European Institutions

EU Body Warns of Harms Caused by Cutting Migration

January 03, 2019

In December, the European Economic and Social Committee adopted an opinion finding that, due to an ageing European population and other factors, restricting migration into the EU and failing to integrate migrants into host societies have a negative impact on the bloc’s labor force and cause rises in racism and xenophobia.
ECJ Strikes down German Law on Identity Checks

January 03, 2019

The Court of Justice of the EU (ECJ) recently held that a German law requiring operators of bus services to check passports and residence permits of passengers prior to crossing the country’s national borders violates EU rules allowing permitless travel within the Schengen zone.
ECJ Official: German Search-Engine Rule Is Invalid

January 03, 2019

Court of Justice of the EU (ECJ) Advocate General Gerard Hogan recently advised the ECJ to rule that Germany must not apply legislation requiring search engines to seek the permission of publishers to show previews of media content, as the government failed to notify the European Commission of its plans to implement the law.
EC Announces Measures Toward Workable No-Deal Brexit

January 03, 2019

The European Commission (EC) has announced a set of unilateral measures it will put through EU institutions that ease the impacts of a no-deal Brexit, including respecting UK citizens’ rights in the EU and permitting air travel from the UK, as long as the UK reciprocates with similar measures.
ECtHR: Spain’s Expulsion of Drug Traffickers Violated Rights

January 03, 2019

The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has held that Spanish courts had violated the “right to respect for private and family life” by approving the expulsion of two Moroccan nationals convicted of drug trafficking without performing an “adequate appraisal” of criteria related to the seriousness of their offenses and their personal lives.