UM & Europe

EU immigration and asylum law are plagued by disharmony and dysfunction. Lilian Tsourdi, assistant professor of International and European Law, is investigating how to improve the situation. How have we reached the status quo? What would be a better approach? And what role could solidarity play?

Professor Bruno de Witte is saying goodbye to Maastricht University, but not to European Law. He will continue to deliver his razor-sharp legal analyses at the European University Institute (EUI) in Florence. Looking back on his extensive academic career, he remains fascinated by the fast-changing European legal landscape. His unique outlook on law – and life in general – is greatly appreciated and necessary. 

The new UM president, Rianne Letschert, leaves no room for doubt. She is delighted with the choice to profile the university as the European university of the Netherlands. Maastricht University forms an international and predominantly European community in a region wedged between three borders. This makes the region in itself a European economic, social and cultural living lab.

Ahead of the European elections, there are concerns about the state of democracy and rule of law in Europe. In the Netherlands, it is a concern hanging around the formation table. For a long time, Poland seemed to be heading in the same direction as Hungary, but since last October's elections, the tide seems to have turned there. The most important lesson we can learn from Poland? Democracy is not made in the voting booth, but on the streets.

Things got heated during the peasant protests that swept through Brussels last month. Tractors broke through barricades, a statue was vandalized and fires were set in several places. In farmer app groups, the fantasies went even further, sharing (fictional) images of a burning down European Parliament.

The European elections are just around the corner. Democracy in the EU has shortcomings, but the EU has mostly lacked political debate in recent decades. It is good that this is changing.

In June, more than 400 million Europeans will have to go to the polls again for ... yes, what exactly? If you do not know what European elections are for, it is not up to you. For a long time, a vote in European elections was mainly a vote for the EU. That tide is turning, and that is a good thing. Because European elections should not be a celebration of European unity, but a battle between political visions.