Law & Justice

EU Issues "Rule of Law Opinion" on Poland

June 01, 2016

As part of a process developed by the European Commission in 2014 that could end in the suspension of Poland's EU voting rights, the Commission has announced that it will send a Rule of Law Opinion to the Government of Poland pushing for a resolution to a conflict between the Government and the country's Constitutional Tribunal.
EU Commission Threatens Poland with "Rule of Law Opinion"

May 19, 2016

Politico reports that, in its review of the Polish Government's dispute with the country's Constitutional Tribunal, the European Commission has authorized the communication of a confidential "Rule of Law Opinion" to Poland next week unless government authorities make "significant progress" in resolving the situation before that time.
UK Struggles to Deport Convicted Criminals Under EU System

May 13, 2016

The Daily Mail reports that, of the over 4,000 convicted criminals in British prisons from other EU countries, the UK has only been able to deport approximately two prisoners per month to their home states under a transfer agreement with the EU intended to facilitate such prisoner transfers.
ECJ Official Finds Authority to Review Extraditions

May 11, 2016

According to The Daily Mail, the Advocate General of the Court of Justice of the EU has opined that the ECJ has the authority to review requests for the extradition of criminal suspects from EU member states to non-EU countries to determine whether the extradition is compatible with the EU Charter for Fundamental Rights.
New EU Rules Facilitate Counterterrorism Action by Europol

May 11, 2016

The European Parliament has approved new rules for Europol that ease the EU law enforcement agency's ability to set up specialized units and coordinate with private companies to counter "religiously inspired terrorism."
UK Politicians Seek Immediate Post-Brexit Security Changes

May 09, 2016

UK Secretary of State for Justice Michael Gove has announced that, in the event of a vote for Brexit in June, he and other British politicians will seek immediate reforms of national security legislation to decouple Britain's security apparatus from EU courts and to assert national powers to prevent the entry of and to deport terror and criminal suspects.
EU Threatens Legal Action over Spanish Wetlands

May 04, 2016

WWF has praised a communication from the European Commission threatening to refer Spain to the Court of Justice of the EU if it does not comply in two months with the EU Water Framework Directive to improve water management in the country's Doñana wetlands.
EU Refers Poland to Court over Drilling Impact Assessments

May 04, 2016

The European Commission has announced that it has referred Poland to the Court of Justice of the EU for violating the EU's Environmental Impact Assessment Directive by permitting exploratory mining drillings to depths of 5,000 meters without producing an impact assessment of the project's potential environmental effects.
EU Calls for End of Border Controls in Six Months

May 03, 2016

Politico reports that the European Commission is set to propose a roadmap for returning to the Schengen Area of free movement that insists countries that have imposed security controls on their borders, including Germany and Austria, dismantle these controls within six months and regularly report to the EU on their progress.
EU Plans to Fine Countries for Rejecting Refugees

May 03, 2016

EUobserver reports that, as part of the institution's proposed revision of EU asylum laws during the bloc's ongoing migrant crisis, the European Commission will call for sanctions on countries that refuse to accept asylum seekers of €250,000 per rejected refugee.