Democracy Impacts

EU Members Fear Impacts of "Two-Speed" Bloc

February 24, 2017

The Guardian reports that officials in the Central and Eastern European Visegrad Group - Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Hungary - are increasingly opposing proposals from Western Europe to form a "two-speed" EU permitting a core area of member states to rapidly transfer their sovereignty to the EU without the interference of governments on the periphery of the bloc.
EU Committee Ramps up Vehicle Standards Testing

February 24, 2017

The European Parliament's Internal Market Committee has approved legislation, aimed at preventing a recurrence of the recent Volkswagen emissions scandal, that ramps up EU auditing of vehicle testing and the establishment of "national market surveillance programmes" to ensure adherence to the bloc's environmental and safety standards.
Committee Calls for EU-wide Alcohol Strategy

February 23, 2017

Lamenting that, so far, "alcohol policy has been left entirely to member states," the European Committee of the Regions has published recommendations calling on EU institutions to develop a Europe-wide strategy on combating the harmful impacts of alcohol.
MEPs Vote for EU Centralization Measures

February 22, 2017

Doubling down on the idea of forming "a more perfect Union" in Europe in the face of Brexit and rising nationalism, Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) have passed a set of resolutions calling for more muscular EU centralization policies, including through the creation of an EU finance minister and a common eurozone budget.
UK Peer: House of Lords Risks Legitimacy on Brexit

February 21, 2017

The Daily Mail reports that, following the UK House of Commons' passage of a bill authorizing Prime Minister Theresa May to trigger negotiations over the country's exit from the EU, former UK Chancellor of the Exchequer Lord Lamont warned that the House of Lords would risk its "survival" as an unelected body if it amended the bill to place conditions on Brexit.
Polish Leader Criticizes "Two-Speed" EU Approach

February 21, 2017

Head of the ruling Polish Law and Justice Party Jarosław Kaczyński has warned that the model of "two-speed" European integration recently suggested by several EU leaders, under which the federalization of Europe would take place more gradually in some member states than in others, would lead to the bloc's "breakdown."
Countries Offer Vision of More Flexible EU

February 21, 2017

The governments of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg have set out their "vision on the future of Europe" that includes restricting EU action to "core priorities" that are "based on the subsidiarity and proportionality principles" and permitting countries across the EU to proceed along "different paths of integration and enhanced cooperation."
Hungarian Official Criticizes Talk of Brexit "Punishment"

February 21, 2017

The Express reports that Zoltan Kovacs, spokesman for Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, has asserted that Hungary is seeking a "fair Brexit" and will not attempt to punish the UK for its decision to depart the EU by, for instance, contributing to plans to impose a financial penalty on Britain upon its exit.
EU Signals Insistence on UK Brexit Payment

February 21, 2017

The European Commission has signaled that it will insist on a UK financial contribution, which some experts peg at approximately 60 billion euros, to settle the country's budget commitments upon its departure from the EU.
Scottish Legislators Seek Separate EU Migration Deal

February 21, 2017

Politico reports that a committee of the Scottish Parliament, warning of the risks to the nation's economy posed by the potential departure of EU migrants and a future reduction in migration from the EU that may occur due to Brexit, has called on Scottish officials to pursue a migration deal with the EU that is less restrictive than that of the rest of the UK.