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Research Briefing
Is adherence to the European Convention on Human Rights a condition of European Union membership?
This Note looks at what the EU Treaties say about adherence to human rights provisions and considers different views on the compatibility of withdrawal from the European Convention with continued EU membership.
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Research Briefing
Burma: recent political and security developments
Burma’s international rehabilitation continues. However, critics argue that the pace of this rehabilitation is too fast because the outcome of the current Constitutional review process is not yet clear; a durable peace deal with the country’s ethnic insurgencies has not been achieved; and inter-communal violence between Buddhists and Muslims persists. There has been criticism of the UK Government for providing some training for the Burmese military.
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Research Briefing
The Commission Work Programme 2014
The European Commission's Work Programme for 2014 sets out four priority areas in which it intends to act: economic and monetary union, sustainable growth, justice and security and external action. The UK Government broadly supports the programme but has some specific concerns and reservations.
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Research Briefing
EU Enforcement of Free Movement of People Rules
What action has the EU taken to enforce freedom of movement throughout the EU?
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Research Briefing
The EU’s Common Security and Defence Policy: A Fresh Impetus?
The European Council Summit is due to be held on 19-20 December 2013. Among the main issues for debate is the EU’s Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP). It will be the first time in five years that EU leaders have comprehensively discussed EU defence policy, amid criticisms that CSDP has lost momentum due to a lack of consensus over its strategic direction, an unwillingness on the part of Member States to commit the necessary resources and the prevailing economic crisis which has seen defence budgets fall across Europe and capabilities cut.
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Research Briefing
In brief: the 2014 bloc opt-out and selective opt-back-ins
This note, prepared for the parliamentary debate on 15 July 2013, looks briefly at the current situation regarding the UK's 2014 decision on justice and home affairs measures and lists the 35 measures the Government would like to opt back into.
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Research Briefing
Leaving the EU
The Treaty on European Union provides for a Member State to leave the EU, either on the basis of a negotiated withdrawal agreement or without one. If the UK were to leave the EU following a referendum, it is likely that the Government would negotiate an agreement with the EU, which would probably contain transitional arrangements as well as provide for the UK’s long-term future relations with the EU. There is no precedent for such an agreement, but it would in all likelihood come at the end of complex and lengthy negotiations.
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Research Briefing
Proposal to increase the number of EU Court of Justice Advocates-General
This Note looks at a draft Council decision to increase the number of Advocates-General at the EU Court of Justice in the context of reform of the EU Court of Justice.
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Research Briefing
Voting Behaviour in the EU Council
This Note looks at the voting behaviour of Member States in the EU Council when a Qualified Majority is required for the adoption of an EU measure, and at other factors which may influence the outcome of a QMV decision. It also considers the UK’s voting record and possible future scenarios when the voting rules change and the Eurozone expands.
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Research Briefing
European Union (Approvals) Bill [HL] 2012-13: Committee Stage Report
The European Union (Approvals) Bill [HL] 2012-13 seeks to approve three EU draft decisions before the UK Government can approve their adoption in the EU Council.
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Research Briefing
European Union (Approvals) Bill
The European Union (Approvals) Bill (HC Bill 121) aims to approve two draft EU Council decisions and one draft decision of the European Council (the EU Heads of State and Government).
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Research Briefing
EU Staff Salaries
EU staff salaries have been the subject of some criticism in recent months. This Note pulls together the various strands in the EU staff salaries debate.
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Research Briefing
Recent EU Treaty Amendments and UK Ratification
This Note outlines the three Treaty amendments that have been adopted under amended Article 48 TEU since the Lisbon Treaty came into force and how these amendments have been ratified in the UK.
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Research Briefing
European Union (Croatian Accession and Irish Protocol) Bill [Bill 76 of 2012-13]
Croatia is expected to join the EU in July 2013. This Bill would allow the UK to ratify Croatia’s accession treaty and would also cover the Protocol to the Lisbon Treaty put forward by the Irish Government.
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