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Referendums put citizens back at the centre of the political stage. As instruments of direct democracy, they may foster citizens' involvement and legitimise important decisions. Referendums have been on the rise in Europe and elsewhere in the world in recent decades, and have become a recurrent feature of European politics. Despite the increased interest in some Member States, however, referendums remain controversial. On the one hand, advocates of direct democracy stress that referendums can foster ...

With the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, many countries around the world that were or are due to organise elections or referendums, have had to decide whether to hold them as originally planned, introducing mitigating measures, put them on hold or postpone them to a later date. When deciding whether to continue with elections or not, decision-makers have needed to take into account a variety of legal, technical and sanitary parameters and implications, as well as constitutional arrangements ...

On 14 November 2018, the European Union (EU) and the United Kingdom (UK) negotiators announced their approval of the legal agreement on the UK's withdrawal from the EU. At a special European Council meeting on 25 November 2018, EU leaders endorsed the draft withdrawal agreement, as well as the text of a non-binding political declaration setting out the framework for the future EU-UK relationship. While the process of approving the withdrawal deal (the agreement and the political declaration) began ...

The highlight of the October I plenary session was the debate on the preparation of the European Council meeting on 18 and 19 October 2018. The series of debates on the Future of Europe continued, this time with the Prime Minister of Estonia, Jüri Ratas. Montenegro's President, Milo Đukanović, also addressed Parliament in a formal sitting. Parliament adopted, inter alia, legislative proposals on: audiovisual media services; VAT rules; strengthening the EU Agency for Criminal Justice Cooperation ( ...

This study, commissioned by the European Parliament's Policy Department for Citizens' Rights and Constitutional Affairs at the request of the AFCO Committee, describes the legal, political and economic relations of the two parts of Ireland and the United Kingdom, and possible arrangements for dealing with "Brexit". The paper discusses several specific issues, in particular the Common Travel Area between Ireland and the United Kingdom, the consequences of an "invisible" border between the two parts ...

This is the reference document of the Workshop on ‘The Implications of ‘Brexit’ for the EU agricultural sector and the CAP’ of 9th November 2017, organised by COMAGRI and the Policy Department B. The purpose of this Workshop was to examine and debate the main budgetary, trade and institutional issues related to the Brexit process at the current state of negotiations. This document is structured in three parts: 1. Possible impact of Brexit on the EU budget and, in particular, CAP funding. 2. ...

There is the potential for severe disruption of agri-food trade between the UK and the EU27 as the UK prepares to leave the EU. This study reviews the additional trade costs that might arise and how they might be avoided under alternative future trade arrangements. The role of a transitional period in order to avoid a ‘cliff-edge’ for trade is examined. Options under the Common Agricultural Policy to address the negative consequences of Brexit for agricultural markets are discussed.

On 25 September 2017, the government of the autonomous Region of Kurdistan in Iraq, under its president, Masoud Barzani, organised a referendum on independence, disregarding calls by the Iraqi central government and the international community to postpone it. The referendum was held in the Kurdistan Region's constituencies and also in the neighbouring 'disputed' territories, in particular the oil-rich area of Kirkuk, which have de facto if not legally been governed by the Kurdish authorities since ...

The workshop organised for the IMCO Committee by the Policy Department A in cooperation with the European Research Centre for Economic and Financial Governance (EURO-CEFG) of the Universities of Leiden, Delft and Rotterdam aimed at discussing the consequences of Brexit on the EU in general and on the policy fields covered by the IMCO Committee in particular. It allowed for a first exchange of opinion on the consequences of Brexit and for questions by EU decision-makers in preparation of the upcoming ...

This document explores the role and powers of the European Parliament in the Brexit process. It describes the challenges and relevant steps and stages of the process and higlights the significance of agreement(s) to be concluded between the EU and the UK. On that basis, the Parliament’s mandate and powers in substantial terms as well as its involvement in the procedure are outlined. Some options are highlighted to enable the Parliament to adequately fulfil its mandate and play its role in the process ...