Research Briefing
How the UK Government deals with EU Business
This Note looks at UK Government and Civil Service structures and culture; what happens at the UK-EU interface, and methods for transposing EU law into UK law.
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Research Briefing
Armenia 2012
Armenia has recently held a parliamentary election that appeared to show that the country’s political culture is making some progress. There remain two big problems in Armenia’s relations with other countries: its occupation of Nagorno-Karabakh, which observers fear may spark another war, and the argument over whether the 1915 massacres amounted to genocide.
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Research Briefing
The Syrian Crisis: Update May 2012
On 21 March, the UN Security Council supported a peace plan devised by Kofi Annan that called for a ceasefire, humanitarian access to Syria and the withdrawal of forces from urban areas. All sides declared their willingness to adhere to the plan. The Annan plan is at present the only hope of ending the accelerating violence in Syria, which has now caused more than 9,000 deaths, according to UN estimates.
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Research Briefing
Bangladesh: the International Crimes Tribunal
The Government of Bangladesh has re-established a long dormant International Crimes Tribunal to try people for alleged 'international crimes' committed during the 1971 war of independence. Eight men, all senior figures in opposition parties, currently face trial. While steps have been taken to strengthen the rules of procedure of the Tribunal, there are criticisms that the process still falls short of interntional standards.
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Research Briefing
In brief: Hollande or Sarkozy for President?
In the run-up to the second and final round of voting in France’s presidential elections on Sunday 6 May 2012, the Socialist François Hollande still appears to be the favourite to win.
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Research Briefing
Madagascar’s political crisis
The continuing political crisis in Madagascar began when Andre Rajoelina successfully ousted the incumbent President, Marc Ravalomana, in March 2009 and installed himself instead, albeit formally as a transitional leader pending elections. The international community considers Rajoelina illegitimate. Regional mediation efforts to return Madagascar to 'constitutional rule' led to a peace deal in September 2011, but implementation remains fraught and the danger reamains that the process could collapse.
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Research Briefing
The UK and Reform of the European Court of Human Rights
The UK holds the Chairmanship of the Council of Europe until mid-May 2012. The UK has Government supported proposals to reform the European Court of Human Rights contained in the Interlaken and Izmir Declarations and has proposed in the draft Brighton Declaration that more account be taken of the principles of subsidiarity and the margin of appreciation.
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Research Briefing
Sudan and South Sudan: All-out war?
On 9 July 2011, South Sudan formally seceded from Sudan. But many issues remain unresolved and there has been an upsurge in conflict since then in Abyei, Blue Nile and South Kordofan - known as the 'Three Areas'. This note surveys the many challenges still facing the 'two Sudans'.
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Research Briefing
Palestine update 2012
Talks between the Israelis and the Palestinians on a two-state solution have stalled, with scarcely any meetings since 2010, but the Palestinian question has been displaced from the headlines by the crisis in Syria and mounting concerns about the Iranian nuclear programme.
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Research Briefing
European Regional Development Fund
This note explains how funding from the European Regional Development Fund is allocated across regions in England and sets out current progress on spending the funds. It also provides information on the 2014-2020 funding round.
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Research Briefing
UK-Brazil trade statistics
This short note looks at the available UK/Brazil trade statistics
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Research Briefing
The Chagos Islanders
This note provides brief background about the situation of the Chagos Islanders, paying particular attention to the legal dispute over whether they have the right of return and the recent establishment of a Marine Protection Area around the British Indian Ocean Territory (with the exception of Diego Garcia). The note is not comprehensive in its coverage and will not be automatically updated.
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Research Briefing
The IMF’s resources
The IMF’s resources come from quotas contributed by each of its 187 Member States (around £234bn in total) and from standing credit arrangements with certain industrialised and emerging economies (currently around £215bn).
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Research Briefing
EU bibliographies: European External Action Service
This Note brings together documents relevant to the proposed legislation establishing the organisation and functioning of the European External Action Service and its scrutiny in the UK and the EU. It is not an attempt to define policy in this area. For information on the institutional issues or policy developments, contact Vaughne Miller on extn 4327 or Claire Taylor on extn 3852. See also SN/IA/5558 The European External Action Service
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Research Briefing
National Parliaments and EU law-making: how is the ‘yellow card’ system working?
This Note considers the background to the ‘yellow card’ subsidiarity early warning mechanism and its application in practice since the Lisbon Treaty came into force.
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