Latest blog articles

  • Emergency for a wall?

    Is it legally possible for Trump to invoke an emergency in order to avoid Congress and obtain the necessary funds to build his wall? Or put differently: is it possible under US law to undo the refusal of Congress to appropriate the necessary funds?

    Trump wall - blog Maastricht University
  • The Western Balkans enlargement perspective

    With the painful experiences of new Member States breaching the rule of law and democracy principles inside the EU and no tailor-made remedy to punish and enforce EU values, the Commission suggests in its Western Balkans strategy that future accession treaties could provide for such a mechanism to...

    Montenegro-blog West Balkan_Maastricht Law Blogs
  • European budget and the national constitutional state

    In May 2018 the European Commission presented the plan of a new financial framework for 2021-2027. In which is stated that the European Commission, among other things, aims to make the subsidies which are given to the countries, conditional upon the level at which a member state complies with EU...

    EU budget_EU begroting _blog
  • Street harassment and freedom of speech

    Yelling, offensive language, indecent sounds, and to a certain extent even behaviors are being protected as ‘speech’ or as ‘symbolic speech’ by Article 7 of the constitution. If we believe criminal justice is an appropriate instrument, an intervention is only allowed on the part of the national...

    edvard_munch_de schreeuw 1895_MLR
  • Juncker's State of the Union 2016

    It was even featured on Dutch television: the State of the Union by Jean-Claude Juncker, president of the European Commission on 14 September 2016... This blog is only available in Dutch. 

    Europese commissie
  • Brexit and the decision/decisions of 19 February 2016

    On 19 February 2016, the European Council reached agreement on the Brexit dossier (EUCO 1/16); if the British decide to remain in the union on 23 June 2016, certain thing will change, or at least, will have to change... This blog is only available in Dutch. 

    vierkant euro symbool
  • The first State of the Union of Juncker

    On September 9th 2015 the president of the Commission, Juncker, adressed for his first time the European Parliament in his State of the Union.  This year’s State of the Union was entitled: Time for Honesty, Unity and Solidarity. And the key concepts were: more Europe in the Union, and more Union in...

    The first State of the Union of Juncker