Democracy Impacts

Hungary Mulls Push for EU Treaty Change on Migration

September 23, 2016

As the Hungarian government faces pressure to take back asylum seekers who passed through the country on their way to other EU destinations, Hungarian daily Nepszabadsag reports that the government is considering pushing for treaty changes to exempt national migration rules from common EU policies after the country's referendum on EU migration rules in October.
Switzerland Advances Compromise Law on EU Migration

September 22, 2016

Reuters reports that the Swiss Parliament has advanced legislation that would seek to pacify Swiss citizens who voted in a 2014 referendum to impose quotas on migrants from EU countries by requiring companies to first consider locals for job openings before looking outside the country.
Bosnia and Herzegovina Moves Toward EU Membership

September 21, 2016

Reuters reports that the Council of the EU has accepted the application of Bosnia and Herzegovina for EU membership and has called on the European Commission to assess the readiness of the country to join the bloc.
Official: Hungary Vote Targets "Stealth" EU Policies

September 21, 2016

According to an article by Donna Rachel Edmunds, Hungarian government spokesman Zoltán Kovács has asserted that Hungary's upcoming referendum on whether to permit the EU to resettle migrants in Hungary is targeted at rolling back the EU's "stealth mode of decision-making, law-making and regulation."
Visegrad Officials Threaten Brexit Veto over Free Movement

September 20, 2016

Bloomberg reports that officials from the Visegrad group of countries - Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Hungary - have warned that they will veto any post-Brexit deal between the EU and Britain if it grants the UK access to the EU's "single market" without permitting unfettered free movement between Britain and the bloc.
UK Politicians Back Group Pushing for "Hard" Brexit

September 20, 2016

The Telegraph reports that a group of former British government ministers and other Members of Parliament are backing a new pressure group, called "Leave Means Leave," that will push for UK Prime Minister Theresa May to favor fully cutting ties with the EU rather than accepting new rules from Brussels and permitting freedom of movement from EU countries.
UK Issues Veto Threat over EU Military Plans

September 20, 2016

Warning against "unnecessarily duplicating what we already have" in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, British Defence Secretary Sir Michael Fallon has pledged to continue to halt plans for an EU "common military force" while his country remains a member of the bloc.
EU Leaders Mull Common Military Proposals

September 19, 2016

The New York Times reports that, as leaders of France, Germany, and EU institutions face eroding confidence in trade negotiations and economic centralization, they are turning to the potential creation of a common EU military force as a strategy to regain citizens' trust following the UK's vote to exit the bloc.
German Lawmaker Proposes Multi-tiered EU

September 19, 2016

Reuters reports that German lawmaker Norbert Roettgen, who chairs the national parliament's foreign affairs committee, has called for the development of a new EU model in which countries would join different circles of integration and would not be required to accept free movement of people in exchange for access to the bloc's "single market."
Juncker Calls for EU Military Force

September 19, 2016

In his annual State of the Union address, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker called for the EU to develop a "common military force" that would complement the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.