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How has the first year of the Brexit negotiations affected politics in the EU?

Nicola Chelotti, (2018), “How has the first year of the Brexit negotiations affected politics in the EU?”, LSE EUROPP, 12 April

The Brexit negotiations have coincided with a period of high political uncertainty in the EU27. Across Europe, governments are being confronted with significant challenges, including controversial constitutional reforms (in Poland and Hungary), the persistence of euroscepticism and the continuing (albeit diminished for the moment at least) impact of the refugee crisis.

In the year since the triggering of Article 50, six EU countries besides the UK (Malta, France, Germany, Austria, Czech Republic and Italy) have held general elections, and several more have elected presidents. At least in the UK, some thought that the impact of Brexit might be to strengthen eurosceptic parties and even to signal the beginning of the unravelling of European integration. However, in key EU27 states Brexit has had little effect. Since the referendum, instead of bolstering euroscepticism, Brexit has led to a toning-down in the ambitions of eurosceptic parties across Europe. It played little role in any of the European elections, with eurosceptic parties failing to use it as a frame in their electoral campaigns.

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