European Institutions

EU Watchdog Criticizes Council's Lack of Transparency

February 14, 2018

European Ombudsman Emily O’Reilly has issued a report calling for increased transparency in the Council of the EU's decision-making on legislative proposals, finding that the current "behind-closed-doors" process "constitutes maladministration" and "undermines citizens’ right to hold their elected representatives to account."
Howe Warns of High Costs of Brexit Transition

February 14, 2018

British barrister Martin Howe QC warns that a post-Brexit transition period during which the UK plans to continue to accept EU regulations could lead to the country becoming a "vassal state" with no say over the development of the rules it accepts on tariffs and industry, and with no powers to formulate an independent trade policy.
ECJ Receives Case on Brexit's Citizenship Impacts

February 14, 2018

Bloomberg reports that a Dutch court has announced it will refer to the Court of Justice of the EU (ECJ) the question whether EU members must restrict the rights granted to Britons through their EU citizenship, including the right to move freely in the EU, if the EU and UK do not reach a deal on withdrawal prior to Brexit.
ECtHR: Conviction for "Insulting" Comments Upheld Speech Rights

February 13, 2018

The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has rejected a case in which a lawyer challenged his conviction in Bosnia and Herzegovina for making "insulting expressions towards Serbs" online on the ground that it violated his freedom of expression, finding that the comments had "touched upon the very sensitive matter of ethnic relations in post-conflict Bosnian society."
EP Rejects Plan for "Pan-European" Members

February 13, 2018

Politico reports that, in a vote to reduce its size following the departure of the UK from the EU, the European Parliament (EP) rejected a proposal to reserve some of the UK's seats for their potential reallocation to "pan-European" Members of the EP whose constituency would span the entire EU.