European Institutions

ECJ Strikes down German Road Toll

June 19, 2019

The Court of Justice of the EU (ECJ) has held that Germany’s introduction of a toll on passenger vehicles violates EU law because the applicable legislation allows only German taxpayers relief from the country’s motor vehicle tax in at least the amount of the toll, in contrast to drivers from other countries.
ECJ Adviser: EU Law Requires Unique Labeling of Israeli Settlement Products

June 19, 2019

Court of Justice of the EU (ECJ) Advocate General Gerard Hogan has advised the ECJ that EU law requires goods produced in territories “occupied” by Israel since 1967 to be labeled with the geographical name of this territory and whether they came from an Israeli settlement.
CoE Official Demands Respect for Migrants’ Rights

June 19, 2019

The Council of Europe (CoE) Commissioner for Human Rights Dunja Mijatović has published a report containing 35 recommendations on how states must bolster their efforts to rescue migrants crossing the Mediterranean Sea and respect the human rights of such migrants once they have reached the shores of Europe.
ECtHR: Italy’s Life Imprisonment Regime Violated Man’s Rights

June 19, 2019

The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has held that Italy violated a man’s right against inhuman or degrading treatment by sentencing him to life imprisonment with the possibility of early release contingent on his cooperation with judicial authorities against the organized crime syndicate with which he was involved.
EU National Ministers Advance Plan for Eurozone Budget

June 14, 2019

Reuters reports that national ministers of EU member states have agreed to key features of a eurozone budget that would become operational in 2021 to fund investments and reforms in countries that have adopted the euro, though some countries opposed the use of the budget to stabilize countries’ economies in the event of crises.