The job no one wants: EU health commissioner
Health policy is looking like the poor cousin and is likely to be downgraded this mandate.
competence
EPP plots to limit Socialist Riberaโs economic powers
Spainโs green ‘socialist heavyweight,’ Teresa Ribera, is in talks about a role in EU industrial policy, disconcerting center-right politicians.
Sloveniaโs male commissioner nominee drops out amid von der Leyenโs gender equality push
Tomaลพ Vesel is no longer Slovenia’s pick for the next European Commission.
Sรกnchez triggers anger by picking ally for Spainโs central bank
Josรฉ Luis Escrivรก has all the experience needed for the job but may struggle to escape the taint of cronyism.
Cheer up, Keir! UKโs Starmer told to lighten up
Elected on a landslide two months ago, the new British PM ought to be on top of the world. Instead his glumness is beginning to grate.
Liberal Europe shocked about far-right election win in eastern German Bundeslรคnder
Regional parlaments in Germany have no foreign policy competence and limited influence on national energy policy. But will the results from Saxony and Thuringia influence Germany’s energy transition and its support for Ukraine?
Bulgaria calls new election, closes in on EU commissioner pick
Each of the major parties have put forward a candidate, with the interim prime minister yet to decide.
5 global trends that will shape the US election
Tumultuous overseas events like Brexit are often harbingers of U.S. elections. What will be this yearโs?
Von der Leyen promised an EU commissioner to tackle the housing crisis – what would be their remit?
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has promised MEPs an EU commissioner with a mandate on housing, an area of limited competence for the bloc – how might these new powers be unveiled in practice?
Triath-logs and synchronized spinning: Itโs the EU Olympics!
If Brussels was in charge of the Olympic Games, this is how it’d look.
ย Yes, JD Vanceโs beard matters. Hereโs why
Itโs been more than a century since a sitting president or vice president sported a beard. Heโs in politically uncharted, potentially risky territory.
US Republican leaders urge members: Stop making race comments about Harris
Leadership warned lawmakers during a closed-door meeting to focus on the vice presidentโs record, not her race.
โIs that it?โ UK Labourโs cautious entry to government
Few surprises are expected when Keir Starmer sets out his program in the king’s speech.
Hungaryโs gatherings get cold shoulder after Putin visit
At least four countries sent lower-ranking officials in protest to a Tuesday meeting in Budapest, a day after the EU executive told its commissioners to stay home.
The politics of boring: Why Starmer won โ and why Biden probably wonโt
As the U.S. and U.K. leaders are discovering, dullness can be an electoral asset. Until itโs not.
Why a disillusioned, angry Britain voted for change
A tour of Britain’s provincial towns reveals a restless nation with no love for its political class.
An Americanโs guide to the 2024 UK election
We can’t give you a felon and an old guy on July 4 โ but we do have a gambling scandal. And Nigel Farage.
Study highlights EUโs fragmented access to new medicine [Advocacy Lab Content]
Access to novel medicines continues to vary widely across EU member states. Though health remains mostly a national competence, a new Euractiv cross-country report shows patients in each country face unequal challenges when accessing new therapies.
How not to blow up your bond market
Political powers in France and UK need to demonstrate competence that keeps markets on side
Londonโs neighboring county Essex is turning red
Essex has demonstrated enduring loyalty to the Conservative Party. But in this Julyโs election, even this bastion of working-class Toryism looks imperiled.
Germanyโs Scholz blasts EU for failure to do trade deals
Berlin didnโt relinquish its powers to do trade deals in order for Brussels to do nothing, Chancellor Olaf Scholz tells lawmakers.
French nukes are for France only, says far-right National Rally
In its new electoral program the party refuses โtransfers of competenceโ to the EU in terms of defense and foreign policy.
Ireland is dreaming of a UK Labour landslide
Irish eyes are smiling at the prospect of Keir Starmer in Downing Street surrounded by Irish-savvy aides.
Are Franceโs senior civil servants ready to serve the National Rally?
Senior state officials are wondering what attitude they should adopt if they had to work for a far-right government.
โBatteredโ Brits want to hold Tories to account, Chancellor Jeremy Huntย admits
He also concedes the government failed to end irregular migration routes, one of its core pledges.
