20 December 2022
EU-Ukraine sanctions: Is it time for deeper convergence?
The European Union has been addressing the war in Ukraine against Russia in various ways. To name only a few, the EU has allocated additional funds to support Ukraine, Member States are sending weapons and arms equipment, Brussels is leading the international campaign to hold Russian war criminals accountable and, last but not least, the EU has imposed the largest sanctions package in its history to harm Russia’s ability to wage aggressive war. Continue reading >>
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19 December 2022
Чи вбʼє війна Росії верховенство права в Україні та Європі?
Життєздатність верховенства права в Україні, Європі, а також у Росії чи будь-де у світі, може витримати навіть насильницький натиск там, де люди готові боротися за інститути та практику верховенства права, іноді з великим ризиком для себе. Якщо всі волелюбні країни будуть підтримувати одна одну повним і глибоким співробітництвом для просування миру, демократії, прав людини та верховенства права на всіх рівнях, як це робить ЄС з Україною протягом десятиліть, верховенство права, демократія та права людини будуть постійно зміцнюватися і давати людям все більше можливостей процвітати в умовах миру, безпеки та людської гідності. Continue reading >>
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19 December 2022
Will Russia’s War Kill the Rule of Law in Ukraine and Europe?
The vibrancy of the rule of law in Ukraine, Europe, and for that matter in Russia or anywhere in the world, can survive even violent onslaught, wherever people are willing to fight for rule of law institutions and practices, sometimes at great risk to themselves. If all freedom loving countries support one another with full and deep cooperation to promote peace, democracy, human rights, and the rule of law at all levels, as the EU has done with Ukraine for decades, the rule of law, democracy and human rights will continuously strengthen and increasingly enable people to thrive in conditions of peace, security and human dignity. Continue reading >>08 September 2022
The “Year of Historical Memory” and Mnemonic Constitutionalism in Belarus
On 1st of September 2022, the academic year in all Belarusian schools started with an atypical lesson, on “historic memory” – led in Minsk by none other than the country’s “President” himself, Aliaksandr Łukašenka. There is a constitutional dimension to historical memory in Belarus, which is better grasped through the looking glass of mnemonic constitutionalism. Continue reading >>
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17 August 2022
Heated tempers and legal ambiguities
After some heads of EU governments advocated for an all-out ban of Russian nationals’ Schengen visas, a heated academic and political debate arose over the question whether the EU could bar Russians from acquiring visas for a short-term stay in the Schengen area. Could a sweeping travel ban for Russian citizens be justified in the light of EU law? This blogpost advises caution. Continue reading >>
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16 August 2022
Why Restricting Tourist Visas to Russians is Legitimate
In the aftermath of Ukrainian President Zelenski’s call on the EU to introduce a ban on short-term ‘tourist’ visas for Russians wishing to travel the Schengen area, a lively debate on the issue erupted, featuring important interventions not last on this website. For instance, Sarah Ganty argues that an EU tourist visa ban would be ethically wrong and unlawful. However, there is no absolute right to travel through the EU. Continue reading >>13 June 2022
Serbia on Hold
Since 3 April 2022, when elections at all levels were held, Serbia has been on hold. Two months after the elections, only the President of Serbia has begun to serve his regular mandate, while the official results of the parliamentary elections are yet to be proclaimed, the new composition of the National Assembly is yet to be convened, and the new government is yet to be formed. Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, which occurred at the beginning of the election campaign, added to the already tense political situation. Continue reading >>
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31 May 2022
Jenseits der Oligarchen
Die von der Europäischen Union beschlossenen Russland-Sanktionen haben auch in Deutschland erhebliche Defizite bei deren Umsetzung offengelegt. Mit dem Ersten Gesetz zur effektiveren Durchsetzung von Sanktionen vom 23. Mai 2022 sollen in einem ersten Schritt vor allem kurzfristig behebbare Lücken beim Auffinden sanktionierten Vermögens geschlossen werden. Es erscheint nicht übertrieben, das Gesetz als Beginn einer weitreichenden Veränderung des deutschen Sicherheitsrechts zu begreifen. Doch obwohl die Stoßrichtung des Sanktionsdurchsetzungsgesetzes im Grundsatz zu begrüßen ist, mangelt es dem Gesetz an einer klaren strategischen Zielsetzung und einem rechtlich stimmigen Regelungskonzept. Continue reading >>
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13 April 2022
Peace and Security for Ukraine and Europe are not Created on the Drawing Board of the West
Viewing Ukraine as an object rather than a subject of negotiations is not an unfamiliar pattern of international security policy. It goes hand in hand with the dangerous tendency to turn Russia’s ‘Near Abroad’ ultimately into a ‘buffer zone’ even in Western political and academic discourses. This pattern has been at work in the course of the annexation of Crimea and the armed conflict in Donbas over the past eight years. Continue reading >>09 April 2022
“A Voice Crying in the Wilderness”
This post will reveal the history of Ukraine's continuing warning to Europe, and in particular to German authorities about the security dangers of the violent Russian regime and politics. It will demonstrate how the ignorant and weak reaction of German politics to these threats (given the prevalence of economic interests over security and European values) indirectly supported the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and how the Russian regime abused European languidness and neutrality to launch a large-scale war in Europe. This blogpost is not so much about condemning the mistakes of European politicians, but about suggesting ways to solve these problems, taking into account the experience with obvious mistakes. Continue reading >>
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