20 February 2024
European Nuclear Weapons
After Donald Trump’s announcement to withhold US military support in case of an attack on a NATO member by Russia under certain circumstances, a discussion has been sparked on whether Europe itself should have their own nuclear weapons for nuclear deterrence. However, given the progress in the legal framework of nuclear non-proliferation and nuclear disarmament, European nuclear weapons would violate international law. Continue reading >>
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19 February 2024
EU’s Involvement in the Renewal of the Spanish Council of the Judiciary
The growing political polarization of Western liberal democracies often leads to situations of political deadlock that require the intervention of an external authority capable of untangling the knot. After the second (fruitless) meeting held today between Commissioner Reynders and representatives of the Spanish government and the main opposition party, there is no simple solution in sight to an issue of the renewal of the Spanish Council of the Judiciary with significant implications for the immediate future of the Spanish political scenario. In this blog, I argue that underneath all the technical layers of legal order invoked under the generic defence of the rule of law, there are political and democratic debates for which the EU may play an important yet uncertain and questionable role. Continue reading >>07 February 2024
Examining the EU’s Artificial Intelligence Act
Finally, consensus on the EU Artificial Intelligence Act. The academic community is thus finally in a position to provide a (slightly) more definitive evaluation of the Act’s potential to protect individuals and societies from AI systems’ harms. This blog post attempts to contribute to this discussion by illustrating and commenting on the final compromises regarding some of the most controversial and talked-about aspects of the AI Act, namely its rules on high-risk systems, its stance on General Purpose AI, and finally its system of governance and enforcement. Continue reading >>
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06 February 2024
Bricolage, Bullshit, and Bustle
On 15 December 2023, the Swiss Federal Council (Government) announced that it intended to start formal negotiations with the EU on the conclusion of a Framework Agreement (FA) 2.0. Five existing and two new treaties between the EU and Switzerland are to be subject to dynamic alignment and institutionalised, i.e. provided with a monitoring and judicial mechanism. The project, which is practically fixed in the decisive questions by a “Common Understanding” (“CU”) between the two parties, is based on a triple B approach: in substance, it consists of unsuccessful bricolage, the foundations were laid by bullshit, and because elections and a change of the Commission are imminent in the EU, bustle is supposedly of the essence. The CU summarizes what the Parties have informally agreed on. Continue reading >>18 January 2024
Unpacking the Critical Raw Materials Act
The recently adopted Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA) is framed as a milestone for the EU Green Industrial Plan and the twin green and digital transitions. In the context of emerging green industrial policies and the resurgence of the state as an economic actor, the Act encapsulates the EU’s attempt to instrumentalise markets for public objectives. Yet, the bid to generate tailored and specific market outcomes is undercut by the Act’s primary strategy of adjusting risks and returns for ultimately volatile, profit-driven private initiative. At the same time, the Act’s focus on domestic green growth, even if read charitably, remains myopic to the global challenge of climate change and perpetuates existing patterns of core-periphery extractivism. Continue reading >>17 January 2024
Germany Blocks Europe-Wide Protection of Women Against Violence
Gender-based violence has dramatically increased in the European Union (EU) in recent years. In particular women are widely affected by rape. On 8 March 2022, the Commission presented a Draft Directive for comprehensive, effective and enforceable protection against gender-based violence in all EU Member States. The main point of contention in the negotiations, which could ultimately prevent the adoption of the Draft Directive, is the introduction of the common definition of the criminal offence of rape. The Directive aims to harmonize across Europe the definition of rape as a violation of the consent-based sexual act. Yet, twelve Member States, with Germany and France at the forefront, are not convinced that the EU has a sufficient legal base to regulate that issue. This article highlights the arguments for a common regulation of the criminal offence of rape in the EU under Art. 83 (1) TFEU against the doubts raised by the German Federal Ministry of Justice. Continue reading >>
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26 October 2023
To Hell, on a White Horse
Slovakia voted on the final day of September 2023. The electoral rhetoric, results and subsequent coalition-building give grounds to expect illiberal constitutional changes. More attention is needed towards the Constitutional Court’s capacity to resist such illiberalization, as Slovakia may join Hungary in a revamped illiberal Visegrad alliance. Continue reading >>
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18 October 2023
At a Snail’s Pace
By 1 April 2018, member states had to transpose an EU Directive on ‘the strengthening of certain aspects of the presumption of innocence and of the right to be present at the trial in criminal proceedings’. Bulgaria has not fully transposed it to this day, and consistently undermines it. Now, finally, the Commission has launched infringement proceecings. Preceding the announcement, the Commission rejected Rasosveta Vassileva's reasoned complaints on the same issue, as late as 2022. Her odyssey is a concerning tale on how EU institutions handle citizen alerts. Continue reading >>
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05 October 2023
Automated Decision-Making and the Challenge of Implementing Existing Laws
Who loves the latest shiny thing? Children maybe? Depends on the kid. Cats and dogs perhaps? Again, probably depends. What about funders, publishers, and researchers? Now that is an easier question to answer. Whether in talks provided by the tax-exempt ‘cult of TED’, or in open letters calling for a moratorium, the attention digital technologies receive today is extensive, especially those that are labelled ‘artificial intelligence’. This noise comes with calls for a new ad hoc human right against being subject to automated decision-making (ADM). While there is merit in adopting new laws dedicated to so-called AI, the procedural mechanisms that can implement existing law require strengthening. The perceived need for new substantive rules to govern new technology is questionable at best, and distracting at worst. Here we would like to emphasise the importance of implementing existing law more effectively in order to better regulate ADM. Improving procedural capacities across the legal frameworks on data protection, non-discrimination, and human rights is imperative in this regard. Continue reading >>
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22 August 2023