European Parliamentary Research Service Blog
brexit
Brexit: Towards the end-game [What Think Tanks are thinking]
There is now growing doubt about possible progress on the future relations between the European Union and the United Kingdom. Continue reading
European Parliament Plenary Session – June 2020
It is (almost) back to ‘business as usual’ as Parliament meets again in plenary from Wednesday 17 to Friday 19 June 2020. Members will deal with a full agenda, including up to three voting sessions each day, using the alternative electronic voting procedure introduced since the coronavirus outbreak, which has now proven to run smoothly. Continue reading
European Parliament Plenary Session January II 2020
The agenda for the European Parliament Plenary Session of 29 and 30 January 2020 is a sombre one, featuring a solemn ceremony in remembrance of the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, and a vote on the Withdrawal Agreement of the United Kingdom (UK) from the European Union (EU). Continue reading
Brexit: The final countdown [What Think Tanks are thinking]
It is now clear that the United Kingdom will leave the European Union on 31 January 2020. It will do so on the basis of the revised Withdrawal Agreement negotiated between the EU-27 and the UK by Boris Johnson after he became Prime Minister last year. Continue reading
State of the Union: The view from regions and cities
o provide an opportunity for deeper reflection on the role of regions and cities in the EU in the years to come, the Committee of the Regions and the European Parliamentary Research Service organised a joint discussion on 16 October 2019, moderated by Etienne Bassot, Director of the Members’ Research Service, EPRS. Continue reading
European Parliament Plenary Session – September 2019
Parliament opens its doors for the first plenary session after the summer on Monday evening, with an agenda focused on climate issues and the EU budget. Continue reading
EU challenges at a time of transition [What Think Tanks are thinking]
The European Union faces numerous challenges, both short and long-term, as it prepares to choose the new executive European Commission for the next five years, following elections to the European Parliament in May 2019. The most immediate task is for European Commission President-elect, Ursula von der Leyen, to put together a college of Commissioners and secure the approval of the European Parliament for it. The EU is also engaged in tough negotiations on the terms of the United Kingdom’s withdrawal from the EU, currently due on 31 October. Continue reading
Journal of Common Market Studies Annual Review– 2019 Lecture: ‘How the EU 27 came to be’
On 4 April, EPRS hosted, in Parliament’s Library Reading Room, the Journal of Common Market Studies Annual Review 2019 Lecture – ‘How the EU27 came to be’, this year delivered by Professor Dr Brigid Laffan, Director of the Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies at the European University Institute in Florence. Continue reading
European Parliament Plenary Session – April I 2019
The first item on Parliament’s agenda in April is – unsurprisingly given the paralysis in the United Kingdom regarding which direction to take on Brexit – Council and Commission statements on the United Kingdom withdrawal from the EU. Continue reading
Brexit: Understanding the withdrawal agreement and political declaration
In November 2018, the European Union (EU) and the United Kingdom (UK) endorsed, at leaders’ level, an agreement that would ensure an orderly UK withdrawal from the EU on 30 March 2019, as well as a political declaration setting out the main parameters of the future EU-UK relationship. Continue reading
Outlook for the special European Council (Article 50), 25 November 2018
On 25 November 2018, EU Heads of State or Government are scheduled to meet for a special European Council to endorse the Brexit withdrawal agreement and approve a political declaration on future EU-UK relations accompanying the withdrawal agreement. Continue reading
The future partnership between the European Union and the United Kingdom: Negotiating a framework for relations after Brexit
Following the European Council’s additional guidelines of March 2018, the European Union (EU) and the United Kingdom (UK) have begun discussions on their future relations, after the UK’s withdrawal from the EU (Brexit). Continue reading
Brexit: Latest state of play [What Think Tanks are thinking]
he politically charged negotiations on the United Kingdom’s withdrawal from the European Union moved forward a little in July, when the British Cabinet put detailed proposals on the table for the future framework of EU-UK relations. The document, which envisages relatively close ties between the EU and UK, in trade and several other areas, after Britain leaves in March 2019, prompted the resignations of two senior ministers David Davis and Boris Johnson, who favour an even harder Brexit. EU officials have said that the new proposals contain some constructive elements, although many questions remain unanswered. This note offers links to reports and commentaries from some major international think-tanks and research institutes on Brexit negotiations and related issues. Continue reading
Plenary round-up – Strasbourg, March 2018
Highlights of the session included: a debate on the future of Europe with Portuguese Prime Minister, Antonio Costa; preparation of the European Council meeting on 22 and 23 March; debates on the appointment of the European Commission Secretary-General; on the US decision to impose tariffs on steel and aluminium; on corporate social responsibility; on conflict minerals; and protection of investigative journalists following the deaths of Jan Kuciak and Martina Kusnirova in Slovakia. High Representative Federica Mogherini made statements on Syria, EU-Cuba Joint Council, and EU-Central Asia relations, followed by debates. Parliament adopted, inter alia, its reports on the post-2020 future multi-annual financial framework and own-resource reform; common (consolidated) corporate tax; and regulation of cross-border parcel delivery; training of professional drivers; and Europass. Continue reading
Framework for future EU-UK relations
The European Parliament will hold a debate and vote a resolution setting out its proposals on the future relationship with the United Kingdom after Brexit, during its March plenary session. It thus aims to feed into the guidelines the European Council is expected to adopt on 22 March, on opening exploratory discussions with the UK on the framework of the future EU-UK relationship. Continue reading
Citizens’ enquiries to the European Parliament in 2017
On a daily basis, citizens from all across the EU and the wider world address the European Parliament to request information, express opinions or suggest ideas on an extensive range of topics. The Citizens’ Enquiries Unit (Ask EP) provides answers to citizens on the issues raised. In 2017, citizens put more than 52 000 questions, suggestions and comments to the European Parliament or its President. Continue reading
The Brexit process [What Think Tanks are thinking]
The EU’s Heads of State or Government gave the green light in December 2017 to the second phase of negotiations on the United Kingdom’s withdrawal from the EU. They agreed that ‘sufficient progress’ had been made in talks on issues in the first phase. Continue reading
Brexit / United Kingdom withdrawal from the EU [Ten issues to watch in 2018]
On 29 March 2017, the UK Prime Minister, Theresa May, notified the European Council of the UK’s intention to withdraw from the EU, thereby triggering a two-year deadline to reach a withdrawal agreement. Continue reading
The Brexit process: Moving to the second phase of negotiations
The first phase of Brexit talks between the EU and UK negotiating teams needed six rounds of discussion over seven months. Finally, on Friday 8 December, an agreement in principle on the three priority issues – citizens’ rights, a financial settlement and Northern Ireland – was reached. Continue reading
The European Union: A year of hope [What Think Tanks are thinking]
The self-confidence of the European Union improved markedly during this last year after the ‘annus horibilis’ of 2016 when the EU faced a ‘poly-crisis’ of a shaky euro-zone economy, the Brexit vote, the election of Donald Trump as U.S. President, migration pressures, growing Russian assertiveness and apparent foreign-policy drift. Continue reading
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