On 5 April 2016, the Prime Minister of Iceland Sigmundur David Gunnlaugsson from the Progressive Party stepped down. While emphasizing the step down was temporary, it is unlikely he will return as Prime Minister of the country. The Prime Minister has been the first big political figure to fall down following the historical leaks of the Panama Papers, in which his name was also mentioned. The step down was not enough as protests continued with calls for new elections as well. New elections were confirmed the next day on 6 April 2016 and are now planned for autumn this year. The Pirate Party is currently topping the polls, scoring over 40%.
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On 31 March 2016, one of the main initiators of the Dutch referendum on the Association Agreement (AA) of the European Union (EU) with Ukraine, admitted the reasons for organizing the referendum were instrumental. The main goal is to either dissolve the EU or make the Netherlands leave the EU. This remark confirms earlier remarks of other organizers. The referendum was announced last year in October, after enough signatures were collected for the referendum to be hold. The Dutch will go to the polls next week on Thursday 6 April for the referendum vote. Recent polls indicate that a majority of the Dutch will vote against the AA, with 54% being against the vote, 36% in favour and about 10% unsure. For the vote to be valid, 30% of the electorate will have to vote.
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As the UK referendum in regards to the question of the UK remaining a member of the EU draws near, the government published the phrasing of the referendum question and guidelines regarding the vote to the public. The date of the referendum was set to be June 23, 2016. According to the last six polls, advertised by the UK media channels, favoring the UK remaining in the EU opinion leads over leaving by 51%-49%.
Following the terror attacks in Brussels on 22 March, which have so far resulted in the death of 32 people and over 300 people wounded, Ministers of Justice and Home Affairs as well as representatives of EU institutions met during an extraordinary summit in Brussels on 24 March. The attacks were condemned and all leaders pledged their support for Belgium. At the same time the ministers agreed on an array of actions and measures to be pursued related to the better coordination of anti-terrorism efforts and making more use of current legal instruments. They also called for more trust between EU countries on sharing information and implementing decisions to do so.
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On 24 March 2016, the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) sentenced Radovan Karadzic, the former President of the Republic Srpska - still part of current Bosnia and Herzegovina - in prison for 40 years. He was convicted of genocide and crimes against humanity. He was found guilty of this during the conflict in Bosnia and Herzegovina between 1992-1995, as he gave orders related to these crimes to his military commanders.
The new government led by Robert Fico has been sworn in on 23 March 2016. Robert Fico managed to finish coalition talks following the troubled Parliamentary elections on 5 March that splintered the political landscape. This means the Prime Minister and leader of the social democrat Smer-SD party will be able to continue his third term in office. The coalition partners surprisingly include both the nationalist Slovak National Party (SNS) that disrespects minority rights as well as the liberal conservative Most HíD that fights for the rights of the Hungarian minority. Furthermore the small and new centrist party SIET is part of the coalition.
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The members of the European Council met with Turkish representatives to address the deepening of Turkey-EU relations and the migration influx. It was the third meeting since November 2015 devoted to these topics. Both sides decided to end the irregular migration from Turkey to the EU. This should be achieved by the implementation of the joint action plan (activated on 29 November 2015) and additional factors agreed for during the meeting. First, new irregular migrants coming to Greek islands from Turkey will be returned to Turkey. Second, for each Syrian returning to Turkey, another Syrian will be resettled from Turkey to the EU. Third, Turkey committed themselves to take necessary measures to prevent opening of new routes for illegal migration. In return the EU might lift the visa requirements (if all benchmarks are met) and re-boost the accession process.
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On Sunday, three German states held regional elections that will allow their incumbent premiers to stay in office. The breakthrough of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) – a party that did not exist a little more than three years ago and last year was on the verge of collapse – was arguably most striking. In Saxony-Anhalt in the former East Germany, the party with links to the far-right Pegida movement had gained 24.4%, according to initial exit polls, thus becoming the second-biggest party behind the CDU. In both Rhineland-Palatinate and Baden-Württemberg, it appeared to have gained 12% and 15%.
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During an Eurogroup meeting it has been decided that Cyprus will formally exit the bailout program at the end of the month. The economic adjustment program has been in place since 2013. Cyprus was one of the two last countries still in a bailout program, together with Greece which still has a program running. Cyprus only needed €7,5 out of the €10 provided billion. The early exit is remarkable as Cyprus had one of the toughest conditions, as both bond holders and deposit holders had to incur losses. Capital controls had been put in place as well initially, at the time unprecedented for an Eurozone member. An agreement was difficult to be found at the time, after the Parliament rejected a deal earlier, leading to a near-bankruptcy of the country and to speculation of a possible exit from the Eurozone. The decisions means more good news for Cyprus as there also seems to be pace in the unification process and Cyprus has positive economic prospects as well, with expected growth forecasts of 1,5% in 2016 and 2% in 2017.
Read More After long talks on 7 March, the EU and Turkey managed to come up with a new deal with regards to the refugee crisis. The new deal includes first of all that all irregular migrants that travel to Greece by sea should be returned to Turkey. For every migrant sent back, the EU would resettle migrants directly from Turkey across the EU. The move is set to discourage illegal and dangerous travels by migrants across the sea. The deal furthermore included a speed up of transferring the earlier agreed 3 billion € to Turkey and to give another 3 billion €, therefore 6 billion € in total. Turkey would be granted visa-free travel as well before the end of the summer accession talks would be accelerated. While the new deal is considered as necessary, it is criticized as Turkey is becoming more authoritarian and less respectful of human rights. EU Member States still have to vote on the deal next week.
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