03 July 2024
Putting the Record Straight About the Spitzenkandidaten
In the last few weeks, a great deal of nonsense has been said about the concept of the Spitzenkandidat. Some accuse the European Parliament of a power grab, subrogating the lawful role of the European Council in choosing the new Commission President. Others trivialise the role of the Parliament and doubt the democratic credentials of the process. Many believe that the candidate must always be drawn from the largest party come what may. All these assertions are wrong. The election of the Commission President is a joint endeavour between Parliament and Commission, democratically legitimate, and fully in conformity with EU law. Continue reading >>
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26 June 2024
Aufgeschoben ist nicht aufgehoben
Der Versuch der belgischen Ratspräsidentschaft, ein Verhandlungsmandat für die Umsetzung der umstrittenen Chatkontrolle-Verordnung zu erzielen, ist letzte Woche unter anderem am Widerstand Deutschlands gescheitert. Das sind gute Nachrichten für die Grundrechte, doch trotz der Umwälzungen durch die Europawahl ist es noch zu früh für eine Entwarnung. Continue reading >>
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26 June 2024
The Lighthouse of EU Law Shines on the Polish Constitutional Tribunal
Last week, legal scholars from all over the world met in Freiburg at the ConTrans conference. On the one end of the spectrum, scholars like Woijcech Sadurski advocated for a revolutionary approach, simply dismantling the current Tribunal and re-building it from scratch. On the other end stands Adam Bodnar, who stressed the importance of legality in the transition process. In my view, EU law shines a possible way ahead – it can justify disregarding the Tribunal’s decisions and empower ordinary courts to assume the Tribunal’s jurisdiction. Eventually, this would lead to a decentralised constitutional review. Continue reading >>
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21 June 2024
Rule of Law Chickens Coming Home to Roost
Ongoing assaults by Viktor Orbán’s Fidesz administration on the rule of law in Hungary have produced manifold reactions, generally of depressingly limited effectiveness. Last week, on 13 June 2024, in Case C-123/22 European Commission v Hungary, the Court ordered a record lump sum payment of €200,000,000 and a penalty payment of €1,000,000 per day of delay until an earlier 2020 Court ruling is complied with. Hungary thus received a stinging reminder that the Court of Justice is not toothless when it comes to the rule of law. Continue reading >>
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20 June 2024
Ist der Green Deal der EU nach der Wahl des Europaparlaments verzichtbar?
Im Zuge der Wahlen zum Europäischen Parlament (EP) im Juni 2024 ist der Europäische Green Deal (EGD) in die Defensive geraten. Die Stimmungslage, die noch im Umfeld der Wahlen von 2019 herrschte, hat sich verändert. Damals wurde das Ergebnis der Wahlen als Plädoyer der Unionsbürger für eine ambitioniertere Klima- und Umweltpolitik verstanden und aufgegriffen. Aktuell sind andere berechtigte politische Anliegen wie Migration, Sicherheit und wirtschaftliche Stabilität in den Vordergrund gerückt. Nicht verändert hat sich demgegenüber die Klimalage. Nach wie vor drohen die von der Wissenschaft ermittelten planetaren Belastungsgrenzen überschritten zu werden, die nicht zuletzt durch das im internationalen Übereinkommen von Paris rechtsverbindlich verankerte 1,5 bis 2 Grad-Ziel verstärkt politische Relevanz entfaltet haben. Continue reading >>
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13 June 2024
The EPPO as a Domesticated Cat
The European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) has just celebrated the third anniversary of the start of its operations. “I am sure you will soon see [the EPPO] is anything but a ‘toothless tiger’”, said Laura Kövesi in an interview in 2021. Sadly, in Bulgaria, a country frequently shaken by scandals implicating abuses of EU funds and known for rampant corruption, the EPPO reminds of a domesticated rather than a fierce wild cat. Continue reading >>
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07 June 2024
Das EU-Projekt auf der langen Bank?
Was bei diesen Wahlen auf dem Spiel steht Continue reading >>06 June 2024
Militant Public Administration
An unprecedented scandal surrounding a Polish governmental fund established to aid crime victims highlights the role of civil servants in authoritarian state capture. The revelations surrounding the Justice Fund show broad levels of bureaucratic acquiescence with shocking abuses of power, and only belated effort to document and report these abuses. The Polish case shows it is time for a democratically militant public administration – the new vision of civil service better prepared to fend off authoritarian encroachment from elected politicians. Continue reading >>
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05 June 2024
Trans Rights and Gender Recognition before the CJEU
On May 7, 2024, the Advocate General of the CJEU issued his Opinion on the Mirin case concerning the right to Legal Gender Recognition (LGR) for transgender persons. Yet, the solution offered by the AG deviates from the Court’s previous case-law on LGR, by making it about free movement rather than protection against discrimination, or fundamental rights. It also places the applicant, and those in a similar position, in an administrative situation that is defeating the very purpose of LGR – an issue that the AG himself acknowledges. A more satisfactory and ambitious alternative would instead be to frame the LGR as protected under the EU Charter. Continue reading >>01 June 2024
Dividing the Indivisible
The absence of a number of important human rights instruments from the EU’s Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive, notably for indigenous peoples’ and migrants’ rights, are serious omissions and must be rectified at the EU level during the first review of the directive. Given the status of the CSDDD as a directive, Member States also have the freedom to add these missing instruments during national transposition and should do so in order to further honour their commitments under the UNGPs. Continue reading >>
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