Democracy Impacts

EU Members Seek Status Quo Brexit Transition

January 17, 2018

The Independent reports that, according to draft negotiating directives from EU member states to the European Commission's Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier, the EU governments are calling for a post-Brexit transition arrangement with the UK that maintains free movement between the EU and UK and requires EU approval of any British free trade deals.
Leaders in Hungary, Ireland Oppose EU Tax Harmonization

January 17, 2018

New Europe reports that, at a recent news conference, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and Irish Taoiseach Leo Varadkar opposed calls from other EU leaders to centralize the administration of corporate tax rules within the bloc.
Polish President Blames EU for "Disillusionment"

January 16, 2018

AP reports that, in recent remarks, Polish President Andrzej Duda placed partial blame for "social disillusionment" with European integration on EU institutions' failure to respond to the interests of all EU members and warned that these institutions should not "stigmatize, divide and antagonize European nations."
EU Official Plans Direct Taxes to Plug Brexit Holes

January 11, 2018

The Independent reports that European Budget Commissioner Günther Oettinger‏ has called for an expansion of the EU's authority to raise direct taxes, bypassing EU member governments, by introducing a Europe-wide tax on plastics and by making Brussels, as opposed to national governments, the beneficiary of revenue from the EU's emissions trading scheme.
Commentator: EU's Path Forward Is Via National Sovereignty

January 10, 2018

Author and commentator John Lloyd writes that the EU should not lose itself in a post-Brexit "integrationist pipe dream" but rather should strengthen the bloc's national governments as politically accountable actors and "recast the Union as a loose association of friendly states" that offers both cooperation and flexibility.
Italian Party Backs off Call for Euro Referendum

January 10, 2018

Reuters reports that the head of Italy's 5-Star Movement Luigi Di Maio has rolled back his party's commitment to hold a referendum on Italy's membership of the eurozone as the group leads opinion polls in the months prior to Italy's March election.
British MEPs Seek to Stay in EU Market, Customs Union

January 10, 2018

The Guardian reports that a letter from 20 British Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) calls on UK Prime Minister Theresa May to keep Britain in the EU's internal market and customs union, despite warnings from some politicians and lawyers that such a move would subject the UK to EU rules without permitting the country a say in making them.
US Official Calls for UK Rejection of EU Food Standards

January 10, 2018

Bloomberg reports that, in a recent interview, US Department of Agriculture trade official Ted McKinney stated that a US-UK trade deal is far more likely after Brexit if Britain rejects EU food and environmental safety standards with which the country currently must comply.
Hungary, Poland Push for Larger Voice in EU

January 10, 2018

Reuters reports that, at a recent joint news conference, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki asserted that the EU's "failed" policy of migration quotas "infringes on sovereign decisions of member states" and called for "a strong say" for the national governments of Central and Eastern Europe in EU governance.
Guidelines Seek UK Submission to EU Rules After Brexit

January 09, 2018

The BBC reports that European Commission guidelines on the next phase of Brexit talks, which will focus on the terms of a transition, or "implementation," period after the UK leaves the EU, demand that Britain follow all EU rules, stay in the EU customs union, and remain subject to rulings of the EU Court of Justice during such a period.