23 December 2025
From Security to Economics
Last week, by adopting Regulation 2025/2600, the Council effectively froze Russian state assets permanently. They had already been frozen under the EU sanctions regime which required unanimous renewal every six months. In our view, this permanent freezing under Article 122(1) TFEU remains primarily designed to address matters of foreign policy and violates the conferral of competence. In the long term, given that the frozen assets also serve as a security for the newly agreed loan of EUR 90 billion for Ukraine, this will also jeopardize the enforceability of the said collateral. Continue reading >>
0 
02 July 2023
Poland’s Extended Disciplinary System
The judgement of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) on June 5, 2023 (C-204/21) has added a new chapter to the rule of law crisis in Poland. The outcome was largely expected given the well-established jurisdiction of the ECJ on matters of the rule of law. However, a close reading of the judgment demonstrates that it recognizes the more insidious ways in which Poland has undermined judicial independence. Specifically, I argue that the ECJ's ruling paves the way for a legal response to the suppression of judicial independence through public intimidation and stigmatization of judges. Continue reading >>
0