Brexit and democratic deficit

Question 1

what were two notable issues agreed during the UK withdrawal negotiations?

Answer 1

• irish/uk border and citizens rights
  Republic of Ireland remains a member while Northern Ireland is not
  the border of the Republic of Ireland becomes EU’s external border

Question 2

what did the second part of the EU (withdrawal) act 2018 ensure?

Answer 2

the free movement of people continues until after the end of the transition period
UK citizens are exempted from visas for short-term visits in the EU - no more than 90 days in any 180 day period

Question 3

when did the UK exit the EU?

Answer 3

31st December 2020

Question 4

where are the terms for the current UK-EU relationship set out?

Answer 4

• in the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA)
• incorporated into UK law through the European Union (Withdrawal Agreement) 2020 Act

Question 5

what is the relevance of EU law post Brexit?

Answer 5

• remains relevant
• Legislation as it applied to the UK on 31 dec 2020 is not part of UK domestic legislation - retained EU legislation
• UK courts have a duty to interpret UK law in line with UK-EU agreements
  EU law will remain applicable in the UK in certain fields

Question 6

what does art 10 TEU say about democracy?

Answer 6

the functioning of the Union shall be founded on representative democracy

Question 7

what is democratic deficit?

Answer 7

• lack of democracy
• EU system holds some of the qualities of a democratic government, but is lacking others

Question 8

what are some examples of democratic deficit in the EU?

Answer 8

• marginalization of national parliaments and conferment of powers to the European Parliament and Commission
• lesser accountability of the Union institutions compared to that of the member states governments
• the commission is viewed as an executive body consisting of technocrats lacking democratic legitimacy