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Cause and Effect in European Politics and Law
To Brexit or Not To Brexit

To Brexit or Not To Brexit

For the first time in the history of the European Union, a member state will put its membership to a referendum. The vote in the United Kingdom will take place regardless of the outcome of the negotiations the UK government is having with the member states. A possible leaving of the Union could have severe consequences both for the UK and the Union itself.
David Davis | © European CommissionDavid Davis | © European Commission

Brexit Negotiations Have Started. Chapter 1: Monnet vs. Churchill

Three months after Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May sent a notification to Brussels saying Great Britain was leaving the European Union, the negotiations on the so-called Brexit began on June 19, in a typical European fashion - with thin hints and humour. During the ...
Angela Merkel | © Council of the EUAngela Merkel | © Council of the EU

Brexit Is No Priority, the Future of EU Is

The debate (on May 17) on the occasion of the adoption of the EU's negotiating position on Britain’s exit was a good time for political group leaders to announce the end of populism. The first one to do that was EPP Group leader Manfred Weber (EPP), followed by others, some of whom we ...
Michel Barnier, Nigel Farage | © European ParliamentMichel Barnier, Nigel Farage | © European Parliament

The Big Fat Brexit*

On the eve of its 60th anniversary the European Union is no longer just enlarging, but contracting as well. For the first time (excluding the special case of Greenland) in the history of the Union a member state takes the road not taken towards the exit. Who would have thought that when the just ...
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First Win For Rule of Law over Post-factology

A country with rule of law is a country where law has control over the executive branch. As of late, however, this pinnacle of human evolution has started to mutate into a new totalitarian form, masked as a rebellion against the establishment. Law has gradually started to get pushed aside by & ...
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Did Brexit Bring a Long-Awaited Restart of Pro-Europeanism?*

The first days and weeks following the European referendum in Great Britain of June 23 tempt us to give a positive answer to this question after mass confessions were made for lies and manipulations during the campaign and after the start of reactions of regret and taking up initiatives for a re ...
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Chronicle of the June European Council

The June EU summit came and went. All has now been reported, read, forgotten. Gazes are fixed on the upcoming NATO summit and a bunch of other important subjects, some of which will have a short Tweet-life, others will make the headlines, third will be subject of analysis and comments by ex ...
Xavier Bettel, Angela Merkel, David Cameron | © Council of the EUXavier Bettel, Angela Merkel, David Cameron | © Council of the EU

After Brexit EU Goes on More United than Ever

You could be surprised, but news from the EU summit of last week, dominated by the result of the British referendum of June 23rd, are actually quite good. There has not been such good news in the EU since before the start of the euro area crisis. For the first time in decades the Europ ...
Boyko Borissov | © Council of the EUBoyko Borissov | © Council of the EU

Borissov: After a Political Binge, Hangover Is Far Worse

All leaders are aware of EU’s weaknesses, one of which is that the Commission is not political enough at times. This was what Prime Minister Boyko Borissov said on the second day of the summit, when all member state leaders got together, excluding British Prime Minister David Cameron, to d ...
Boyko Borissov | © Council of the EUBoyko Borissov | © Council of the EU

Borissov: Brexit Is a Lesson How Dangerous Populists Are

Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borissov sent out sharp criticism towards British populists, stating that Brexit is the result of “populism, untrue facts, outright lies, and misleading people”. Brits have lost just overnight their EU contribution for approximately 20 years, he said fu ...
Hollande, Renzi, Merkel | © Governo ItalianoHollande, Renzi, Merkel | © Governo Italiano

EU Is Starting to Deal with Itself ... Again

Mere days after the Brexit and just hours before the official EU summit on June 28 and 29, the EU once again failed to demonstrate unity. As it usually happens in difficult times for the Union, a series of meetings in different formats began. First, in Berlin, met the foreign ministers ...
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Not Brussels Bureaucracy, Bulgarian Media Have Failed

Just four days have passed since the news of the Brexit broke, British society has not yet come out of the shock, and Brussels is yet to host meetings of leaders to project the way forward, but in Bulgarian public domain responsibility has already been strictly allocated. The one responsible f ...
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UK Chose to Exit. EU Now Needs to Solve Juncker's Riddle

The most anticipated unexpected happened – Great Britain voted to leave the EU with the other foot too, which sent everybody in shock and awe – Brits themselves, the EU, and financial markets, who quickly remembered the 2008 financial crisis. And while the dust is still settli ...
Ivan Grdesic | © euinsideIvan Grdesic | © euinside

