European Parliamentary Research Service Blog
fundamental rights
Disenfranchisement of EU citizens resident abroad – Situation in national and European elections in EU Member States
Written by Eva-Maria Poptcheva Updated on 30 June 2015 The right to vote is a fundamental one and of utmost importance for the democratic legitimacy of any public power. Six EU Member States deprive their nationals permanently resident abroad of the right to vote in national parliamentary elections. They also deprive such citizens residing in … Continue reading
Topics and links – October 2014
Update: This post is available in more EU languages – please see at the bottom of this post. In this issue: Hearings of the new Commissioners, EP debate on fundamental rights in Hungary, ‘Thousand-cow farm’ project in France, Turkey and the situation of Kurds in Kobane, EU relations with Russia and Ukraine, winter time. This month, … Continue reading
European trademark law and the freedom of speech
One of the most topical issues in European trademark law is the protection of the freedom of expression. There is an established case-law of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) according to which trademark protection extends also to such uses of the trademark which go beyond its function of guaranteeing the origin … Continue reading
Judicial review of EU sanctions
The EU can adopt restrictive measures – popularly known as sanctions – in three different situations. It implements all sanctions imposed by the UN; it may reinforce UN sanctions by applying stricter and additional measures, and third, the EU may decide to impose autonomous sanctions in other cases. Sanctions may include travel bans, asset freezes … Continue reading
NSA surveillance of EU citizens
3 other language versions available in pdf: NSA-Affäre: Was unternimmt das Europäische Parlament? Face à la surveillance par la NSA des citoyens européens, qu’a fait le Parlement européen? Wat heeft het EP gedaan aan het NSA-toezicht op EU-burgers? Citizens have been concerned about the US National Security Agency (NSA) surveillance programmes since they were … Continue reading
The European Investigation Order: Key sources
In the area of judicial cooperation between Member States in criminal matters the legal framework on obtaining and transmitting evidence between Member States consists of several different instruments, based either on the principle of mutual legal assistance or on that of mutual recognition. This framework is generally considered to be fragmented and confusing, creating different … Continue reading
The European Investigation Order
6 language versions available in PDF format Die Europäische Ermittlungsanordnung El exhorto europeo de investigación Décision d’enquête européenne L’ordine europeo d’indagine Europejski nakaz dochodzeniowy The European Investigation Order The proposed directive on the European Investigation Order is aimed at setting up a comprehensive system for obtaining evidence in criminal cases with a cross-border dimension. Whereas … Continue reading
Irregular immigration in the EU: Some national perspectives on arrival of immigrants
Recent events in the Mediter-ranean, which have led to many migrants dying off the shores of European Union Member States, have placed EU migration policies back on the political agenda. A particular difficulty in dealing with this phenomenon comes from the mixed flows of migrants, made up of both irregular immigrants and asylum seekers. The … Continue reading
Undocumented migrant children in the EU
In its 2006 communication COM (2006) 0367, “Towards an EU strategy on the rights of the child”, relating to the rights of children “as immigrants, asylum seekers and refugees” , the Commission voiced its commitment to closing the gap between national or community migration laws and the childrens’ rights that the EU is committed to defending. However the European reality is that … Continue reading
Does online surveillance violate fundamental rights of EU citizens?
In the wake of revelations of large-scale electronic surveillance by the American National Security Agency (NSA), concern has been growing about European participation in surveillance of EU citizens. According to studies conducted by the Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS), EU intelligence services often cooperate with the NSA and conduct their own legally questionable surveillance. On 4 July … Continue reading
Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) in EU
Written by Ulla Jurviste and Irene Hennigan Last update 23 February 2015 Female genital mutilation (FGM) is one of the most brutal violations of human rights against young girls and women. Female genital mutilation consists of the (partial or complete) removal of the external female genitalia, and the infliction of other injuries to the female … Continue reading
The key elements of a European Arrest Warrant Framework Decision reform
Natalia Gorczowska, Andrew Symeou, Robert Hörchner are just three of the names often invoked to demonstrate what appear to be the lacunae of the European Arrest Warrant Framework Decision (EAWFD). A long-standing advocate for the reform and improvement of the EAWFD, MEP Sarah Ludford (ALDE, UK) has been appointed Rapporteur for a report on the review of the EAW. In … Continue reading
Le champ d’application de la Charte des droits fondamentaux de l’Union européenne (CDFUE)
Un aspect toujours incertain de la CDFUE est son champ d’application. Conformément à l’article 51 de la Charte, ses dispositions s’adressent aux institutions, organes et organismes de l’Union dans le respect du principe de subsidiarité, ainsi qu’aux États membres uniquement lorsqu’ils mettent en œuvre le droit de l’Union. Bien qu’inclus dans la Charte pour une … Continue reading
Breach of EU values by a Member State
The European Union is founded on values common to all Member States (MS). These are supposed to ensure a level of homogeneity among MS, while respecting their national identities, so facilitating the development of a European identity and the integration process. Article 7 of the Treaty on European Union (TEU) provides mechanisms to enforce EU … Continue reading
The European arrest warrant: a success story that needs to be revisited
Hurriedly adopted inter alia as a response to the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the European Arrest Warrant Framework Decision (EAWFD) is the flagship initiative of the EU judicial cooperation in criminal matters. Its cornerstone is the principle of mutual recognition. Applied to judicial decisions, the mutual recognition principle implies that a decision taken by a judicial … Continue reading
Article 7 TEU: a mechanism to protect EU values
Incorporated into EU law by the Treaty of Amsterdam, Article 7 TEU is considered to have been both a gesture prompted by the future wave of EU enlargement and an attempt to tackle the discrepancy between the democratic model promoted by the EU in its external relations and its modest capacity to intervene whenever democratic values are … Continue reading
The fundamental rights of LGBT people
The findings of a recent survey of the Fundamental Rights Agency show that one in two LGBT people felt discriminated against or harassed in the twelve months preceding the survey. In the area of employment, as well as in other areas such as education, healthcare, housing, etc., this minority is often confronted by homophobic or … Continue reading
Using ‘scoreboards’ to assess justice systems
The European Commission published the first edition of the EU Justice Scoreboard in March 2013, a document assessing the quality of the justice systems in the Member States. The Commission’s initiative falls within a broader set of reports and indicators aimed at evaluating justice systems and the rule of law. Background Numerical indicators increasingly have … Continue reading
Free movement of persons in the EU: how free, under what conditions and for whom?
Updated on 29 November 2013 EU citizens’ right to move freely within the EU is central to the European project. Initially established as a freedom designed exclusively for workers (Article 48, Treaty of Rome), the free movement of persons is nowadays enshrined as one of the EU citizenship rights in Article 21 TFEU. Therefore, “every citizen“, irrespective … Continue reading
Le Forum Social Mondial : Evolution et enjeux
Le Forum Social Mondial (FSM) a été initié en 2001 au Brésil, dans une tentative de réunir la société civile globale et de favoriser l’élaboration d’alternatives à la mondialisation néolibérale. Conformément à sa Charte de Principes, le FSM constitue un espace de rencontre ouvert pour l’échange des idées, la mise en réseau des participants et … Continue reading
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