Articles for category: Europa

British Bare Necessities

In the latest episode of the Brexit saga, the United Kingdom government has published the Northern Ireland Protocol ('NIP') Bill, by which it seeks to unilaterally disapply large parts of the Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland to the 2019 Withdrawal Agreement (‘WA’) concluded between the UK and the European Union. The British government has shared a summary of its legal position, seeking to justify the NIP Bill on the basis of the doctrine of necessity. However, this justification seems to be a literal, if unconvincing, attempt to make a virtue of necessity.

15. Juni 2022

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Moving Beyond Token Participation

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The concept of human rights due diligence was developed over the past decade as a way for companies to grapple with adverse human rights violations and impacts connected to their business practice, including within their value chains. In February of this year, the European Commission published a proposal for European Union-wide mandatory human rights due diligence for companies that fall under its scope. For such legislation to succeed in advancing the rights of the most affected and to lead to better human rights outcomes for rights-holders, it is crucial to anchor such laws and regulations with not only the perspective of rights-holders but their ongoing involvement. To do otherwise would miss an invaluable opportunity to improve the landscape of business and human rights to center rights-holders in the years to come.

14. Juni 2022

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Serbia on Hold

Since 3 April 2022, when elections at all levels were held, Serbia has been on hold. Two months after the elections, only the President of Serbia has begun to serve his regular mandate, while the official results of the parliamentary elections are yet to be proclaimed, the new composition of the National Assembly is yet to be convened, and the new government is yet to be formed. Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, which occurred at the beginning of the election campaign, added to the already tense political situation.

13. Juni 2022

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How the Data Retention Legislation Led to a National Constitutional Crisis in Portugal

Some weeks ago, the Portuguese Constitutional Court (PCC) triggered a heated political debate on the need to amend the Constitution to grant criminal investigative authorities access to metadata on personal communications. Whilst disagreements between the political branches and the constitutional jurisdiction are common, this conflict is located at a wider critical juncture that intersects EU and national constitutional law, the CJEU, the domestic constitutional court, and ordinary courts.

9. Juni 2022

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Censuring von der Leyen’s Capitulation on the Rule of Law

The spectre of a motion of censure is looming over the von der Leyen Commission. While this rather extraordinary, perhaps desperate, measure appears unlikely to attain the required number of signatures to be tabled – and even less likely to be adopted by the European Parliament –, this initiative deserves some scrutiny. Perhaps even some praise by those who still believe in the primacy of law over power. 

8. Juni 2022

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The European Commission Cedes its Crucial Leverage vis-à-vis the Rule of Law in Poland

The worst thing about the European Commission’s decision of 1 June 2022 to approve Poland’s EUR 36 billion national recovery plan, despite this country’s very meek (to put it mildly) assurances about improvements to its rule-of-law situation, is not even its substance, bad though that is. Worse still is the sequencing.

6. Juni 2022

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The French Constitutional Council’s Problem with Impartiality

If only one example was needed to show the oligarchic nature of the French political system and the limited power of civil society, the game of musical chairs that was played between the Government and the Constitutional Council in the decision “Association La Sphinx” would be perfect. Two ministers directly involved in the drafting of the challenged policy were also judging the constitutionality of the legislative provisions they themselves brought forward. The Constitutional Council’s rules of procedure dismiss impartiality concerns in such cases. This management of conflicts of interests in this court is unacceptable.

3. Juni 2022

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Competition and Conditionality

On 5 April 2022, just two days after the Hungarian national elections, the European Commission formally announced that it would apply the conditionality mechanism enshrined in Regulation 2020/2092 in relation to Hungary. In the past the Commission has frequently addressed issues related to “systemic irregularities, deficiencies and weaknesses in public procurement procedures”. In Hungary, however, it has not probed the enforcement of competition (cartel) law in public tender procedures. The Commission should seize the opportunity to act in this area.

2. Juni 2022

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Just a Feint?

A running joke in the pro-democratic military analyst community is about ridiculing the messages of pro-Russian experts who are pretending that the Russian defeat in the battle of Kyiv was "just a feint". I am afraid that the European Commission just walked into a similar strategic blunder with its deal with the Polish government on the recovery fund and the Supreme Court.

1. Juni 2022

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Die grenzenlose Aufnahme der ukrainischen Flüchtlinge und was wir daraus lernen

Mit der spontanen Aufnahme der ukrainischen Frauen, Kinder und Hilfsbedürftigen hat die europäische Zivilgesellschaft gezeigt, wie gut sie mit Flüchtlingen interagieren kann, wenn die Grenzen sich öffnen und hemmende Regulierungen entfallen. Die Staaten lernen in den letzten Wochen, eher unterstützend als kontrollierend zu wirken. Diese Erfahrungen sollten motivieren, kritischer als bisher zu hinterfragen, wieweit Einschränkungen der freien Entfaltung Geflüchteter und ihrer Unterstützer sinnvoll sind.

25. Mai 2022

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