Simon Usherwood Profile picture
Jun 23 33 tweets 15 min read
A quick run-through on our new @UACES @UKandEU report on "The state of the EU"

1/ ukandeu.ac.uk/research-paper…
On this 6th anniversary of #EURef, @anandMenon1 and I thought it'd be good to reflect on the EU side of things, especially in light of the invasion of Ukraine

Our authors point up the wide-ranging impacts of that war, in addition to the other challenges facing the EU

2/
As you'll see from our contents page, we've covered a huge range of topics, bringing experts from across the Continent to the discussion

3/
More on our contributors here, all doing a great job of translating often complex detail into accessible text, ably abetted by @UKandEU's team

4/
Will walk through key findings in a bit, but firstly wanted to thank all involved and I look forward to more joint @UACES @UKandEU projects

5/
Some top lines from our new @UKandEU @UACES report, starting with some oh-so-timely perspectives on key member states from @FrancoBrit @PDaehnhardt @DPhinnemore @nat_styczynska
#EUCO
6/
Both France & Germany are at tricky points: former because of elections, latter for more fundamental reasons. As @FrancoBrit says "what France wants for EU isn't what it'll automatically get", so how far the classic motor can drive things is unclear

7/
Ireland, meanwhile, is moving beyond Brexit to focus on "ensuring EU works effectively", even if it still has to navigate the Protocol and keep other member states on-board with that
@DPhinnemore

8/
The Ukraine war might be shifting Polish attitudes/actions, writes @nat_styczynska, through the strong humanitarian response, although there's still clearly a way to go

9/
Swinging round to the EU's institutions, @PierreHaroche @sarahagemann @DarrenHarvey_ & Claudia Torres Ramos take us through it all

10/
Von der Leyen's plans for a 'geopolitical' Commission have been boosted by Covid and Ukraine, says @PierreHaroche, even that will also generate new tensions with member states

11/
Ukraine has also made #EUCO even more important, albeit while trying to manage the on-going internal challenges on Rule of Law and the shifting cast of leaders
@sarahagemann

12/
.@DarrenHarvey_ points out the difficulties the Court faces as it gets into every more politicised questions and as it gets more public attention

13/
On a positive note (if you teach the EU), Claudia Torres Ramos thinks treaty change is still not on the cards, even if more pragmatic reforms will continue
#NoNewTreatyArticleRenumbering

14/
A bit part of our @UKandEU @UACES report deals with politics and policy

ukandeu.ac.uk/research-paper…

15/
EU economy recovery from Covid has been pretty good, writes @roryshand, if fragile: again, Ukraine looms large, both directly and indirectly

16/
This is underlined by Maria-Luisa Sánchez-Barrueco's piece on #NextGenEU - it's been a good piece of crisis management, but with some longer-term issues

17/
The reconfiguration of economic and social around new technologies also requires more EU attention, not least because of the security implications
@jshahin

18/
Those security questions obviously loom very large in general for the EU. @JocelynMawdsley notes the short-term improvement in cooperation over Ukraine, even if the longer-term picture remains underdefined

19/
.@drsarahwolff picks over the EU's migration policy, with its numerous problems and made only more ambiguous by Ukraine

20/
If it's not Ukraine, it's Covid. @Ellie_Brooks looks at the emerging European Health Union, which might end up more modestly than some expect

21/
And if it's not Covid, it's climate change. The EU's leadership role requires constant attention, esp. as external effects of decarbonisation build up
@Cladupont

22/
Gisela Hernandez Gonzales walks us through the various Rule of Law problems. Ukraine might have shifting some of these, but it remains one of the more basic threats to the EU's long-term future

23/
.@kslootmaeckers highlights how LGBTIQ rights are caught in tension between the EU's declared values and the situation on the ground, just as @shada_islam finds the same on racism

24/
That conditional nature of integration is also reflected in @ggbenedetto's piece on euroscepticism: things might be better than they were, but the underlying dynamics remain, ready to return in times of challenge

25/
We wrap up this section with me, writing about how the EU has been change by the UK's exit: it's so powerful and incisive, you'll just have to read it in full yourself

26/
The final section of our @UACES @UKandEU report on the EU looks to key relations with other parts of the world

ukandeu.ac.uk/research-paper…

27/
.@Bentonra shows how Ukraine has demonstrated the value of the EU-US link, albeit one with a big Trump-shaped cloud over it. In any case, more attention to this will be needed to keep it fit for purpose

28/
Relations with Russia are very much worse, for obvious reasons, but @MaxineDavid rightly stresses the need to find ways to build a long-term environment in which EU and Moscow can live non-antagonistically with each other

