Latest blog articles
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On 30 May 2024, the Council of the European Union announced its final approval of the Union’s long anticipated withdrawal from what can fairly be labelled as the most controversial international treaty ever, the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT).
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Last year’s COP28 has resulted in a ‘historic’ mention of fossil fuels in its final decision, be it in a rather limited way. Where does the EU, the forerunner in climate action, stand when it comes to the elimination of fossil fuels? This post highlights a few problematic features of the EU’s policy...
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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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Breath in, breath out. Yes, the judgment of the (unlawfully composed) Polish Constitutional Tribunal is a serious challenge to the European Union’s legal system and to the principle of primacy of EU law. No, Poland has not activated the process of withdrawal from the EU under Article 50 TEU. Yes, EU...
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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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There is wide agreement that the EU has not been effective in dealing with what I would define here as values’ awkwardness, cases in which EU Member States threaten the rule of law and the other common values of the European project. The obvious reference is in this respect to Hungary and Poland...
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After the recent adoption of controversial measures affecting the independence of the judiciary, the Commission has decided for the first time in history to activate Article 7(1) TEU against Poland. This groundbreaking decision opens a wholly new phase in the Polish crisis and has a broader impact...
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On 6 June, IGIR fellow Dr. Iveta Alexovičová, Assistant Professor of International Economic Law, Faculty of Law, Maastricht University, delivered a lecture entilted "Substance alongside procedure - a lesson learned?".