Articles for tag: Academic Freedom, CEU, EuGH, Vertragsverletzungsverfahren

Finally: The CJEU Defends Academic Freedom

The CJEU’s judgment against Hungary in the CEU case is the first major judicial pronouncement by a European court on the institutional dimension of academic freedom as a fundamental human right. Infringement action has become the surprise weapon in the Commission’s rule of law toolbox. The initial surprise is a thing of the past: over the years the Hungarian government has built some defenses of its own, using familiar components of the European constitutional architecture in service of illiberal democracy.

8. Oktober 2020

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Defending the Open Society against its Enemies

On 18 June 2020, in the case of Commission v Hungary (Transparency of associations), the Grand Chamber of the Court of Justice held that Hungarian authorities “introduced discriminatory and unjustified restrictions on foreign donations to civil society organisations” when it adopted a new legislation on NGO in 2017. How will the Hungarian government react? Six potential scenarios can be outlined from not doing anything (scenario 1) – an unlikely option due to the threat of pecuniary sanctions – to full and good faith compliance with the judgment resulting in the total repeal of the Lex NGO (scenario 6) – equally unlikely. Between these two, four additional ones may be foreseen.

22. Juni 2020

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Sollte die EU-Kommission Deutschland wegen des Karlsruher Ultra-Vires-Urteils verklagen? CONTRA

Nehmen wir an, dass Bundesverfassungsgericht hätte mit seiner Feststellung eines Akts ultra vires durch EZB und EuGH europäisches Unionsrecht verletzt. Müsste ein solcher Rechtsbruch zwingend von einem Gericht überprüft und festgestellt werden? Natürlich nicht. Ein Vertragsverletzungsverfahren wäre mit Karl Kraus gesprochen Teil der Krankheit, für deren Therapie es sich hält.

16. Mai 2020

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Suing the BVerfG

It is the argument of this blog post that the Commission must activate the procedure of Article 258 TFEU and sue (Germany for the grave breach of EU law by) the BVerfG. As I maintain, this action is constitutionally necessary, legally sound, and it may ultimately help achieve an important integration function – neutralizing the minefield that the BVerfG built around the future of Europe.

13. Mai 2020

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Corona Constitutional #18: Zu wenig, zu spät?

Die EU-Kommission hat bekannt gegeben, Polen wegen des sog. "Maulkorbgesetzes" gegen die unabhängige Justiz mit einem Vertragsverletzungsverfahren zu überziehen – endlich, wie viele sagen würden. Ob das reicht, ob das zu spät kommt angesichts der gnadenlosen Politik der geschaffenen Fakten, die die polnische Regierung an den Tag legt, darüber spricht Max Steinbeis in der heutigen Folge unseres Krisenpodcasts mit dem Demokratie-Aktivisten MARTIN MYCIELSKI von der Open Dialogue Foundation.

30. April 2020

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When Will the EU Commission Act?

When can we expect the European Commission to launch an infringement action against the “muzzle law”? When will the European Commission act to sanction Polish authorities’ refusal to comply with the Court of Justice’s A. K. preliminary ruling of 19 November 2019? When will the European Commission apply for financial sanctions following Polish authorities’ public refusal to immediately and fully comply with the Court of Justice’s interim relief order of 8 April 2020 in respect of the so-called “disciplinary chamber”? When will the European Commission launch an infringement action in respect of the unlawful actions of the so-called “Constitutional Tribunal”?

29. April 2020

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Infringement Procedures in the Time of COVID-19

In the last weeks, members of the European Parliament and observers in the legal and academic community have, explicitly or implicitly, criticised the European Commission and the Court of Justice for their handling of ongoing infringement procedures. Put simply, the two institutions have been criticised for moving the existing cases forward, despite the fact that certain countries (first Italy, then followed by almost all other Member States) are in lockdown and, consequently, their administrations are unable to effectively respond.

15. April 2020

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Open Letter to the President of the European Commission regarding Poland’s “Muzzle Law”

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The current procrastination is akin to dereliction of duty: Waiting to bring infringement actions and to fail to simultaneously seek interim measures when the rule of law in a Member State is so obviously and blatantly deteriorating on an industrial scale only means that the Commission faces a far more serious and intractable problem to deal with later.

9. März 2020

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