Democracy Impacts

UK Euroskeptics Warn of EU Free Movement Dangers

April 04, 2016

The Telegraph reports that UK campaigners for Britain to vote to leave the EU are drawing attention to a number of instances in which they say EU rules permitting free movement among member states led to the admission into the UK of suspected terrorists and convicted criminals, who in some cases subsequently committed criminal offenses in Britain.
Former MI6 Chief: Brexit Could Make UK Safer

March 31, 2016

Predicting that intelligence cooperation between the British government and others, including EU members and the US, would continue following a UK exit from the EU, former head of the British foreign intelligence service MI6 Sir Richard Dearlove has asserted that such an exit could actually lead to UK "security gains."
Swiss Official Warns UK on Perils of Post-Brexit Trade Deal

March 29, 2016

Highlighting the dangers of a post-Brexit trade deal that keeps the UK bound tightly to the bloc in law and policy, Politico reports that the Swiss Ambassador to the EU Roberto Balzaretti has warned Britain that an exit from the EU could cause the country to lose its seat at the Brussels bargaining table while still requiring the government to abide by EU rules.
EU Parliament Accepts Legislative Transparency

March 23, 2016

Following promises of openness in light of the success of anti-EU parties in the 2014 elections, the European Parliament has agreed to new rules aimed at increasing transparency in lawmaking at EU institutions, including through environmental and social impact assessments for legislation.
Iceland PM: UK Has Diminishing Influence in EU

March 10, 2016

According to The Telegraph, the Prime Minister of Iceland Sigmundur Gunnlaugsson has warned that, in an EU where Germany increasingly controls the direction of policy, Britain is losing influence and would be unable to push market-friendly reforms through the EU institutions if it chooses to remain in the bloc.
Hague: EU Should Grant Turkey "Associate Membership"

March 09, 2016

Former UK foreign secretary William Hague has called on the EU to create a new category of "associate membership" that would encompass such countries as the UK and Turkey that do not wish to, or cannot, strive for "ever closer union" but do wish to maintain strong ties with the bloc.
Article: Crises Have Made EU's "Ever-Closer Union" Irrelevant

March 02, 2016

An article in The Economist argues that the promised separation of Britain from the language of "ever-closer union" in the EU treaties, negotiated by UK Prime Minister David Cameron, is increasingly irrelevant during a time when multiple crises, including the arrival of a massive number of migrants, are pulling EU countries apart.
Opponents Criticize UK's "Project Fact" on EU Membership

March 02, 2016

Supporters of Britain's exit from the EU, including Mayor of London Boris Johnson and several government ministers, have dismissed the findings of a UK Government report, called "Project Fact," asserting that the country faces a "decade of uncertainty" if it leaves the EU as "baloney."
Article: UK Must Shackle Itself to EU Political Union

March 02, 2016

Clive Crook writes in Bloomberg View that, although the British people disagree fundamentally with political integration with the EU, the economic costs and other "short-term risks" of leaving the bloc are too great to be overcome by the long-term prospects of a "loveless marriage" between the UK and the EU.
Telegraph Article Outlines Facts Related to Brexit

February 29, 2016

The Telegraph has published an article based on interviews with EU experts that compares the UK's current situation in the EU with what would likely occur if the British people voted to exit the bloc, including how such a decision would affect UK control over laws and policy.