-
Observer: EU Oversteps with Rule-of-Law Inquiry on Poland
January 19, 2016
Pawel Lisicki writes in The Guardian that the European Commission's announcement of an investigation of Polish laws that changed the operation of the country's Constitutional Court and amended the process of appointing public media officials for systemic rule-of-law violations will provoke an anti-EU backlash among the Polish people.
-
Austria Suspends Schengen Border Agreement
January 19, 2016
The Austrian Government recently joined Norway, Sweden, and Denmark in "temporarily suspending" its adherence to the Schengen passport-free travel agreement and instituting identity checks on its borders with other EU countries amid a massive wave of migration in the bloc from North Africa and the Middle East.
-
EU Committee Chairperson Details Wasted Aid
January 19, 2016
The Daily Mail reports that the Chairperson of the European Parliament's committee on budget control Ingeborg Graessle indicates that an upcoming report from her committee will show approximately half of EU spending on foreign aid goes to projects that are either ineffective or have been significantly delayed.
-
EU Commission Signals Data Concerns in Mergers
January 19, 2016
The European Commissioner for competition Margrethe Vestager recently stated that the Commission will examine the ability of small businesses to compete in personal-data storage when it reviews mergers of large companies in the technology industry and decides whether to "restore the level playing field" in this sector.
-
ECB Questions Banks on "Non-performing" Loans
January 19, 2016
Reuters reports that the European Central Bank ("ECB") has sent a questionnaire to banks across Europe seeking to scrutinize institutions that have taken on high numbers of "bad" loans that are unlikely to be repaid, particularly in countries with underperforming economies.