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ECJ Official Finds Residency Rights for Same-Sex Spouses
January 17, 2018
The New York Times reports that Court of Justice of the EU (ECJ) Advocate General Melchior Wathelet has advised the ECJ to rule that, regardless of their policies on gay marriage, EU member states must recognize the right of same-sex spouses to live and work in their territories to the same degree they permit opposite-sex spouses to do so.
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Polish President Blames EU for "Disillusionment"
January 16, 2018
AP reports that, in recent remarks, Polish President Andrzej Duda placed partial blame for "social disillusionment" with European integration on EU institutions' failure to respond to the interests of all EU members and warned that these institutions should not "stigmatize, divide and antagonize European nations."
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Bulgaria Prepares New Push to Adopt Euro
January 16, 2018
Reuters reports that the Bulgarian government has signaled that it will place pressure on other EU member states to permit the country to adopt the euro by applying to join the next stage of the eurozone's exchange rate mechanism and forcing its members to explain what Bulgaria must do to meet the mechanism's requirements.
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NGO Director: UK Must Not Remain in EU Customs Union
January 16, 2018
Henry Newman of British think tank Open Europe writes that a decision by the UK to remain in the EU's customs union after Brexit, with no ability to guide EU trade policy and no option to strike trade deals with non-EU countries around the world, would be a "disastrous" choice for the country.
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EU Official Plans Direct Taxes to Plug Brexit Holes
January 11, 2018
The Independent reports that European Budget Commissioner Günther Oettinger has called for an expansion of the EU's authority to raise direct taxes, bypassing EU member governments, by introducing a Europe-wide tax on plastics and by making Brussels, as opposed to national governments, the beneficiary of revenue from the EU's emissions trading scheme.