Law & Justice

Spain Proposes Corporate Tax Levy to Avoid EU Fine

July 20, 2016

Bloomberg reports that, in order to avoid a first-ever fine from the European Commission for an excessive budget deficit, the Spanish government has promised the EU that it will narrow its budget gaps by ramping up taxes on businesses.
EU Council Agrees to Legal Aid Proposal

July 13, 2016

The Council of the EU has confirmed its agreement with the European Parliament on a proposal that will provide for a minimum level of legal aid to be granted to criminal suspects in the EU and to those subject to the cross-border European Arrest Warrant mechanism.
Gray: EU Stokes Tension with Rule of Law Framework

July 06, 2016

Former US Ambassador to the EU Boyden Gray writes that the EU's use of its Rule of Law Framework to pressure Poland to resolve its constitutional court standoff has no solid basis in the bloc's treaties and threatens to blow open tensions between the EU and its member states in the wake of Brexit.
EU Considers New Google Antitrust Claim

June 29, 2016

Bloomberg reports that the European Commission has begun a process that may lead to a new antitrust complaint, in addition to two complaints currently pending, against tech company Google over the business's online advertising practices.
German Court Upholds EU Bond Buying Plan

June 29, 2016

The German Constitutional Court has held that a European Central Bank plan to buy government bonds from struggling EU countries does not in itself violate the German Constitution but called on the German authorities to closely monitor the mechanism to ensure it adheres to certain limits.
EU Warns Countries on Truckers' Salary Rule

June 27, 2016

EUobserver reports that the European Commission has warned France and Germany that legislation requiring companies to pay foreign truck drivers traveling through these countries the minimum wage required for French and German drivers violates EU rules on freedom of movement.
Howard and Aikens: ECJ Threatens UK Democracy

June 23, 2016

Former UK Home Secretary Lord Howard and former British judge Sir Richard Aikens write that the Court of Justice of the EU, whose stated goal, they assert, is to advance European integration, is a threat to the UK Prime Minister's deal over EU competences and to democratic decision-making in the UK.
Poland Misses EU Deadline on Rule of Law Opinion

June 21, 2016

With party leaders asserting that the European Commission's "rule of law opinion" seeking an end to the conflict between the Polish Government and the country's Constitutional Tribunal is "groundless" and "arbitrary," the Polish Government has chosen not to respond to the opinion within the two-week deadline set by the Commission.
EU Parliament Criticizes Countries on CIA Renditions

June 20, 2016

The European Parliament has adopted a resolution expressing concern regarding the "apathy shown by member states and EU institutions" in prosecuting authorities accused of cooperating with the US Central Intelligence Agency in secretly detaining and "torturing" terror suspects in Europe following the attacks of September 11, 2001.
ECJ Expands Amid Reduction in Caseload

June 17, 2016

Politico reports that the caseload of the Court of Justice of the EU is dropping just as an EU reform to the Court, costing tens of millions of euros and set to take place between 2016 and 2019, begins the doubling of the number of judges on the body.