13 January 2026
European Solidarity and Union Citizens in Greenland
While the EU and its Member States have consistently signalled solidarity with Denmark and Greenland since Trump’s inauguration in early 2025, Europe’s strategy so far has been cautious and may no longer be sufficient. The current situation will test whether European solidarity can evolve beyond rhetoric into a form of “defence solidarity”, ultimately requiring Member States to share military burdens in defence of both Greenlandic Union citizens and European sovereignty. Continue reading >>
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10 December 2025
The Ghost of Dublin Still Among Us
On 11 November, the European Commission inaugurated the first Annual Migration Management Cycle, marking one of the first concrete steps toward implementing the New Pact on Migration and Asylum. The Pact promises a renewed balance between solidarity and responsibility, but the details matter. Whereas a final evaluation might be too early at this stage, the Commission’s recent Implementing Decision already raises some concerns. Several implementation choices risk reinforcing existing dynamics of distrust between the Member States that also negatively affect fundamental rights obligations and access to asylum. Continue reading >>
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13 June 2025
Overcoming the Hungarian Veto
A Russian victory over Ukraine would make a military confrontation with Europe more likely. To prevent this, the Union must prolong the Russian sanctions, including the freezing of 200 billion EUR in central bank assets. The prolongation of these sanctions requires a unanimous decision pursuant to Article 31(1) TEU. Hungary threatens to obstruct this decision. We propose a way to end Hungary's obstruction. It requires no grand actions, only a few interpretative steps and a narrow political consensus. Continue reading >>10 April 2025
Tackling the Union’s “Orbán Problem” Now
The EU is facing an “Orbán problem”. That much is clear. The Hungarian government not only pursues an illiberal domestic agenda that violates the Union’s values in Article 2 TEU, but also cultivates close ties with autocratic regimes abroad, particularly with Russia. The Hungarian government consistently uses its veto powers to block Ukrainian military aid and dilute sanctions against Russia. The Commission should submit a new proposal under Article 7(2) TEU focusing on breaches of solidarity and threats to the Union’s security. Continue reading >>17 April 2024
Solidarity Crimes, Legitimacy Limits
The criminalisation of humanitarianism has become pervasive in the EU over the last two decades. Overbroad definitions of the crimes of facilitation of irregular entry, transit and stay produce well known noxious effects on the human rights of migrants and civil society organisations. Nevertheless, the tendency has been to tighten the rules rather than contesting the EU’s failure to pursue a migration control system that is ‘fair towards third-country nationals’ and constructed ‘with respect for fundamental rights.’ In this blogpost, I argue that the EU legislator’s disregard for the human rights impacts of the facilitation regime constitutes an abuse of power. Legislative measures that have the effect of subverting legally enshrined principles (Arts 2, 6 & 21 TEU) and suppress the rights of civil society and the migrants with whom they engage are incompatible with core democratic premises. Continue reading >>
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18 November 2022
The Terrible Plight of Internally Displaced Persons in Central Africa
In a never-ending humanitarian crisis, Central Africa is host to the largest community of internally displaced persons (IDPs). In early November, thousands of new IDPs, including a high number of children, found shelter in overcrowded and unsanitary camps in Goma and Lubero, in the North Kivu provinces of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) fleeing violence in the area, caused by the intensifying fighting between the Congolese armed forces and non-state armed group M23. It is for this reason of permanent insecurity in the area that I argue that the adoption of a specific binding legal instrument could ease the management of the IDPs in the region. The adoption of such an instrument would find one of its foundations in the concept of “solidarity”. Continue reading >>
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19 May 2020
VB Live: “Whatever it takes?” – COVID-19 as an (existential) crisis for the European Union
Session II of our discussion series on the COVID-19 crisis from a German, European and International Perspective, jointly organized by IFHV and Verfassungsblog - streamed live here on Verfassungsblog from 4:00 - 5:45 pm. Join now! Continue reading >>12 May 2020
Constitutional Constraints meet Political Pressure
The Finnish Constitutional Law Committee had already in April adopted a critical position towards the COVID 19 crisis measures in the EU. Last week the Committee continued its critical examination. It came to the conclusion that the Eurogroup decision to essentially remove all conditionality from the new loan facility of the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) is incompatible with the Finnish Constitution and expressed serious doubts about its compatibility with EU law. The Committee also repeated its concerns about the accumulation of financial risks deriving from EU membership. Continue reading >>
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18 March 2020