28 April 2021
Solving the Copenhagen Dilemma
By proclaiming an entirely new ‘non-regression’ principle in EU law based on the connection between Articles 49 TEU (EU Enlargement) and 2 TEU (EU values, referred to from Art. 49), the Court of Justice achieved huge progress in addressing a well-known lacuna undermining the EU legal order. The ‘non-regression’ principle is a new important direction in the notable fight for the EU rule of law started with the discovery of EU competence in, in particular, the area of judicial independence and the organization of the judiciaries in the EU Member States. Continue reading >>
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30 December 2020
Conditionality Mechanism: What’s In It?
As from 1 January 2021 the Regulation on a general regime of conditionality for the protection of the Union budget will become applicable. A lot has been said about the outcome of the negotiation process of this new regulation for which all parties involved claimed victory, as it is usually the case once an agreement is reached. We would like to take this as an opportunity to evaluate the outcome from the personal perspective of two people engaged in the process of the negotiations at opposite sides – the European Parliament on the one side and the Council of the EU on the other side. Continue reading >>
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23 June 2020
Riga and Venice on a Collision Course
After the judgment on minority languages in public schools more than a year ago, the Latvian Constitutional Court has passed several other judgments regarding the restrictions on using such languages in education. A recent opinion of the Venice Commission raises questions about the quality of analysis from the point of view of international law. Continue reading >>
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02 May 2020
COVID-19 in Latvia: Precaution Above All
The Government of Latvia adopted the decision on emergency situation due to COVID-19 on 12 March to apply until 14 April. For the time being, this period has been extended once to 12 May. This post considers the applicable legal framework, concrete limitations adopted by the Saeima (Parliament) and the Government are described, followed by an assessment from the point of view of European Union values. Continue reading >>
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10 May 2019
Eurofederalists under Threat: The Latvian Supreme Court’s Ruling on Independence
On 10 April 2019, Latvia's highest criminal court confirmed a judgment of the Riga Regional Court which convicted the accused for publicly inviting to take action against the national independence of the Republic of Latvia. This decision of the Senate not only contradicts European and international human rights law but is also inconsistent with the case law of Latvia’s Constitutional Court. Continue reading >>02 May 2019