Latest blog articles

  • Trump wall - blog Maastricht University

    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?

  • 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...

  • Does Spain have a stong case from the perspective of the decentralised unitary state, to prevent Catalonia from the opportunity to gain independence, and therefore take numerous measures? (Dutch only)

  • A new perspective? What specific plans and suggestions has Juncker to encounter a more united, stronger and more democratic Europe? Are his plans realistic and do these proposals respond effectively to the issues of democracy and legitimacy? (Dutch only)

  • As you may remember: in April 2016 the majority of the voters voted 'no' against the ratification act of this association agreement. According to the referendum a legislative proposal is needed as soon as possible in which the effects of the referendum will be arranged. (Dutch only)

  • Published on LBM. Rutte has managed it eventually. The European council has adopted a legally binding document for the 28 member states in its decisions, on December 15th, 2016. The document relates to the EU-Ukraine association agreement that would help alleviate some concerns of those who voted...

  • Published on LBM. The latest elections for the UK House of Commons occurred in spring 2015. If nothing extraordinary happens, next elections are scheduled for spring 2020.

  • After the Ukraine referendum in the Netherlands and the Brexit referendum in the United Kingdom, have proved that it is difficult to organise a referendum on multi-faceted questions and interpret the results. In both cases, voters came to the polls for a wide variety of reasons... This blog is only...

  • The difficult thing about the Brexit referendum and the events that followed in the United Kingdom is that the instrument of a referendum, in all its simplicty, may have undemocratic consequences... This blog is only available in Dutch. 

     

  • Referendum

    What next?

    What is the meaning of 'as soon as possible'? That question is now topical on the Ukraine referendum. This article is only available in Dutch.