European Forum

Abstract: The COVID-19 pandemic has prompted many EU Member States to introduce unilateral and diverse travel restriction measures and border controls. European Treaties do allow the Member States to derogate from free movements on the grounds of public health, however, the imposition of inconsistent and diverse restrictions threaten the integrity...

Abstract: In the Chrysostomides case (joined cases C-597/18 P, C-598/18 P, C-603/18 P and C-604/18 P Council v Chrysostomides & Co. and Others ECLI:EU:C:2020:1028), the Court of Justice (ECJ) confirmed its previous finding that the Eurogroup has only an informal and intergovernmental nature. Building on the cases Ledra...

Abstract: What is the point of expelling illegally residing EU citizens when they would be able to immediately return in an open-border Europe? This Insight critically discusses the opinion by Advocate-General Rantos in the FS v Staatssecretaris van Justitie en Veiligheid case (C‑719/19), where an EU citizen had been expelled from...

Abstract: The new Pact on Migration and Asylum presented in September 2020 by the Commission proposes the reform of the Common European Asylum System. At the centre of the legislative changes is the effective protection of vulnerable applicants, indicatively minors, persons with disabilities or health issues and survivors of human trafficking and...

Abstract: This Insight examines how the UK has shaped its sanctions policy from the start of the transition period until the first three months following the UK’s withdrawal from the EU. The objective of the Insight is to assess whether the UK has aligned with the EU restrictive measures based on art. 215 TFEU or has made political...

Abstract: In December 2020, the European Parliament and the Council adopted a new piece of legislation aimed at protecting the rule of law in the Member States of the Union – the so-called rule of law Conditionality Regulation. This contribution tracks the legislative process in the run up to the new Regulation, analyses the substance and the...

Abstract: In Centraal Israëlitisch Consistorie van België and Others (case C-336/19 ECLI:EU:C:2020:1031) the Court of Justice held that EU Member States are allowed to require, in the context of ritual slaughter, a reversible stunning procedure which cannot result in the animal’s death. According to the Court, Regulation 1099/2009 on the...

Keywords: working time – Court of Justice – stand-by time – rest period – Working Time Directive – health and safety.
 

On 9 March 2021, the Grand Chamber of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) added two judgments to a long line of case law interpreting the meaning of “working time” under art. 2 of...

Abstract: As EU criminal law has expanded over the years, so have the opportunities for the application of relevant provisions of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights. The present Insight analyses the situations where the right to liberty has become relevant to pre-trial detention in areas covered by EU rules. It critically discusses the gaps of protection...

Abstract: The year 2020 marked the 20th anniversary of the proclamation of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union. It was drawn up at the end of a long process, to which the Court of Justice has contributed substantially, affirming since the seventies the obligation to protect fundamental rights in the Community. The drafting of a...