Articles for category: EU

A Non-EU Rule of Law Commission

In March, the European Parliament decided to sue the European Commission over a quid pro quo exchange of European Union funds with Hungary for support of Ukraine EU accession. This lawsuit marks a striking culmination of a years-long failure on the part of the Commission to protect the rule of law. Given frustrating delays from Brussels, this blog post proposes a non-EU accountability mechanism—a so-called Rule of Law Commission—to bolster and reinforce commitments to rule of law issues among European states.

17. April 2024

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GDPR Overreach?

After Meta introduced this model for its social networking services Facebook and Instagram in November 2023, several national data protection authorities called on the EDPB to clarify the compatibility of this model with the GDPR. Data protection law is to be used as a lever to prohibit media companies or online service providers from offering a service that is more data-minimalist than the traditional business model. Data protection authorities are therefore faced with the question of whether the GDPR should address "social justice" concerns.

15. April 2024

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Citizenship for Sale (Commission v Malta)

The Maltese “passports for sale” (Golden Passports) was big news a year or two ago but has now disappeared below the radar of public attention. Yet, the mills of justice might grind slowly, but grind they do. The case brought by the Commission against Malta is scheduled to be heard by the CJEU sometime later this year. So, Malta offers passports for sale. Quelle Horreur! I hear you sniffing with disgust and indignation. They sell their citizenship, and hoopla – automatically these new citizens, ipso facto and ipso jure are European Citizens enjoying all the rights and duties which attach to such.

14. April 2024

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Enforcement of the Digital Markets Act

Since March 2024, the undertakings Alphabet/Google, Amazon, Apple, Byte-Dance/TikTok, Meta, and Microsoft must comply with the obligations of the Digital Markets Act (DMA). Within the first month after the 6-months implementation period has ended, the European Commission opened investigations against Alphabet/Google, Apple, and Meta for non-compliance with the obligations in the DMA. All proceedings can be traced back to related competition law cases. However, only two proceedings follow the same reasoning as their competition law role models, while the case against Meta reveals that the approaches under the DMA can and will deviate significantly to those under competition law and data protection law.

10. April 2024

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European Democracy at Stake in Battle of the EP versus Orbán

Shortly after the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty in 2009, the European Parliament expressed its concern about the rule of law in Hungary. 14 years later, the EP still, and yet again, discusses PM Orbán’s lack of respect for the values of the Union. The forthcoming debate on 10 April will be the Parliament’s last chance to prevent the scheduled takeover of the Council-Presidency by Hungary. The EP and the European Council must prevent a self-proclaimed illiberal leader from assuming the Presidency of the Council and thus protect the democratic nature of the European Union.

5. April 2024

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The Spitzenkandidaten Practice in the Spotlight

Ten years have lapsed since the first successful attempt to launch the Spitzenkandidaten practice in 2014. With the European political parties midway through selecting their lead candidates once again, the upcoming European elections raise questions about the constitutional nature of this informal practice. The following comment aims to enquire what consequences, given the evolving dynamics of the practice, can be attached to a potential failure to designate a Spitzenkandidat. In particular, I argue that only if the SK process evolves into a constitutional customary rule, it is possible to conceive a duty upon the European Council to consider appointing the leading candidate from the party winning the elections of the European Parliament.

3. April 2024

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Silence is Golden, but not Mandatory

Last week, European Commissioner Breton received a slap on the wrist from the commission’s officials. After he (politically unwise) criticized the process of electing Ursula von der Leyen as the EPP’s leading candidate on X (formally Twitter), the Commission’s Secretary General did not mince his words in reminding him of his obligations under EU law and the potential sanctions for violating them. In this post, I argue that one cannot construe the duties of the Members of the Commission as a prohibition of political expressions of any kind.

25. März 2024

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How to Avoid Another Botched EU Enlargement by Sticking to the Rules

Is the European Union once again about to duck the challenge of constitutional reform? Even the imperative of Ukraine’s accession does not impel the EU to strengthen its governance. The European Parliament has made formal proposals to change the treaty from unanimity to QMV. The Commission equivocates. The European Council simply sits on the dossier, looking for excuse after excuse. Worse, a new idea is being floated in Brussels that mixes bad law with bad politics. The ruse is to use Article 49 TEU, the accession clause, instead of Article 48. I explain here why this approach will neither help Ukraine nor salvage the Union’s self-respect.

22. März 2024

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The Fall of The Great Paywall for EU Harmonised Standards

In case C-588/21 P, the CJEU dismantled a foundational axiom of the European Standardisation System: the paywall of harmonised standards. The Court confirmed that harmonised standards are an integral part of EU law, mandating their free accessibility. In this commentary, I posit that the Court’s decision imposes a proactive publication obligation and challenges the existing copyright protection afforded to harmonised standards.

19. März 2024

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