More often than not, influencers are taken by surprise when the European Parliament goes against their positions and those of the Commission or the Council. As the Parliament becomes more influential, this occurrence becomes ever more frequent. In this analysis we look at one key reason why this happens: most MEPs do not belong to (leading) governing parties, hence they have extra incentive to go against their governments’ position. Continue Reading
VoteWatch report: How did Italian MEPs vote on taxation issues ?
The latest report by VoteWatch Europe investigates the level of political support for fiscal initiatives at the EU level, with a special focus on Italian MEPs. In particular, we looked at the behaviour of Italian MEPs on 10 key taxation issues. This research was commissioned by the Italian Labour Union (UIL) and it is also available in Italian. Continue Reading
VoteWatch Report: How did Belgian MEPs vote on taxation policy?
The latest report by VoteWatch Europe investigates the level of political support for fiscal initiatives at the EU level (with a special focus on Belgian MEPs). In particular, we looked at the behaviour of Belgian politicians when voting on 10 key taxation issues. The second part of the report looks at the current state of play in the Council of the EU, which plays a pivotal role in this policy area, since any decisions require the unanimous support of EU national governments. Continue Reading
Brexit: the power of data predictions
As the United Kingdom’s withdrawal agreement was supported by an overwhelming 91% of European parliamentarians, the UK will formally leave the European Union as the clock strikes midnight on the 31st of January.
For the past 10 years, VoteWatch has kept the record of how the EU governments make decisions in Brussels. As we indicated on other occasions, an expert look at the data can help you understand the trends and forecast the political future. Continue Reading
State of the Union – Research (by VoteWatch Europe)
As the President of the European Commission is about to deliver his last State of the Union speech before the European elections, we are delivering our own State of the Union research based on our big data on the political developments in the EU institutions.
As the elections are getting closer, we decided to provide you with an overview of the main trends that we have observed over the last four years. Continue Reading
Movers and shakers of EU politics – June 2018
While the summer break is just behind the corner, the hectic political debate in Brussels shows no sign of abating. In fact, the upcoming year will bring about a series of brand new changes: a new balance of power in the EP following the elections in May 2019, a new leadership of the EU institutions, and the (tentative) finalization of the Brexit negotiations. At the same time, EU decision-makers are expected to make progress on the proposed reforms of the Eurozone governance, the EU asylum system and the ambitious proposals for the next Multi-Annual Financial Framework, among many other hot issues. Continue Reading
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As a leading EU affairs platform, VoteWatch Europe provides you with the most reliable and comprehensive data sets on voting in the European Parliament and the Council to verify your working hypothesis. You can also have your paper published on our website, to gain visibility and prestige!