Democracy Impacts

EC Floats Prospect of UK Joining EEA During Transition

April 19, 2017

Politico reports that the European Commission (EC) is considering the possibility of a transition deal whereby the UK would join the European Economic Area (EEA) and remain a part of the EU’s single market while the bloc continues to work out its long-term relationship with the UK.
EU Lays Out “Red Lines” for Brexit Negotiations

April 12, 2017

EU member states appear ready to agree to the Brexit negotiation guidelines proposed by European Council President Donald Tusk which would require the UK to abide by EU law and court decisions as well as shoulder relevant budget costs if it seeks a gradual transition from the single market.
Britain Seeks to Offset EU "Divorce Bill"

April 05, 2017

The Telegraph reports that UK officials are taking stock of British funds and assets currently held by EU institutions that they will use to offset at least a substantial amount of the "divorce bill" EU officials assert the UK will owe the bloc upon Brexit due to existing budget obligations.
EU Eyes Brexit Transition Deal on Goods

April 05, 2017

Politico reports that EU negotiators in upcoming Brexit talks are increasingly accepting the idea of a UK-EU transition deal setting tariffs on all goods at zero before the agreement of a permanent trade agreement, a plan that would exclude the British services industry and likely leave many of the country's companies under the jurisdiction of the Court of Justice of the EU.
EU Uses Gibraltar as Bargaining Chip in Brexit Talks

April 05, 2017

The Guardian reports that the EU Council is seeking to use the governance of Gibraltar, and its attractiveness as a financial services hub, as a bargaining chip in Brexit negotiations by including a provision in its draft Brexit guidelines requiring Spain's approval before the EU and the UK can include the UK territory in any future deal.
UK Official Prioritizes Post-Brexit US Defense Cooperation

April 05, 2017

The Guardian reports that, ahead of a meeting with his US counterpart, UK Defense Secretary Sir Michael Fallon emphasized the importance of the US to the UK's post-Brexit international security cooperation and pointed to the relative lack of ambition in EU spending on and participation in operations of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
UK Outlines Plans for "Great Repeal Bill" upon Brexit

April 05, 2017

The UK government has published a white paper on plans for a Great Repeal Bill that will replicate existing EU laws and regulations in British law at the time Brexit occurs and end the jurisdiction of the Court of Justice of the EU over the UK legal system.
Visegrad Group Rejects EU Resettlement Policy

April 05, 2017

AP reports that leaders of countries in the Visegrad Group - Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, and Slovakia - have rejected calls from other EU member states to pressure them to comply with the bloc's rules on resettling migrants by withholding EU financial support from their governments.
NGO: EU Must Pressure Hungary on Refugee Detention

April 05, 2017

An article from Human Rights Watch calls on EU Commissioner for Migration Dimitris Avramopoulos to threaten to use a "legal enforcement action" to pressure Hungarian officials to reverse course on the country's policy requiring the detention of asylum seekers while they await a decision on their asylum application.
EU Declaration Gestures Toward "Multi-Speed" Europe

April 05, 2017

The EU's recent Rome Declaration, marking the 60th Anniversary of European integration and setting out a broadly worded set of priorities for the next decade, solidifies Western countries' preference of a "multi-speed" EU by including language allowing for member states to move "at different paces and intensity where necessary" toward a federal union.