Democracy Impacts

Letts: UK Leaders Must Respect Vote for Sovereignty

July 01, 2016

Quentin Letts of The Daily Mail writes that the vote for Brexit was UK citizens' rebellion against their leaders in asserting the national sovereignty which British officials had declined to protect.
Academic: Brexit Shows Power of "Left-Behind"

July 01, 2016

Professor Matthew Goodwin of the University of Kent writes that, rather than focus on personalities dominating the campaign for the UK to leave the EU, observers should seek to understand the cultivation of euroskeptic views among British blue collar workers and the "left-behind" as an explanation for Brexit.
Farage Warns of Brexiter "Backslide" on Migration

July 01, 2016

Leader of the UK Independence Party Nigel Farage has warned that some leaders of the "Brexit" campaign set to take new posts in the British Government may, in his view, defy the decision of the voters to oppose "free movement" by negotiating continued open borders with the EU.
Brexit Campaigners: UK Must End "Free Movement"

July 01, 2016

Multiple leaders of the campaign for the UK to leave the EU have asserted that an end to the application in Britain of the EU principle of free movement is a "red line" that the country's new leadership must respect in the negotiations over Brexit.
Verhofstadt: Brexit Permits Stronger EU

June 30, 2016

Former Prime Minister of Belgium and current Member of the European Parliament Guy Verhofstadt writes that European leaders should use Britain's exit from the EU as an opportunity for closer integration of EU security powers and foreign policy.
Franco-German Plan Adjusts EU Balance of Power

June 30, 2016

Politico reports that, following the UK's vote to leave the EU, details have emerged regarding a plan between French and German officials that would return some authorities from the EU to national governments but consolidate EU power over broad foreign policy and immigration issues.
Brexit Vote Lays Bare Europe's Challenges

June 30, 2016

Peter Foster of The Telegraph writes that the UK's vote to leave the EU spotlights the challenges the bloc faces in collaborating on Europe-wide policies and may result in more vigorous action from national governments to take on these issues.
Lawlor: British EU Vote Is Democratic Triumph

June 29, 2016

Sheila Lawlor of the think tank Politeia celebrates the British vote to leave the EU as a decision of citizens to radically shift the political direction of their country toward freedom and the right to replace their rulers.
EU Institutions Agree to New Border Entity

June 29, 2016

The European Commission, Parliament, and Council have agreed to the creation of a European Border and Coast Guard that will supplement EU member state security and have the authority to use reserved staff and resources to reinforce the EU's external borders.
UK, EU Face Key Decisions Following Brexit Vote

June 24, 2016

Following the UK vote to leave the EU, Open Europe's Raoul Ruparel writes that it is time for "careful thought" as the UK and EU face an array of key decisions in the coming months, including on the timing of the UK's formal notice to exit and the characteristics of the partners' future relations.