07 May 2025
It’s solidarity, stupid!
Few cases have triggered as stark reactions as Commission v Malta. In the ruling’s aftermath, many legal scholars and practitioners were quick to discard the decision. While the ruling is bold, innovative, and goes far beyond established precedent, the Court’s reasoning remains brief, ambiguous, in some parts even obscure and sibylline. Yet, most of the Court’s “great” judgments have left room for interpretation. No doubt, Commission v Malta will be subject to many, very different, affirmative or critical interpretations. In the following, I will provide one – of several possible! – readings, which seeks to square the ruling with constitutional reasoning. Continue reading >>
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07 May 2025
The Silent Engine of European Citizenship
In its ruling on 29 April 2025 in Case C-181/23 Commission v Malta, the Grand Chamber held that Malta’s investor citizenship scheme, which grants Maltese nationality in exchange for predetermined payments or investments, was contrary to EU law. Although the judgment has been criticised (perhaps not without reason) for its lack of doctrinal foundation, it does demonstrate that the EU principle of mutual trust has constitutional character and is normatively capable of challenging national administrative mechanisms, such as the Maltese naturalisation scheme, that are incompatible with the values in Art. 2 TEU. Continue reading >>
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06 May 2025
What is Citizenship For?
Last week, the CJEU declared Malta’s citizenship for investment scheme incompatible with EU law. Setting aside the evidently highly questionable quality and defensibility of the Court’s legal reasoning, the decision clearly casts Union citizenship as a status constituted by meanings and norms specific to the European Union as a normative legal project. What are we to make of this conception of citizenship, and its use by the Court to strike down citizenship for investment schemes? Continue reading >>
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30 April 2025
The EU Free Market Does Not Extend to Citizenship
In the landmark Commission v Malta judgment of 29 April 2025, the European Union Court of Justice outlawed the “commercialisation” of EU citizenship, closing a door for corrupt actors. The Grand Chamber judgment not only bars the Maltese practice at issue, but also casts doubt on the legality of citizenship grants under that and similar schemes, while raising legal arguments for would-be citizens to challenge discriminatory laws. Continue reading >>15 April 2025
Fashion Upcycling and the Human Right to a Healthy Environment
With new collections each season, the fashion industry produces a highly problematic fashion garbage heap every year. Circular economy projects seeking to produce “new” garments by reworking second hand and unsold fashion items have particular societal value against this background. Evidently, legal solutions that support fashion reuse have particular relevance in the light of these goals. Continue reading >>
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10 February 2025
Spillovers and Unexpected Interactions
The La Quadrature du Net II decision’s ripple effects are profound. By placing the ruling in thick context, this analysis uncovers hidden legal innovations and unexpected interactions that could reshape the future of data protection in the EU. Continue reading >>
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02 December 2024
A Right to Anonymity in the Digital Age
Although digital anonymity is associated with a wide range of opportunities, it also stands in the way of successful criminal prosecution. The right to respect private and family life under the the EU Charter as well as the right to protection of personal data are of fundamental importance for natural persons. However, since life is increasingly taking place online, anonymity can be exploited to spread hate, discriminatory content, and fake news. Considering these risks, the ECJ has opened the door to data retention in Europe and thereby restricted digital anonymity. Continue reading >>02 December 2024
Data Retention Laws and La Quadrature du Net II
La Quadrature du Net II has been criticized for allowing generalized metadata retention measures. However, it is important not to lose sight of the fact that the law must not become a mechanism for protecting criminals. The scale of online rights violations are a real problem. P2P networks are not only a threat to copyright protection, but also an environment for the distribution of content related to serious crime. It is therefore necessary to strike a balance between these two concerns and to propose solutions that adequately protect users without guaranteeing impunity for criminals. Continue reading >>
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02 December 2024
Squaring the Circle
La Quadrature du Net II, which allows for the general retention of IP addresses to combat copyright infringements committed online, should not be viewed as carte blanche for general data retention measures by the Member States. Instead of watering down fundamental rights protection on a case-by-case approach, Member States should agree on guarantees and safeguards as well as a list of serious crimes allowing only the restricted use of targeted data retention in specific cases. Continue reading >>
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29 November 2024