“The fabric of democracy is always fragile everywhere because it depends on the will of citizens to protect it, and when they become scared, when it becomes dangerous for them to defend it, it can go very quickly.” (Margaret Atwood) The deadline for ending the “transitional” arrangements for Britain’s relations [...]
17th December 2020 "Deal" or "No Deal"? A fortnight before the transition period comes to an end, there will be plenty to discuss on the topic of Brexit, in whichever situation the UK will find itself in. At this event our speakers took stock and offered their views and commentary [...]
by Dr Michael Lloyd Michael Lloyd is Associate Director and Senior Research Fellow at the Global Policy Institute. One of the first acts of Christine Lagarde when she became President of the European Central Bank (ECB) in 2019 was to announce a review of its Treaty Mandate and [...]
by Professor Richard G. Whitman Richard G. Whitman is Professor of Politics and International Relations at University of Kent; and Associate Fellow of Chatham House The Parliamentary Labour Party is currently agonising on whether it will vote in support of the future relationship agreement that the UK Government is [...]
Watch our Director Brendan Donnelly discussing why the choice which Johnson now faces between a poor Brexit "deal" and "no deal" are a fitting climax to the chaotic and incoherent Brexit process: You can also read his blog on this topic here: Johnson’s Brexit Dilemma: No good outcome in sight [...]
4th December 2020 19.30 - 21.00 Part of the joint Reflections on the Future of Europe series with New Europeans At this online discussion, Jaap Hoeksma asked "Can the EU be a democratic union of states and people at the same time?" Read his essay here: Replacing the Westphalian system – [...]
Shortly after the EU referendum of 2016, a “former Conservative minister” supposedly remarked that Brexit would force the Conservative Party to choose between destroying the country and destroying itself. Both the attribution and exact wording of this epigram may be questioned, but precisely this choice is the dilemma with which [...]
As discussions on an EU/UK trade deal post transition are now nearing the end, the City of London continues to worry about where it will be left from 1st January 2021. Financial services are not part of the main FTA agreement as had been hoped. Instead the City feels like [...]
“Time is running short.” This refrain was first expressed in June by Prime Minister Johnson and Commission President von der Leyen in their conference call, supposedly with the aim of injecting urgency into the ongoing UK/EU negotiations on their future relations after the end of the Transition Period. It has [...]
The National Audit Office released last week a report on preparations for the end of the transition period after Brexit. The report was critical of the government for the inadequacy of these preparations and in particular for its failure to foresee and respond to the predictable administrative consequences of Brexit. [...]
