Publication

This paper examines the threat posed to the authority of Jean-Claude Juncker's European Commission, which takes office in November 2014, as well as the EU as a whole by the infringements to agreed-upon EU rules made by France, Italy and the UK. These include 1) France and Italy's national budget submissions for 2015, which are incompatible with the rules of the EU’s Stability and Growth Pact (SGP), and 2) the UK's vocal opposition to the €2 billion surcharge placed on its EU membership fees.