Ivan Grdešić: Brexit Is Bad News for Enlargement

I meet Croatia’s Ambassador to Great Britain Dr Ivan Grdešić in London on the day after the Brexit. He is unpleasantly surprised by the result. He just came back from Dubrovnik, where he visited the premiere of “Hamlet”, played by a woman. This is a British-Croatian init ...
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Fortress England - the Bulgarian View on Brexit

It is not often you know deep within you an event is historic, representing a sign of radical change, of an earthquake with a large magnitude. Today's European referendum in Great Britain undoubtedly is such an event. If Brits chose to leave the European Union, it would bring considerable chan ...
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Great Britain Is Imploding

On June 23 Great Britain will make the momentous decision whether to stay in or leave the European Union. The decision is fateful not just to Great Britain itself, but for the entire EU and beyond. Instead of representing a triumph of democracy, however, the referendum is about to turn into a ...
 | © Zagreb EP Information Office | © Zagreb EP Information Office

Small Countries Can Never Get What Great Britain Got

What Great Britain negotiated at the 18-19 February summit in Brussels would be impossible to negotiate for any country with less than 40 million population, said Croatian MEP Andrej Plenković (EPP) during a discussion on the deal that was brokered, organised in Zagreb by the European Parliament ...
David Cameron | © Council of the EUDavid Cameron | © Council of the EU

Those Who Love Brussels, Step Forward!

Three years passed since British Prime Minister David Cameron gave his famous “European” speech, with which he stated that he demands a re-negotiation of the relations between Great Britain and the EU, masked by the claim for a EU reform. On January 23rd 2013, Mr Cameron announc ...
Tihomir Oreskovic, Viktor Orban | © Council of the EUTihomir Oreskovic, Viktor Orban | © Council of the EU

The Genie of EU Change Unleashed

Weeks like the one between February 15 and 19, 2016 are extremely rare. Early on Monday morning a state, which is a proof that the EU is a peaceful project, filed its long-awaited membership application (Bosnia and Herzegovina), and in the late evening of Friday a country, which sees the EU just ...
 | © European Commission | © European Commission

Drop What You Are Doing And Watch Brussels

History is being made in Brussels today. Sounds loud, doesn’t it? Actually, it is deafening, Today’s summit will show which way the European Union will take with or without Great Britain. And this is the thing we need to be following anxiously, because this is what our destinies de ...
David Cameron, Jean-Claude Juncker | © European CommissionDavid Cameron, Jean-Claude Juncker | © European Commission

To BRexit, or To BRemain?

There is a Hamlet-style summit of the EU beginning in Brussels today, judging by the description given to it by Politico Europe: “To be European, or not to be, that is the question”. The main topic in the leaders’ agenda will be striking a deal for the remaining of Great Britai ...
Mario Draghi | © European ParliamentMario Draghi | © European Parliament

Draghi: An Unclear Agreement with UK Could Have Systemic Consequences

Three main subjects dominated the regular hearing of European Central Bank President Mario Draghi in the European Parliament's economic committee - the negotiations with Great Britain, the latest offensive of Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi aiming at eliciting more concessions fro ...
Boyko Borissov, Viktor Orban | © GISBoyko Borissov, Viktor Orban | © GIS

Thank You, Mr Cameron, for the Bulgarian Rebellion

Something happened in the heat of the debate in the EU on the British question, which is probably insignificant for British public opinion, but is not so for the EU. Or at least it should not be. A meeting was held in the Bulgarian embassy in London of Prime Minister Boyko Borissov (GERB, EPP) w ...
Merkel, Cameron, Hollande | © Council of the EUMerkel, Cameron, Hollande | © Council of the EU

Isn't the Price of UK Remaining in EU Too High?

Judging by the proposal for a deal with Great Britain, the fourth basket of demands (social benefits for EU immigrants) turns out to be the easiest, and maybe the fairest, not like many thought the most difficult. Easiest, because the second one, which concerns issues like co ...
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A Possible Decision on BRExit at February EU Summit

The next European Council can bring important decisions on the British question. So said Jonathan Faull, Director-General of the Commission's task force related to the UK referendum and its membership in the EU. He appeared for a hearing in the European Parliament’s Constitutional Aff ...