on the internal politics of its members by conditioning development funding on democratic standards.
UK Leader Pledges Strong Response to Brexit Amendments

June 08, 2018

According to the BBC, UK Prime Minister Theresa May is planning a "robust" response to the amendments the House of Lords recently made to her government's EU withdrawal legislation seeking to keep the UK close to the EU after the Brexit process, as government ministers labeled the amendments an attempt to "thwart the view of the British electorate."
Proposed "Back Stop" Draws Northern Ireland into EU Regulations

June 07, 2018

The Guardian reports that, in a recent appearance in Ireland, the European Commission's top Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier made clear his push for the UK to agree to a "back stop" solution in the case of failure of Brexit talks on the Irish border issue that would involve subjecting Northern Ireland to EU trade policy and regulations.
MP Criticizes UK-EU "Customs Partnership" Proposal

June 05, 2018

At a recent meeting, UK Member of Parliament Jacob Rees-Mogg called a UK government proposal to form a new "customs partnership" with the EU after Brexit "a betrayal of good sense," arguing that such a partnership would require the UK to retain EU tariffs and regulatory requirements.
Rees-Mogg: Brexit Revisions Threaten House of Lords' Standing

June 05, 2018

British Member of Parliament Jacob Rees-Mogg recently characterized a set of amendments the UK House of Lords made to Brexit legislation as "challenging the democratic will" of the people in an effort to prevent the UK's withdrawal from the EU and warned that the move threatened the legitimacy of the body.