proposal on “posted
proposal on “posted workers”, which would require companies from the eastern EU to pay as much to their workers sent to Western Europe as their western counterparts. In principle, the proposal makes sense in a single market, and some Western European states have long objected to easterners undercutting local wages. But 11 national parliaments objected to the nations. The commission decided in July to move ahead with the proposal anyway. AFTER-BREXIT VOTE It has been interpreted as a vote against the ruling elite and mainstream politics, a public sentiment that Hungarian and Polish leaders have been a sign that the EU needs to change, and they were ready with an alternative. “The European Commission hasn't fully understood what happened in the British referendum,” Polish July, when her country took over the V4 rotating presidency. “The EU needs to return to its roots. We need to about those of the institutions.” Similarly, Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orban said in June that democratic legitimacy for the EU can only come from the member states. has shifted towards the east,” said analyst Daniel Bartha. “France has had a declining economy since the early 2010s, so it has been less potent in offsetting centres are destined to emerge in the union.” temporary, as many issues divide the four nations politics. everything else – for instance energy – there is little agreement,” said Bartha. friend to Hungary but still regarded as a threat in Poland. its opposition to EU migration policy during its presidency of the EU Council. reasonable” elements within the V4 – Slovakia and and Hungary whenever possible. “They need our gestures. It is that moment,” argued “We have to return to the notion that the basis of the EU is not its institutions, but the member states. The democratic feature of the EU can only be reinforced through the member states,” he said after the British referendum. There is yet a concrete proposal, but in the Slovak capital in September, the 27 member states kicked The Visegrad leaders have made their voices heard on the EU Photo: Czech government 16 — EUROPE IN REVIEW DECEMBER 2016
Photo: European Commission Barrosogate and the rise of public opinion Just days after Britain’s vote to leave, the EU was rocked by the news that commission ex-president, Jose Manuel Barroso, had landed a top job with Goldman Sachs. By Aleksandra Eriksson J 23 June, the European Commission was rocked by the news that Goldman Sachs had added to its payroll. He will advise the bank's clients on how The announcement let loose an unprecedented tried to brush off criticism. And as the fuss grew, so did interest and concern ”revolving door” between politics and business. The scandal that became known as Barrosogate mobilised an unprecedented alliance of NGOs, journalists, academia, the EU ombudsman and longer snub concerns that their leaders put business for permission before taking up a job for 18 months, were adequate and stressed that article 245 of the EU treaties required commissioners to behave with Transparency campaign group Corporate Europe Observatory (CEO) investigated the post-EU life of former commissioners and said one in three were asking for sanctions of their former boss, saying it was ”a disastrous symbol for the union and a gift horse for EUROPE IN REVIEW DECEMBER 2016— 17
