(10 February 2020) – Without the UK, the EU can expect smoother legislative procedures in most Council configurations and policy areas, especially in justice and home affairs, institutional and budgetary matters as well as foreign policy.
Brexit has been often described as the start of the EU’s disintegration but a closer look at the Council of the EU paints a different picture.
It shows that Brexit can actually lead to a deeper integration of the EU-27 in the long run, argue Attila Kovacs and Levente Kocsis, analysts at eulytix.eu, a Hungarian web platform that looks into EU legislation.
Using Council voting data since 2010, they analysed the voting patterns of EU member states in all 10 Council configurations and the 16 policy areas they cover, with the over-arching conclusion that without the UK, decision-making in the Council formations is expected to be less conflicting.
In many cases, the UK’s opposition was an obstacle to deeper integration and smoother cooperation among EU countries. Many blocking minority coalitions have been formed around the UK. (EurActiv)