Democracy Impacts

EU Supports Spanish Position on Catalan Referendum

October 20, 2017

Following the violent intervention of Spanish authorities against citizens attempting to vote in the recent Catalan independence referendum, the EU issued a brief statement calling the vote illegal and the response to the vote "an internal matter for Spain," while venturing that, beyond the legal issues involves, this is not the time for "divisiveness and fragmentation."
Johnson Highlights Brexit "Red Lines"

October 20, 2017

In a recent interview with The Sun, UK Foreign Minister Boris Johnson set out what he considers to be "red lines" in the UK's Brexit negotiations with the EU - a transition period lasting no more than two years and refusal to recognize EU court rulings, pay for market access, and "shadow" EU rules after the transition period.
Former ECJ Judge Critiques EU Approach to Brexit

October 19, 2017

Former Belgian Judge at the Court of Justice of the EU (ECJ) Franklin Dehousse writes that the EU's decision to sequence Brexit negotiations with the UK so questions of financial obligations and citizens' rights come first is not legally required and warns that it "makes the negotiations more difficult by disconnecting connected topics."
Paper: Macron's EU Speech Will Face Opposition

October 19, 2017

Aarti Shankar of British think tank Open Europe explains why the expansive proposals announced by French President Emmanuel Macron in a recent speech on the future of the EU, ranging from the integration of security policy to the level of minimum wage, will provoke opposition from countries that fear "greater marginalisation and underrepresentation in the bloc."
NGO Calls on Europe to Fulfill Migrant Quotas

October 19, 2017

The nongovernmental organization Amnesty International has called on EU countries to fulfill their quotas for accepting migrants currently awaiting relocation in Italy and Greece under the EU’s policy of mandatory migrant resettlement, as only one EU member has fulfilled its quota as the two-year plan expires.
EC Leaders Push for Unified Migration Policy

October 19, 2017

As the European Commission (EC) reviews progress on the bloc’s 2015 migration agreement, EC leaders have called for a unified, long-term migration policy aimed at increasing “solidarity” in resettlement, “enhancing legal pathways” for greater migration, and a “more effective” return policy.
UN Agent: Brexit Could Lead to Environmental Degradation

October 18, 2017

UN Special Rapporteur on hazardous substances and wastes Baskut Tuncak has published a report claiming that the UK may lack the resources and the political will to uphold the same environmental standards as the EU, thus jeopardizing the environmental rights of UK residents.
Lawyers Propose Post-Brexit UK Treaties Court

October 17, 2017

The Daily Mail reports that a campaign group of UK lawyers has proposed the creation of an International Treaties Court in Britain whose aim would be to reconcile the UK's interpretation of post-Brexit treaties with the EU with that of the Court of Justice of the EU (ECJ), to be guided by an ad hoc arbitration body in the case of disputes between the jurisdictions.
Goodman: Prepare for "No Deal" Brexit Scenario

October 16, 2017

Commentator Paul Goodman writes that UK Prime Minister Theresa May must make it clear to EU officials that the British Government is ready to walk away from Brexit negotiations if they do not offer the UK a beneficial future relationship with the bloc, and that British officials must prepare for such a "no deal" scenario in the event it occurs as early as 2019.
UK Eyes ECJ Jurisdiction During Transition

October 11, 2017

Politico reports that UK Prime Minister Theresa May has conceded that any period of transition in Britain's relationship with the EU after the date of Brexit could involve the continued jurisdiction of the Court of Justice of the EU (ECJ) over the UK and the acceptance of some new EU regulations over which the British people would not have a say.