29/
China might not be high on the EU's list of Things To Do, but @KaminskiTomas points to the difficult balance between cooperation and rivalry and how unstable that has been, and will be

30/
And to wrap it all up, we got some bloke (thankfully more than ably supported by @SophieStowers) to write on EU-UK relations

It's tricky, apparently

31/
And that's your lot. Great people, great pieces, obviously released at the optimum time and not at all almost completely rewritten after Russia invaded Ukraine

Do have a proper read and share widely!

ukandeu.ac.uk/research-paper…

32/
Finally, huge thanks to @joelreland @SophieStowers for doing the hard work of herding colleagues, and to @anandMenon1 (currently tied up with @UKandEU annual conference) for welcoming @UACES colleagues to this all

/end

• • •

Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to force a refresh
 

Keep Current with Simon Usherwood

Simon Usherwood Profile picture

Stay in touch and get notified when new unrolls are available from this author!

Read all threads

This Thread may be Removed Anytime!

PDF

Twitter may remove this content at anytime! Save it as PDF for later use!

Try unrolling a thread yourself!

how to unroll video
  1. Follow @ThreadReaderApp to mention us!

  2. From a Twitter thread mention us with a keyword "unroll"
@threadreaderapp unroll

Practice here first or read more on our help page!

More from @Usherwood

Jun 22
The Retained EU Law dashboard looks nice, but is rubbish for tracking whether/how govt continues to follow-through on its plans to reduce presence of EU law

public.tableau.com/app/profile/go…

So I'm starting a new tracker :-)

1/
As you can see, most REUL is still in force (83% by dashboard's figures), with only 9% repealed

Biggest proportionate moves by DfE and CabOff (although small absolute numbers)

2/
Those Dpts with smaller volumes have found it easier to reduce % of unchanged REUL: the big clusters in DEFRA, DfT, Treasury and BEIS are much more slow moving

3/
Read 4 tweets
Jun 22
So that much-trailed @CentreBrexit report has finally dropped

centreforbrexitpolicy.org.uk/publications/d…

Some observations

1/
I'll note the contributors don't much EU expertise, but then report is directed to Global Britain

2/
Others can comment on wider plans or how far you can change 'national mindsets', but I can write about the EU/Europe-y bits

3/
Read 19 tweets
Jun 14
So I've slept on it

And I still think it's a terrible idea

It neither works on its own terms or in its effects, even if it does diagnose some valid issues

1/
The legal defence of necessity is as weak as any advanced to date

I refer you to @davidallengreen

2/

Read 18 tweets
Jun 9
Good opportunity to explain the 'Brussels effect'

1/
EU has decided to move to a single type of phone charger in the next couple of years.

It did this for various internal reasons, but it will have big global effects

2/
UK doesn't have plans to make similar laws, but because EU is such a big market, phone manufacturers will likely move to only making USB-C chargers globally, for economies of scale

So even without UK legislation, change is coming

3/
Read 8 tweets
Jun 9
Stage 1: UK doesn't want to be seen to follow EU lead

bbc.co.uk/news/technolog… Image
Stage 2: UK discovers manufacturers start to only make USB-C

Stage 3: Daily Mail complains about how EU has killed off traditional British chargers 'by stealth'

Stage 4: Adonis says only solution is rejoining EU

Stage 5: I finally produce a graphic on the 'Brussels effect'
Academic takes bold step to unlock EU-UK relations

PDF: bit.ly/UshGraphic104 Image
Read 4 tweets
Jun 8
If UK govt's problem with NIP is EU's implementation, then there's already a clear pathway for dealing with this: Title III of the Withdrawal Agt

1/
Yes, since you ask, I did already make a graphic about this. A while back

PDF: bit.ly/UshGraphic39

2/
Doesn't need renegotiating of NIP, or dual pathways or anything that isn't already there

If EU hasn't been following obligations under the treaty, then UK has a means of securing change & redress

3/
Read 7 tweets

Did Thread Reader help you today?

Support us! We are indie developers!


This site is made by just two indie developers on a laptop doing marketing, support and development! Read more about the story.

Become a Premium Member ($3/month or $30/year) and get exclusive features!

Become Premium

Don't want to be a Premium member but still want to support us?

Make a small donation by buying us coffee ($5) or help with server cost ($10)

Donate via Paypal

Or Donate anonymously using crypto!

Ethereum

0xfe58350B80634f60Fa6Dc149a72b4DFbc17D341E copy

Bitcoin

3ATGMxNzCUFzxpMCHL5sWSt4DVtS8UqXpi copy

Thank you for your support!

Follow Us on Twitter!

:(