Democracy Impacts

EU Body Approves Opinion on "Sustainable" Forestry

April 20, 2018

A report approved by the EU Committee of the Regions' Commission for Natural Resources signals how EU institutions have used their development of a common agricultural policy, trade policy, energy policy, and climate policy to assert authority over related matters, including forests, on which the report calls for action toward "socially and environmentally sustainable growth."
EU Council Seeks "Level Playing Field" with UK

April 19, 2018

Hugh Bennett of BrexitCentral examines a recent negotiating document released by the European Council that includes a call for "robust guarantees which ensure a level playing field" between the UK and EU after Brexit, a provision that would lock Britain into adopting standards dictated by the EU and potentially into EU court jurisdiction after it departs the bloc.
EC Appointment Provokes Controversy in Parliament

April 19, 2018

Politico reports that Members of the European Parliament from all sides blasted the swift appointment of German-Belgian civil servant Martin Selmayr to the position of Secretary-General of the European Commission (EC), criticizing the lack of transparency and deliberation in Selmayr's promotion to the important post.
UK Officials Seek Departure from EU Fisheries Policy

April 18, 2018

The Telegraph reports that Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson and UK Environment Secretary Michael Gove have issued a statement calling on the British Government to make clear that the country will be leaving the EU's common fisheries policy and become a "fully functioning coastal state" when it leaves the bloc.
Bromund: EU Political Factors Tie up Brexit Deal

April 18, 2018

Ted Bromund of the Heritage Foundation explains why one of the largest obstacles to a deal between the UK and EU on the terms of Brexit is that the EU institutions are not motivated by economic rationality but rather by political factors that militate against helping Britain succeed as an independent nation.
Austrian Leader Seeks EU Border Security Focus

April 17, 2018

Reuters reports that Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz has pledged to use his country's term holding the rotating presidency of the EU to emphasize border security of the bloc and move away from mandatory refugee resettlement policies that have rankled Eastern EU member states.
Article: Franco-German Proposals Risk Unraveling EU

April 17, 2018

Corey Cooper of the Council on Foreign Relations writes that Franco-German proposals for accelerated centralization of policy-making in Brussels "are not based in political reality" and asserts that only "inclusive and democratic" reform, on a gradual basis, will succeed in uniting Europeans behind the EU project.
EU Legislators: Brexit Transition Must Respect Free Movement

April 16, 2018

The Independent reports that leaders of the major European Parliament political groupings have backed a motion demanding that the UK respect in full the EU's principle of freedom of movement during any post-Brexit transition period, meaning citizens of EU countries could move to the UK and potentially claim a right to remain after the transition.
EP Report Seeks Post-Brexit UK-EU Regulatory Convergence

April 16, 2018

Politico reports that Members of the European Parliament (EP) have drafted a resolution calling for the UK to accept a "binding convergence mechanism" requiring it to abide by EU rules and judgments of the Court of Justice of the EU (ECJ) as part of any comprehensive post-Brexit trade deal with the bloc.
EU Moves Toward Centralization of Wage Policies

April 16, 2018

Deutsche Welle reports that negotiators for EU member states recently agreed a set of broad principles underlying the centralization of policy for posted workers in the EU, proposing reforms that would generally require equality in wages between workers temporarily working in a country and workers who permanently reside in that country.