Latest blog articles
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Comparing figures on corona infections and mortality can be misleading
The number of people dying in Belgium from the effects of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) is higher than in neighbouring countries. This high mortality rate makes it seem as if Belgium is not doing as well as its neighbours. The...
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Het is wellicht wat eigenaardig reflecties over de rol van de EU op het terrein van de volksgezondheid, en de huidige corona-crisis in het bijzonder, te beginnen in 1952, maar toch doe ik het. In december van dat jaar organiseerde de Franse regering een conferentie in Parijs waaraan...
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With the prevailing Coronavirus (COVID-19) it is recommended to work from home as much as possible. For frontier workers, however, working from home can be disadvantageous. This is because they then work in another country from one day to the next. International and European rules on the...
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About 100 British officials will arrive in Brussels today to start the mammoth negotiations on the future relationship between the EU and the UK. The two sides are poles apart. The UK wants regulatory detachment from the EU while the EU insists or regulatory alignment.
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More than ten years after the European Court of Justice ruled that the German Eigenheimzulage was in breach of European law, the EC also started questioning its successor, the Baukindergeld. ITEM had previously concluded that the Baukindergeld was in breach of European law. We now await the...
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In its judgment of 19 September 2019, the ECJ ruled that Dutch legislation excluding frontier workers residing in the Netherlands but working as a mini-jobber in Germany from the Dutch social security system is compatible with EU law. If the Hoge Raad follows the approach taken by the ECJ, the...
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The European Union prides itself for being based on the rule of law. Indeed, the success and longevity of the EU as an integration project can be partly explained by, on the one hand, the willingness of Member States to abide by the obligations that stem from the Treaties and, on the other, the...
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Why would the EU at all consider unilaterally offering a new status to British (or other former EU) citizens without there being any reciprocal status or legal protection for EU citizens living in the UK (or any other exiting Member State)?
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The entire structure of Article 50 TEU implies that it is up to a Member State to withdraw from the Union without there being any limitation imposed by EU law as to the reasons for the withdrawal, how this decision is taken or the extent to which that Member State takes into consideration the...
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Last Friday, in Obergefell et al v. Hodges the United States Supreme Court by a 5-4 vote held that same-sex couples may exercise the right to marry in all US States. President Obama, a fervent supporter and promotor of the gay-marriage and gay rights, decided to light up the White House as a rainbow...