Latest blog articles
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Today, 6 December 2023, the new MPs take office, following the Parliamentary elections on 22 November 2023 On 1 December last, the election results were finalised. The PVV emerged as the biggest party from the ballot box (37 seats), followed by GroenLinks/PvdA (25 seats), the VVD (24 seats) and...
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Not out of possibility, but out of necessity
The last couple of weeks of 2021 were dominated by the cross-border nature of the COVID-19 crisis, and the fight against it. While the Netherlands went into the holiday season under a lockdown, complete closures were largely absent in Germany and...
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About a year ago, this blog published my contribution “Let us not forget about EU fundamental rights,” which addressed the situation at the EU’s external borders. At the time, the decision of the ECtHR in the case of N.D and N.T v. Spain, was heavily criticised for failing to protect the right to...
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Continued disproportionate impact on daily life in the border region
With the circulation of the Coronavirus, governments are trying to restrict the movement of people. Staying at home and limiting unnecessary travel and visits is a frequently used and successful recipe against the flare-ups of...
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Last November, the European Commission (EC) sent the Netherlands an advice stating that the Netherlands should amend its tax rules. The Dutch tax rules prevent that pension accrued in the Netherlands can be transferred when you move abroad. The so-called cross-border value transfer of pensions...
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Human rights violations continue to be a major issue at the EU’s external borders and pushbacks have been reported in several EU Member States. Most recently, the spotlight has been on Spain’s long-standing practice of pushbacks at the border of Melilla, as the ECtHR handed down its long-awaited...
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In 2011 the European Commission announced it would propose a “European Accessibility Act” in 2012. The “Act” was to be an EU instrument which would seek to ensure a free market in products and services which were accessible to people with disabilities.
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The European Union is a party to the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. This is the first and, thus far, the only human rights treaty to which the EU is a party. In accordance with Article 35 of the Convention, the EU submitted its State report on the steps which has taken to...
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The European Union is a party to the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. This is the first and, thus far, the only human rights treaty to which the EU is a party.
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The European Commission, on behalf of the European Union (EU), monitors and checks on the transposition of EU legislation by Member States. Member States often have to report on the steps they have taken to comply with specific EU legislation and the Commission even occasionally initiates...