Rishi Sunakโs D-Day snub shows heโs horrible at politics
The prime minister has apologized after leaving Normandy early to return to the election trail
EU Media Freedom Act: the convolutions of the new legislation
Samira Asmaa Allioui,
research and tutorial fellow at the Centre d’รฉtudes internationales et
europรฉennes de l’Universitรฉ de Strasbourg
Photo credit: Bin im Garten, via Wikimedia
Commons
Journalists are under pressure in
differ…
The ECB has cut its key interest rate: so what?
We all knew it was coming, but what does it mean in practice?
Austriaโs first female chancellor dies at 74
Bierlein has been described as a role model and a “civil servant in the best sense of the word.”
Focus on national competence and drug prices in EU pharma package, says Bulgaria [Advocacy Lab Content]
Bulgariaโs updated position paper on the revision of the EU’s pharmaceutical legislation underlines the importance of national competence and focuses on access to new medicines for citizens of poorer countries.
UK election: Conservatives ditch young to chase gray vote
National service for teenagers and generous pension promises comprise the party’s core voter strategy.
Richer than the king: Is Rishi Sunak too wealthy to win?
The UK general election may see some subtle digs at the prime minister’s vast riches.
Noisy planes at Brussels Airport sparked Belgian political war
The Flemish regional government says locals are bothered by a new flight plan that sends aircraft roaring over their roofs.
UK election: Why Rishi Sunak pulled the trigger
The prime ministerโs announcement of a July general election has stunned the country โ but what were his reasons for going to the polls now?
Britainโs economy is improving. Donโt expect it to save Rishi Sunak.
With inflation expected to drop, it’s not the economy any more, stupid, for Britain’s Conservatives.
Compatibility of Member Statesโ Alcohol Health Warning Labelling with EU Law
Dr Nikhil Gokani,
Lecturer in Consumer Protection and Public
Health Law at the University of Essex, Chair of the Alcohol Labelling and Health Warning
International Expert Group at the European Alcohol Policy Alliance,
Vice President of the La…
Pfizergate: Belgian court postpones case to December taking pressure off von der Leyen
On Friday, hearing before a Belgian court on the Pfizergate was postponed to 6 December to give all parties additional time to further examine certain aspects of the case, such as the competence conflict between the Belgian investigating judge and the …
Iranโs President Ebrahim Raisi dies in helicopter crash
Raisi had been tipped as a possible successor to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
How Dominic Cummingsโ favorite AI firm captured the British government
Faculty has emerged as the UKโs homegrown champion in AI safety โ though some question its political links.
Europeโs cultural identity โ thatโs what weโre fighting for
In the last three decades, weโve enjoyed the luxury of not having to ask ourselves what it is we stand for. But those times have passed.
Rubles and bullets: Putin puts an economist in charge of the militaryย
Changing the defense ministry leadership signals that Russia’s president is “preparing for many more years of war.”
A new EU Body for Ethical Standards: Final destination or important interim step?
Markus Frischhut, Jean
Monnet Professor (EU law, ethics and values) at Management Center Innsbruck,
Austria and Adjunct professor at โAlma Mater Studiorum – Universitร di Bolognaโ,
Italy
Art credit: William Hogarth, An Election: the Polling
…
Activists press for EU-wide abortion right
A petition calling for an EU fund to help women access abortion care in countries with more liberal laws gained 100,000 signatures in its first week.
At last a Directive protecting platform work โ Now what?
Catherine
Jacqueson, Professor of EU law and Alberto Barrio, post-doc on the WorkWel-project, Law Faculty, University of
CopenhagenPhoto credit: conceptphoto.info, via Flickr
Finally, the European Parliament formally
adopted the directiv…
Pfizergate: Belgian court to hold hearing amid competence row with EU prosecutor
A Belgian court will hold a hearing on 17 May where it will be decided whether Belgian or EU prosecutors are competent to continue the ‘Pfizergate’ probe involving European Commission boss Ursula von der Leyen, according to a document seen by Euractiv.
โTrustedโ rules on trusted flaggers? Open issues under the Digital Services Act regime
Alessandra Fratini and Giorgia
Lo Tauro, FratiniVergano European Lawyers
Photo credit: Lobo Studio Hamburg, via Wikimedia Commons
1 Introduction
The EUโs Digital Services Act (DSA)
institutionalises
the tasks and responsibilities of โt…
European defense sovereignty doesnโt mean turning away from NATO, says Von der Leyen
With Brussels gunning for a leading role on defense, NATO officials worry about overlaps with the military alliance.
