Europe

Georgia is a small country in the Caucasus region whose development is watched closely because of its geopolitical importance. In November the country completed its parliamentary election process.

The UK Internal Market Bill 2019-21 will return to the House of Commons for consideration of Lords amendments on 7 December. This paper explains the central issues and the reasons for the amendments.

This is a reading list of publications on the UK’s withdrawal from the EU and future UK-EU relations from library, research services and committees of the UK and devolved parliaments and assemblies.

Why Hungary and Poland have blocked discussions over the EU's £1.82 trillion budget and coronavirus recovery package.

The Private International Law (Implementation of Agreements) Bill 2019-21 was introduced in the House of Lords in February 2020. It would implement arrangements for cross-border legal disputes after the end of the transition period, when EU based arrangements cease to have effect in the UK. The House of Commons will consider amendments made by the House of Lords on 24 November.

Equivalence is a system which can be used to grant domestic market access to foreign firms in certain areas of financial services.

A look ahead to the UK Government's integrated review of security, defence and foreign policy.

This Insight explains some of the key changes after the transition period and how the UK and EU are preparing for them.

Although the UK Parliament normally has a statutory period to scrutinise and potentially debate any new UK-EU treaty, it won’t necessarily vote on whether to approve it.

This briefing provides background to changes to UK visa requirements affecting non-British family members of British citizens living in the UK, which the Government plans will take effect from late March 2022. It also summarises campaigners' calls for a change of policy, and related debates during the passage of the Immigration and Social Security Co-ordination (EU Withdrawal) Bill 2019-21.

This autumn has seen the worst outbreak of violence over the disputed enclave of Nagorno Karabakh since 1994. Observers are worried that it will be difficult to stop the fighting and that it could draw in regional powers.

Having left the EU, the government is setting up for an independent UK state aid or ‘subsidy control’ regime, based on WTO rules. This briefing sets out the background of the new approach and the negotiations on state aid with the EU.

The French nuclear deterrent is the one that is most often compared to the UK’s nuclear forces. While there are similarities in terms of policy, posture and size, there are also significant differences in terms of industrial support and cost. In contrast to the UK all of the major political parties in France support an independent nuclear deterrent, and domestic support is high. This paper examines the French nuclear deterrent in greater detail. It is also part of a wider Library briefing series on nuclear weapons.

MPs will debate three petitions on Monday 5 October 2020 in Westminster Hall at 6pm. The first two call for a public inquiry to take place into the 2016 referendum on EU membership. One of these calls for Brexit to be deferred in the meantime. The third petition calls for the post-Brexit transition period to be deferred to allow more time for the UK-EU future relationship negotiations.

The European Commission has launched infringement proceedings against the UK in relation to an alleged breach of the UK-EU Withdrawal Agreement. This briefing paper provides an overview of the ongoing powers of the EU institutions in relation to UK compliance with EU law and the Withdrawal Agreement during the post-Brexit transition period, and outlines the dispute settlement procedures that will come into operation after the transition period.