Democracy Impacts

EU Observer: The European Court of Justice vs German Constitutional Court

June 22, 2021

Jaap Hoeksma writing in The EU Observer explores the recent decision of the European Commission to start infringement proceedings against Germany and the larger question of who has the last say when it comes to European law.
EU May Implement New Rule-of-Law Mechanism before Securing Court Approval

June 02, 2021

The European Union’s executive body plans to implement its new rule-of-law sanctioning authority later this year, not waiting for a decision from the European Court of Justice as expected, leaving countries who don’t follow the new rules without funds from the new 1.2 trillion euro stimulus package.
Biedermann: The Decline of European Social Democracies

May 17, 2021

Ferry Biedermann writing in The New European analyses the gradual death of European social democracies despite the fact that left leaning parties have headed governments at most about one third of the time since 1945.
ECtHR Intervenes over Polish Tribunal

May 10, 2021

AP reports that in what some regard as a controversial move, The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has said that Poland’s top court violated a local company’s right to fair trial due to an irregularly appointed judge.
Visegrad Group supports Territorial Integrity of Eastern Partnership Countries

May 04, 2021

The Visegrad Group countries reaffirmed their support for the territorial integrity within their internationally recognized borders of the Eastern Partnership countries at a meeting of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Visegrad Group (V4) and Eastern Partnership (EaP).
Power Struggle between Von der Leyen and Michel

May 04, 2021

Politico details how since 2019 when European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen took office alongside European Council President Charles Michel, there has been a when struggle over who should represent the EU on the world stage, leading to current tensions that are affecting the EU’s work internationally.
11 Countries tell Brussels to Respect National Sovereignty

April 28, 2021

In a joint statement issued ahead of the EU leaders’ summit in Porto, 11 member countries warned Lisbon and Brussels to respect national authority over policymaking in areas such as labor and employment, pensions, education and childcare.
Politico: EU climate Deal Aims to Transform ‘Every Single Sector’

April 28, 2021

Under a new political deal, EU policymakers agreed to speed up the bloc’s emission reductions to slash greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2030.
Polish, Slovenian PMs Call on Germany to Withdraw from Nord Stream 2

April 26, 2021

Polish Prime Minister and Mateusz Morawiecki and Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Jansa have called on Germany to pull out of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline project which will take Russian gas to Germany under the Baltic Sea, declaring that it will destabilize Europe.
Mortimer in The Spectator: France’s growing German Skepticism

April 21, 2021

Gavin Mortimer writing in The Spectator examines how Brexit and Covid 19 have challenged relationships within the European Union and in particular the relationship between France and Germany.