French senators reject EU-Canada trade deal amid farmer unrest
Left- and right-wing opposition parties team up to deliver rebuke to Emmanuel Macron.
Tories pray for a miracle after a lackluster budget
A May general election now seems unlikely as Conservatives pin their hopes on an autumn tax surprise.
EU slams governments for banned goods reaching Russia
There are fears that items originally from Europe are being used by Moscow on the battlefield.
Saving Conservatism: The center must hold
As the specter of populism now stretches across the West, itโs diminishing our collective ability to check the advance of authoritarianism.
How Britain learned to love Keir Starmerโs โboring, snoringโ right-hand woman
Rachel Reeves’ low key approach seems to be striking a chord with voters.
โRent is too damn high!โ Europeโs growing housing crisis
In this episode we look at a crisis that is affecting many Europeans in most EU countries: skyrocketing rents and house prices, a shortage of flats, long waiting lists for social or affordable housing โ commonplace problems from Greece to Luxembourg to Portugal.ย Host Sarah Wheaton talks to POLITICOโs Aitor Hernรกndez-Morales and Sorcha Edwards, secretary [โฆ]
Foreign policy sanctions and criminal law harmonisation
Professor Steve Peers, Royal
Holloway University of London
Photo credit: Pierre
Blachรฉ, via Wikicommons
*This blog post draws upon and
updates research for the 5th edition of EU
Justice and Home Affairs Law (OUP,
2023)
…
How UK Labour stopped worrying and learned to love Davos
Keir Starmer has sent his biggest hitters to the World Economic Forum as the party burnishes its business credentials.
PMQs scorecard: Keir Starmer and Rishi Sunak get into the Christmas spirit with festive digs
Starmer said the government has ‘found their donkey for the nativity’
Commissionโs patents proposal doesnโt have to be so damaging
A counterproposal to European Commissionโs far-reaching and very flawed standard-essential patents regulation.
The future for Europe and the role of medical innovation
Why medical research is essential for reducing the burden of disease, the burden on health care systems and the health workforce.
How Labour fell in love with Partygate investigator Sue Gray
Keir Starmer’s team is smitten with the career civil servant brought in to professionalize his operation.
Party like itโs 2010? Rishi Sunak takes Tories back to the future
With David Cameron back in the Cabinet and Jeremy Hunt reviving tax policies from years ago, the UK Conservatives are hoping their old tricks are still the best.
What direction for the EU Cybersecurity Competence Centre?
After several months of controversial delays, Luca Tagliaretti was recently appointed the new Executive Director at EU Cybersecurity Competence Centre (ECCC). We discuss with him the prospect of this EU body, its role in Europeโs security posture and t…
Rishi Sunakโs biggest gamble
The UK prime minister’s dramatic Cabinet reshuffle is far from certain to succeed.
EU defers major entry exam over English-only testing
This delay comes only weeks after France sued the Commission over the primacy of English in hiring.
Rishi Sunak plots pre-election tax trap for Labour
Could the Conservatives derail Keir Starmer’s apparently smooth path to victory with a tax giveaway next year?
Polandโs incoming government wonโt cancel pricey defense contracts
The former and perhaps future defense minister, Tomasz Siemoniak, says allies should see Poland as a predictable partner.
โObsoleteโ European Parliament committee structure set for shake-up
New digital, defense and enlargement committees are in the offing.
What Polandโs surprise election winner means for the world
The surprise winner in Polandโs elections says he saved democracy. His larger legacy could be to strengthen European security.
What happens next in Poland? 5 things you need to know after a landmark election
It’s not going to be fast or easy for a new government to roll back 8 years of actions by the Law and Justice party.
Norwayโs foreign minister ousted after weapons-maker shares scandal
‘Trust is something we must take care of and be responsible for.ย We do that today,’ Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stรธre says to justify Anniken Huitfeldt’s dismissal.
Ex-Tory business minister Anna Soubry says she will vote Labour
Co-founder of Change UK who opposed Brexit praises Keir Starmer as having the โvalues and competenceโ Britain โdesperately needsโAnna Soubry, the former Conservative business minister, has announced she will be voting for Labour at the next general ele…
EU should ban spyware, Russian exiled journalist says
‘It really violates human rights,’ says Meduza editor-in-chief.
