European Institutions

Italian PM Attacks EU Rule on Refugee Spending

February 05, 2016

Prime Minister of Italy Matteo Renzi has criticized an EU policy that permits EU countries to deduct their funding of an aid program in Turkey from calculations of their budget deficits but does not authorize the Italian government to make the same deduction with regard to its spending on rescuing migrants in the Mediterranean.
Watchdog Pushes for Transparency at EU Commission

February 05, 2016

Citing concerns over a lack of transparency in external advice received by the EU executive, European Ombudsman Emily O’Reilly has called on the European Commission to publish the minutes of meetings with over 800 "expert groups" formed by the body to offer input on EU legislation.
ECJ Official: Undocumented Migrant Cannot Be Imprisoned

February 04, 2016

Court of Justice of the EU ("ECJ") Advocate General Maciej Szpunar has advised that the ECJ should overturn the imprisonment of Ghanaian national caught in France attempting to take the train to London using someone else's passport, reasoning that the migrant was not trying to cross an external EU border and has not been asked to leave the bloc.
ECtHR: Hungary Violated Media Freedom in Website Case

February 04, 2016

The European Court of Human Rights ("ECtHR") has ruled that Hungary violated the freedom of expression of a website publisher by holding it responsible for untrue criticism by its readers of a commercial real estate enterprise.
ECtHR Finds Child Rights Violation in Custody Proceeding

February 04, 2016

The European Court of Human Rights ("ECtHR") has held that the Republic of Georgia violated the "right to respect for private and family life" of three children whom it says did not receive adequate representation in court during a custody dispute between their father and their mother's family.