European Institutions

EC Proposes Counterterrorism Mandate for EU Prosecutor

December 04, 2018

In September, the European Commission (EC) proposed extending the powers of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office, which now focuses solely on criminal misuse of EU funds and fraud in the value-added tax (VAT) system, to tackle cross-border terrorism.
CoE Body Places Denmark in Non-Compliance Procedure on Corruption

December 04, 2018

In September, the Council of Europe’s (CoE) anti-corruption body GRECO placed Denmark in its non-compliance procedure for failing to adopt a sufficient number of the body’s recommendations on mechanisms to prevent corruption in the country’s Parliament and judiciary.
EU Agency Reviews Eurosur Impacts on Fundamental Rights

December 04, 2018

Following a European Commission request to review the European Border Surveillance System (Eurosur), the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights produced a report containing a list of policy recommendations including a call for countries to bind themselves to explicit fundamental rights language in deals on border surveillance.
ECtHR: Exclusion of Woman in Hijab from Courtroom Violated Rights

December 03, 2018

The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) recently held that Belgian authorities had violated the right to religious freedom of a woman excluded from entering a courtroom because she declined to remove her Islamic headscarf in line with court regulations.
Juncker Pushes for “European Sovereignty”

December 03, 2018

In his September “State of the European Union” speech, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker argued that “the time for European sovereignty has come,” calling for EU member states to transfer more authority to the bloc to help it become a “major player” on the global scene.