Law & Justice

EC Threatens Italy with Penalties over Budget Deficit

June 05, 2019

The European Commission (EC) has sent a letter to the Italian government threatening a financial penalty if national officials cannot justify their failure to limit the country’s budget deficit to a level in line with EU standards.
ECJ Official Finds Broad National Authority to Order Online Content Removal

June 05, 2019

Court of Justice of the EU (ECJ) Advocate General Maciej Szpunar has advised the ECJ to rule that, when courts in EU member states order tech giants such as Facebook to remove illegal material, they can order the removal of all identical material across their platforms, including material available outside the territory of the country concerned.
CoE Body Weighs in on US Lobbying Rules

June 05, 2019

The Council of Europe’s (CoE) Group of States against Corruption has called for the revision of US congressional rules to more strictly regulate the pursuit by members of Congress of lobbying jobs after they leave office and the establishment of “quarantine periods” to former members seeking to lobby current lawmakers.
Romanian PM Announces U-Turn on Justice Reform Measures

June 04, 2019

Under pressure from Romanian voters and threats of legal action from the European Commission, Romanian Prime Minister Viorica Dăncilă has announced her government’s abandonment of a justice reform program that would have made corruption prosecutions more difficult.
ECJ: German Prosecutor Cannot Issue EU Arrest Warrant

May 30, 2019

The Court of Justice of the EU (ECJ) has determined that the German public prosecutor’s office does not have sufficient independence from the government to permit the execution of a European Arrest Warrant, which requires issuance by a “judicial authority.”
Swiss Approve Gun Controls Parallel to EU Standards

May 30, 2019

The New York Times reports that Swiss voters have approved tighter gun controls in line with EU laws after Swiss authorities warned that failure to adopt the measure could threaten citizens’ access to the Schengen free travel area.
EU, CoE Extend Partnership on Democracy in Eastern Europe

May 30, 2019

The EU and Council of Europe (CoE) have agreed to extend their Partnership for Good Governance program aiming to push Eastern European countries toward Western standards on the rule of law, human rights, and democracy.
EU Official Demands Consultation on Romanian Justice Legislation

May 30, 2019

Citing a “worrying pattern” of Romanian measures that could hinder the prosecution of corruption cases, European Commissioner for Justice Věra Jourová has called on Romania to consult with EU authorities on any new changes to legislation that Brussels could view as granting impunity to corrupt officials.
EU Advances Legislation on Combined Data Repository

May 30, 2019

Gizmodo reports that data privacy advocates have expressed concern regarding the recent adoption by the European Parliament of legislation that would combine biometric data collected by authorities in EU member states in a single Common Identity Repository.
EC Threatens Romania with Rule-of-Law Procedure

May 15, 2019

The European Commission (EC) has threatened the Romanian government with a similar rule-of-law procedure it is employing in the cases of Poland and Hungary - possibly leading to a loss of EU voting rights - if Romania fails to repeal laws the EC says increase barriers to corruption prosecutions.