The EU´s budget is complicated. It is complex. And it is critically scrutinised by Member States. It has been the source of political debate and disagreement in the past decades and it still is today. Most recently, the issue was high on the agenda. In late 2014, the European Commission claimed supp...
In the past few days, we’ve commemorated the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II. Seventy years! We used to call that a lifetime. While most of us were born after the war, that same war has affected our lives in one way or another, even though we may not realise it.
Knowing what atrocities...
Two weeks ago, in Case C-409/13 Council v. Commission, the Court of Justice of the European Union established that the European Commission is entitled to withdraw a proposal for a legislative act where it fears that the European Parliament and the Council will amend it in a manner which would...
According to the latest numbers of the UNHCR, more than 35,000 persons have crossed the Mediterranean in 2015 and more than 1600 have died. Persons on board of these boats have various reasons to take such dangerous routes.
The European Commission, on behalf of the European Union (EU), monitors and checks on the transposition of EU legislation by Member States. Member States often have to report on the steps they have taken to comply with specific EU legislation and the Commission even occasionally initiates...
Last February, the Court of Justice (CoJ) received a notable appeal against an order of the General Court (GC) in Case T-479/14 Kendrion. There are various notable and interesting aspects to the appeal case but the most eye-catching one concerns the appellant: the Court of Justice of the European...
House of Representatives’ member Pieter Duisenberg from the People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) has proposed to stimulate academic promotions from industrial research. The Confederation of Netherlands Industry and Employers (VNO-NCW) and the association of Dutch SMEs (MKB-Nederland)...
Last week Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte went on an economic mission to China, accompanied by a delegation of business people representing Dutch corporations. China’s presence as an economic and political power is increasing steadily. Its economic and financial potential is huge, not only in China...
Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about my grandfather. Exactly one hundred years ago, at the age of fourteen, he went to work in a metal factory. There were ten children at home, none with more than a primary school education. For fifty years he worked to the bone, for reasons that included being...
Last November the Court of Justice ruled in Dano that EU member states may exclude from entitlement to social assistance nationals of other member states who have arrived in their territory and who have no intentions of finding a job. While the ruling and the Court’s reasoning has triggered much...
