16 September 2024
Flying Blind
A quarter of a billion euros. That was the final price tag the last time German politicians and constitutional law professors assured us that a controversial German idea was compatible with EU law. Yet the Autobahn car toll for foreigners only pushed through by the Bavarian regional conservatives (CSU) and passed by the Federal government grand coalition of Conservatives and Social Democrats was – quite predictably from the outset – contrary to European law and cost German taxpayers many millions of euros in contractual penalties following clarification by the ECJ in 2019. The way the current refugee debate in Germany is handled could end up costing Germany, i.e. all of us, much more – not so much in euros, but in trust in the reliability of Germany in general, as an EU Member State, and more generally trust in the reliability of the law. Continue reading >>
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17 June 2024
Louise Weiss
When you hear the name 'Louise Weiss', you may think of the European Parliament building in Strasbourg that bears her name, or of her election to the first European Parliament and her inaugural speech. What may not come to mind is the woman Louise Weiss herself and the outstanding achievements throughout her life. This brief profile is a reminder that she should be remembered for her tireless search for peace, her tireless fight for women's rights, her endless humanitarian work and for being truly 'European'. Continue reading >>03 May 2024
Why Europe Needs a Harmonised Access to Information Act
May the 3rd marks press freedom day around the world. Today, many articles and editorials will be published across Europe, highlighting the need to put an end to threats faced by journalists in Member States. While all these pan-European threats certainly need to be tackled, one fundamental pan-European crisis faced by journalists across the continent remains widely ignored: the difficulties to access information held by public authorities and the disparities among Member States when requesting data. This article aims to review the current situation of the right to request information from public bodies in EU Member States and offers a proposal that opens the door to discussing the possibility of harmonising such a right through the internal market competence. Continue reading >>
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14 March 2024
Shortcomings of the AI Act
After the much-awaited vote of the 13th March 2024 by the European Parliament, it is time to begin evaluating the state of fundamental rights in light of the AI Act. In this blog post, three areas of potential inconsistencies and risks are examined: differentiation of provider and deployer, biometrics used in real-time and post-factum, and the standards of biometric recognition in the areas of immigration. Continue reading >>
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20 January 2023
Understanding and Regulating ChatGPT, and Other Large Generative AI Models
Large generative AI models are shaking up the research community and society at large, rapidly changing the way we communicate, illustrate, and create. What has rarely been noticed, however, is that the EU, since the spring of 2022, has quietly been preparing far-reaching rules to explicitly regulate these models. We make three concrete proposals. Continue reading >>
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06 September 2022
A New European Political Community: The British Perspective
The upcoming State of the Union address scheduled for 14 September and the succession of Liz Truss as UK Prime Minister looks set to be a potential turning point in EU relations. But will the EU grasp it? Could a new intergovernmental political forum – acting alongside EU enlargement – ease the tension of EU treaty change? Such a forum might bridge the potential role prospective EU member states in Eastern Europe could play before formally joining and the necessity of forging a constructive post-Brexit relationship with the UK. It could resolve political and constitutional concerns. Continue reading >>24 June 2022
Russian Elites, Proxies, and Oligarchs – Make them Pay!
Russland und seine starken Männer sollen buchstäblich für die Kriegsschäden in der Ukraine zahlen. Die Kommission schlägt vor, die Durchsetzung von Sanktionen mit unionsweit einheitlichen Strafandrohungen zu stärken und auf diesem Weg elegant zugleich einen Rechtsgrund für die Einziehung involvierter Vermögenswerte zu schaffen. Diesem Vorhaben stehen ungeachtet seiner politischen Opportunität erhebliche sanktionstechnische, unionsrechtliche und vor allem strafrechtliche Bedenken entgegen, die erhebliche Zweifel an Zulässigkeit und Erfolgsaussichten nähren. Continue reading >>09 November 2021
Wir befinden uns im Krieg
Auf diese Formel lässt sich der Zustand der Asyl- und Migrationspolitik der Europäischen Union bringen. 20 Jahre nach den Anschlägen auf die Twin Towers hat sich der Krieg gegen den Terror in einen Krieg gegen Menschen auf der Flucht verwandelt. Der „War on Terror“ ist Fluchtursache und schafft gleichzeitig die Legitimation, mit deren Stütze eine technologisch unvergleichbare Aufrüstung an den Außengrenzen der Europäischen Union vorangetrieben wird. Legitimiert von der politischen Führung der Europäischen Union ist es heute Realität, dass rechtsstaatliche Prinzipien an den EU-Außengrenzen systematisch und ohne Konsequenzen unter Verweis auf den Schutz der europäischen Grenzen außer Kraft gesetzt werden können. Continue reading >>23 April 2021
Greatness and Tragedy
The "Next Generation EU" project (NGEU) will lead to a fundamental change in the architecture, political structure, and “finalité” of the integration process. In its scope and depth, it is even comparable to the Maastricht reform. Against this background, should and could the German Federal Constitutional Court (BVerfG) step in to protect Germany´s "constitutional identity"? Continue reading >>14 October 2020
LawRules #4: We need to talk about Procedural Law
Court packing schemes, forced retirement of judges – organisational rules are often misused to get the judiciary under control. How do you distinguish “good” judicial reforms from “bad” ones? Is there such a thing as a “good” court packing scheme? This is what we discuss this week with MARIAROSARIA GUGLIELMI, CHRISTOPH MÖLLERS and ANDRÁS BAKA. Continue reading >>
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