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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. The European Commission President, Jean-Claude Juncker, and the UK Prime Minister, Theresa May, endorsed a joint report setting out a common understanding on the future withdrawal agreement. Whilst a number of specific ...

After seven months of talks, the EU and the UK reached agreement in principle on the key withdrawal issues, on 8 December 2017. The European Council (EU-27) of 15 December will decide whether sufficient progress has been achieved in order to proceed to the second phase of negotiations.

European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker’s State of the Union address to the European Parliament, and the subsequent debate, on 13 September come in the context of the ongoing broader reflection on the future path of the European Union. This has been intensified by the first-ever withdrawal of a Member State from the Union; although lamented by most, this is often cited as an opportunity to rebuild the Union on stronger grounds. The debate will therefore feed into a larger reflection process ...

Negotiations on the arrangements for the United Kingdom's withdrawal from the EU started on 19 June 2017, with citizens’ rights being one of the top priorities. However, the EU and the UK positions differ considerably. The EU aims at a withdrawal agreement which safeguards the existing right to residence as well as to equal treatment with nationals, including access to social security, for EU-27 citizens who have moved to the UK and for UK nationals resident in an EU-27 Member State prior to the ...

Negotiations on the arrangements for the UK's withdrawal from the EU started on 19 June 2017. The European Commission is negotiating on behalf of the EU, on the basis of the European Council guidelines and the mandate given to it by the Council. The European Parliament, for its part, has laid down key principles and conditions for its approval of a UK withdrawal agreement. Three key priorities are set to dominate the first phase of the negotiations (with the future relationship between the EU and ...

In its resolution of 28 April 2016 on the discharge procedure for the year 2014, the European Parliament instructed the European Parliamentary Research Service to undertake a study including 'a comparative analysis of the legal framework governing the compatibilities of candidates who run for election campaigns in other international organisations and in the Member States (election of prime minister, secretary general, chancellor, etc.)'. This study therefore examines relevant rules on the use of ...

The 2016 State of the Union debate in the European Parliament comes at a time of severe challenges for the European Union, ranging from the refugee and migration crisis and the situation in Turkey and Ukraine, to the uncertainties following the UK referendum on leaving the EU, the economic difficulties persisting in many Member States, and more general questions on the future path of the EU. The State of the Union speech by the President of the European Commission constitutes an important instrument ...

Citizens’ expectations of the European Union vary widely across policy areas. A Eurobarometer survey – Europeans in 2016: Perceptions and expectations, fight against terrorism and radicalisation – seeks to identify those areas in which EU citizens want to see the Union doing more. Having identified areas in which there is a gap between the EU’s current action and citizens’ expectations of the Union, the next step is to look at the potential – within the constraints of the EU legal foundations – for ...

The referendum held in the United Kingdom on 23 June on the question of whether to remain in, or leave, the European Union resulted in 51.9% of those voting (on a 71.8% turn-out) supporting withdrawal from the Union. Although, formally speaking, the referendum was consultative, the British Prime Minister, David Cameron, and his government had indicated clearly in advance that the outcome would be considered binding. In announcing his resignation, Cameron said that the UK would activate the procedure ...

The European Parliament has recently been making increasing use of its investigative instruments – special and inquiry committees. The TAXE Committee, established in the aftermath of the 'LuxLeaks' scandal to look into unfair tax practices in the EU, was followed by the TAXE 2 special committee on tax rulings. The EMIS committee of inquiry is looking into emission measurements in the automotive sector. The recently revealed 'Panama papers' prompted a new committee of inquiry on tax havens. Parliament's ...