The work of the Commission has concentrated on a series of expert hearings convened by LSE academics. Participants included: senior British and EU public officials, policy practitioners, academics, think tanks, journalists and business representatives. The Hearings examined: “negotiation issues”, the options for a reconfigured UK-EU relationship and the wider impact of a Brexit on the UK, as well as on the EU as a whole.
Each convenor produced a report of their hearing which has contributed to a final Overview and Summary of reports, which sets out an overall assessment of the case for continued British EU membership or a Brexit. The European Institute launched the Commission report at a public event on Tuesday 7 June 2016.
We dedicated our investigation to the memory of the late Professor Maurice Fraser, former Head of the European Institute. The Commission was his initiative: sadly, he died in February unable to see its completion. It reflected his life-long passion for Europe and we hope we have done his memory justice.
Hearing 1: EU Financial Regulation & Protection for Eurozone "Outs"
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Convenor: Dr Waltraud Schelkle, Associate Professor of Political Economy, November 2015
Hearing blog summary by Dr Schelkle, (November 2015): 'The City and the EU: too big to stay — or too big to go?'
Hearing blog by Dr Schelkle, (January 2016): 'A double bind: Cameron urges non-discrimination in one policy area, while wanting to discriminate in another'
Hearing 2: Higher Education & Research
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Convenor: Dr Anne Corbett, Associate, LSE Enterprise, December 2015
Hearing blog summary by Dr Corbett, (December 2015): 'Commission hearing: Just how much do British universities need the EU?'
Hearing 3: Social Europe, EU Employment Legislation & the UK's Labour Market
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Convenors: Dr Bob Hancké, Associate Professor of Political Economy
Dr Steve Coulter, LSE Fellow in Political Economy of Europe December 2015
Hearing blog summary by Dr Coulter, (December 2015): 'Reforming UK labour regulation – in or out of the EU – would be hard work'
Hearing 4: Free Movement of Persons & Migration
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Convenor: Dr Eiko Thielemann, Associate Professor of Political Science and Public Policy; Director, LSE Migration Studies Unit (MSU); January 2016
Hearing blog summary by Dr Thielemann & Daniel Schade, (February 2016): 'Emergency brakes on migration: neither novel nor effective'
Report blog summary by Dr Thielemann & Daniel Schade, (May 2016) 'Jobs are good ones: addressing the factors that attract EU migrants to the UK'
Hearing 5: External Perspectives on the UK’s membership of the EU
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Convenor: Professor Kevin Featherstone, Head of European Institute; January 2016
Hearing blog summary by Professor Featherstone, (February 2016): 'Waking up to a nightmare? A UK exit from the EU would be a ‘lose-lose’ for both sides'
Hearing 6: The Implications of Brexit for Fundamental Rights Protection in the UK
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Convenor: Dr Jo Eric Kushal Murkens, Associate Professor of Law; February 2016
Hearing blog summary by Dr Murkens & Sarah Trotter (March 2016): 'Fundamental rights and fundamental fears'
Hearing 7: Britain as a Global Actor after Brexit
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Convenors: Dr Spyros Economides, Associate Professor of International Relations and European Politics; Dr Mareike Kleine, Associate Professor of EU and International Politics; March 2016
Hearing blog summary by Dr Economides & Julia Himmrich (May 2016): 'What price autonomy? Brexit’s effect on Britain’s soft power, trade deals and European security'
Hearing 8: The UK's Democratic Moment on 'Europe'
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Session 1: The EU Referendum: Campaigns, Voters and the Democratic Mandate
Convenor: Professor Sara B Hobolt, Sutherland Chair in European Institutions
Session 2: The Role of National Parliaments in the European Union
Convenor: Dr Sara Hagemann, Assistant Professor, European InstituteMarch 2016
Hearing blog summary by Sara Hobolt & Sara Hagemann (April 2016): 'Turn out or else: do referendum campaigns actually change voters’ minds?'
Hearing blog summary by Sara Hobolt & Sara Hagemann (April 2016): 'A vote to leave the EU may have a detrimental impact on Parliament'
Hearing 9: Implications of a Brexit for UK National Governance & Local Government
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Convenors: Professor Tony Travers, Director of LSE London, Professor in Practice; April 2016
Hearing 10: "Ever Closer Union"
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Convenor: Professor Simon Glendinning, Professor of European Philosophy; April 2016
Hearing blog summary by Simon Glendinning & Roch Dunin-Wąsowicz, (June 2016): 'Ever closer to different destinations: how the renegotiation changed the EU’s aims'
Hearing 11: Economic Impact of Brexit
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Convenor: Professor Iain Begg, Professorial Research Fellow;
May 2016