European Institutions

ECtHR: Latvian Prison Policies Discriminate on Basis of Sex

January 11, 2019

The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has held that Latvian authorities had violated the rights of a male prisoner to respect for his private life and against discrimination by failing to consider relevant factors in deciding whether to grant him leave to attend his father’s funeral, finding that the authorities treat female prisoners in a less restrictive manner.
UK Publishes Commitment to Northern Ireland on Brexit “Backstop”

January 10, 2019

The UK government has published a paper expressing its commitment to “ensuring there would be no divergence in practice between the rules” of Northern Ireland and Great Britain in the event the “backstop” agreed between the UK and EU to avoid a “hard border” in Ireland takes effect.
Academic: “Populists” Seek to Reshape EU, Not Destroy It

January 10, 2019

Alexander Clarkson of King’s College London argues that so-called “populist” national leaders in Italy and elsewhere are not in favor of bringing down the EU but rather are interested, once in government, in using the EU system to achieve their domestic policy goals.
Germany Agrees British Residence Rights in Case of “No-Deal” Brexit

January 10, 2019

Reuters reports that the German government has confirmed that it will permit UK citizens to retain German residence rights for at least three months in the event a withdrawal deal is not agreed between the UK and EU upon Britain’s departure from the bloc.
UK, EFTA, Switzerland Agree Deals on Citizens’ Rights

January 09, 2019

The UK government has reached deals with European Free Trade Area (EFTA) countries and with Switzerland to protect the rights of each other’s citizens and to retain cooperation on other justice and trade issues in the event of the failure of the UK and EU to reach an agreement on the terms of the UK’s withdrawal from the bloc.