Latest blog articles

What works to make EU law work? Or, how can we ensure that EU law is implemented effectively in the member states? I have researched[1] this question by studying the usefulness of instruments that are meant to support national administrations in the application of EU law or that may otherwise be...

In today’s (15 september 2015) King’s speech the King said that the government will have as a point of departure for its presidency in 2016 of the Council of Ministers, a Europe which functions better and aims at essentials. Furthermore it will work towards an innovative Europe with a well...

On 24 January, the Council of Ministers of the Spanish Government, following the mandate of the Head of State, approved the Law-Decree that foresees the suspension of Articles 12, 14, 15, 16 and 18 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms of Spaniards   (Fuero de los españoles). For a period of three...

Maybe you know the book The Undutchables.  It describes the Dutch and how it must be for a foreigner to immigrate to The Netherlands and be confronted with Dutch peculiarities. For a next edition a new chapter may be added with specific interest for lawyers. In The Netherlands we celebrate Kings Day...

On March 9, the European Commission has presented the 2015 Justice Scoreboard, an information tool that monitors national justice systems developed and managed by DG Justice. This year marked the third edition of the Scoreboard, which was created in 2013 with the aim to assist EU institutions and...

A few days ago the first chamber of the Dutch parliament finally agreed to amend the Law on study finance (Wet studiefinanciering 2000) so as to introduce a ‘social loan system’. In essence, the amendment implies that future students will no longer receive basic support (basisbeurs) in the form of a...

So a couple of weeks ago I came back from my semester abroad. Never in my life have I been this happy about returning to Europe, and I didn’t think I would ever qualify as a person that wanted to leave their exchange destination. Especially when said destination is San Diego, CA.

The Maastricht Syndrome describes a lasting, location-dependent sexual low which is supposedly caused by external factors such as stress, work overload, lack of potential sex buddies or other turn-off forces linked to the environment. The Maastricht Syndrome is named after a town in Limburg in the...

One of the reasons I decided to study Psychology is the fact that it covers pretty interesting philosophical topics. The entire field is indoctrinated with apparent contradictions that are fundamental in order to explain our psyche. Great minds have tormented themselves on the quest to find the...

After spending the past holidays with Suppo, his girlfriend Pia (yes, I was the awkward 3rd wheel), and his family in Sicily, I couldn’t help to notice a couple of differences between Italy (Sicily to be exact) and good old the Netherlands. Little note in advance, this piece covers Sicily and...