Responsibility in Joint Returns after WS and Others v Frontex: Letting the Active By-Stander Off the Hook
Melanie Fink and Jorrit J
Rijpma
Melanie Fink is APART-GSK Fellow of the Austrian Academy of
Sciences, Central European University and Assistant Professor, Europa
Institute, Leiden University
Jorrit Rijpma is Professor of EU law, Europa Inst…
The EU General Courtโs judgment in the case of WS and Others v Frontex: human rights violations at EU external borders going unpunished
Francesca
Romana Partipilo, PhD candidate in
International Law at Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies (Pisa)
Photo credit: Rock Cohen,
via Wikimedia
commons
(see also critique of the judgment, by Melanie Fink and Jorrit …
Boost for Rishi Sunak as Bank of England hits โpauseโ on interest rate hikes
Move suggests central bank sees end to cost-of-living pain in sight โ as Rishi Sunak gears up for an election campaign dominated by the economy.
Fury and infighting grip Brussels in clash over Ukrainian grain
Dispute over food offers a taste of battles to come as Ukraine seeks to join the European Union.
WTF is Christine Lagarde up to?
The ECB president has sounded the death knell for the dollar and predicted the end of the world economy as we know it โ does she know something we donโt?
LEAK: EU Parliament mulls creating new โad hocโ committees with lawmaking powers
The European Parliament is considering introducing โad hocโ committees with legislative powers for โlegislative proposals falling within the competence of more than three committeesโ, according to a document seen by EURACTIV.
EU lawmakers pitch sweeping treaty reform
The proposal comes as countries discuss enlargement and internal reforms.
Why the UKโs economic upturn is a false dawn for the Tories
It looks like a recession is averted. But will that be enough?
Why Britain wants to shout about its offshore asylum ship
Rishi Sunak is going big on his small boats plan.
Europeโs message to workers: Retrain or fall behind
The bloc aims to retrain its workforce in response to technological and industrial innovations.
Rishi Sunakโs Tory MPs want a summer of passion โฆ from him
Colleagues frequently describe the prime minister as technocratic and lacking political bite.
Spanish election: The forgotten regions could decide who wins
Movements from traditionally neglected provinces could hold the key to the next government.
The Ease and Perils of Modern Love โ legal effects of algorithmic based dating (online)
Tessa
Sophie Hoffmann & Chrisa Alexiou (University of
Groningen)
Photo
credit: Jack Sexton, via Wikimedia commons
Introduction
โLove can be several splendid things, a
source of joy and gladne…
The Windsor Framework: limiting the scope of EU law in Northern Ireland in practice, though not in theory (part 1)
Professor
Steve Peers,
University of Essex
Photo by David Iliff – License:
CC BY-SA 3.0
Introduction
After
many months of on-off negotiations and three Prime Ministers on the UK side,
the UK and EU have …
Of Third โStatesโ, โCountriesโ and Other Demons – The CJEUโs Judgment in Case C-632/20 P Spain v Commission (Kosovo)
Eva Kassoti, Senior
Researcher, CLEER academic co-ordinator, T.M.C. Asser Institute. E-mail: E.Kassoti@asser.nl
Photo credit: Aljabakphoto,
via Wikimedia commons – ล ar Mountains National Park in Dragaลก, Kosovo
On 17th January
2023, …
The new EU Resettlement Framework: the Ugly Duckling of the EU asylum acquis?
Emiliya Bratanova van Harten,
PhD candidate, Lund University
Photo credit: Voice of America
Many may have been
surprised by the deal struck between the European Parliament and the Council of
the EU on key migration and asylum instruments on 15 Decemb…
Does the Court of Justice of the European Union Respect the Limits of EU Competence?
Vilija
Vฤlyvytฤ, British Academy Post-Doctoral Fellow, Somerville College, University
of Oxford
Photo credit: civarmy,
by wikipedia
My new book, โJudicial
Authority in EU Internal Market Law: Implications for the Bala…
EU foreign policy sanctions: extending and using EU criminal law powers to enforce them
Professor Steve Peers,
University of Essex
Photo credit: Pierre Blachรฉ, via Wikicommons
*This blog post draws upon
research for the forthcoming 5th edition of EU Justice and Home Affairs Law (OUP, 2023)
On Monday this week, the EU Council
ad…
The EU Commissionโs proposal on Media Freedom Regulation
Lorna Woods, Professor of Internet Law, University of Essex
Photo credit: Bin im Garten, via Wikimedia
Commons
In her 2021
State of the Union address, EU Commission President von der Leyen stated:
Media
companies cann…