Democracy Impacts

EU Parliament Chief Pushes UK on Citizens' Rights

May 30, 2017

The Guardian reports that European Parliament President Antonio Tajani insisted in a recent meeting with British Prime Minister Theresa May that the UK must permit citizens of other EU member states living in the UK the same rights after Brexit, signaling the possibility that the Court of Justice of the EU could maintain jurisdiction over people based in British territory.
London Bankers Seek UK-EU Regulation Monitor

May 26, 2017

The City of London Corporation’s International Regulatory Strategy Group has called for the British government to negotiate a deal on maintaining "equivalence" between EU and UK financial regulations to permit UK banks to retain access to the EU market, including by creating a UK-EU "committee or forum" that monitors regulatory changes.
Initiative Expands EU Governance in Mediterranean

May 25, 2017

The European Commission has launched a new project to promote the UN's comprehensive "sustainable development" agenda in what it calls the "blue economy," or sea-based economic activity, of the Western Mediterranean by providing for "spatial planning" and "habitat conservation" in the region.
MEPs Support Independent Scotland in EU

May 24, 2017

The Scotsman reports that 50 Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) have signed a letter to the Scottish Parliament supporting the "swift" entry of an independent Scotland into the EU, raising concerns over EU interference in UK domestic politics and sovereignty.
Negotiator Seeks Post-Brexit EU Rights for Britons

May 24, 2017

The European Parliament's chief negotiator for Brexit, Guy Verhofstadt, recently called for the EU and UK to negotiate an agreement permitting British nationals to retain their EU-guaranteed rights after the country departs the bloc, leaving open the possibility that the Court of Justice of the EU would continue to operate in Britain to adjudicate those rights following Brexit.
UK Official Predicts Post-Brexit Free Movement

May 23, 2017

Reuters reports that UK Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson has speculated that the UK and EU could agree in the next two years to a post-Brexit transition period during which nationals from EU member states would automatically be permitted entry into Britain.
Eurogroup Chair: UK Must Heed EU Banking Standards

May 22, 2017

Jeroen Dijsselbloem, chairman of the informal conference of eurozone member states called the Eurogroup, predicted at a recent conference that, in order to strike a post-Brexit financial sector agreement with the EU, the UK would have to agree in the future to permit a body to "regularly assess" whether its banking regulation is sufficiently close to European standards.
German President Criticizes "Irresponsible" Brexit

May 15, 2017

In an address to the European Parliament, German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier warned that the "black and white" message of nationalists, including in the UK's EU referendum campaign, is "irresponsible" and asserted that EU member states are "gaining strength through" sovereignty as part of the supranational project.
EU Politician Seeks Post-Brexit Ban on UK Euro Clearing

May 12, 2017

The Guardian reports that Manfred Weber, leader of the European People's Party grouping in the European Parliament, has asserted that the EU must remove from London the business of clearing euro-denominated transactions, a sector currently "dominated" by British financial companies, following the UK's exit from the EU.
UK Faces Battle over Continued ECJ Jurisdiction

May 10, 2017

Bloomberg reports that British Government authorities are rejecting assertions from their EU counterparts that the Court of Justice of the EU (ECJ) should continue to have jurisdiction over the social and economic rights, as granted by the bloc's law, of EU nationals who have moved to the UK prior to Brexit.