European Institutions

EU Institutions Launch 100-Million-Euro Clean Energy Fund

June 05, 2019

The European Commission, European Investment Bank, and investor-led climate fund Breakthrough Energy Ventures have launched a 100-million-euro investment fund to “bring radically new clean energy technologies to the market” in an effort to reduce Europe’s greenhouse gas emissions.
ECJ Official Finds Broad National Authority to Order Online Content Removal

June 05, 2019

Court of Justice of the EU (ECJ) Advocate General Maciej Szpunar has advised the ECJ to rule that, when courts in EU member states order tech giants such as Facebook to remove illegal material, they can order the removal of all identical material across their platforms, including material available outside the territory of the country concerned.
CoE Body Weighs in on US Lobbying Rules

June 05, 2019

The Council of Europe’s (CoE) Group of States against Corruption has called for the revision of US congressional rules to more strictly regulate the pursuit by members of Congress of lobbying jobs after they leave office and the establishment of “quarantine periods” to former members seeking to lobby current lawmakers.
Romanian PM Announces U-Turn on Justice Reform Measures

June 04, 2019

Under pressure from Romanian voters and threats of legal action from the European Commission, Romanian Prime Minister Viorica Dăncilă has announced her government’s abandonment of a justice reform program that would have made corruption prosecutions more difficult.
ECJ: German Prosecutor Cannot Issue EU Arrest Warrant

May 30, 2019

The Court of Justice of the EU (ECJ) has determined that the German public prosecutor’s office does not have sufficient independence from the government to permit the execution of a European Arrest Warrant, which requires issuance by a “judicial authority.”