Renew Europe has reconfirmed its commitment to do ‘whatever it takes’ to ensure that the European Parliament and the European Commission defend the Rule of Law conditionality regulation and ensure its long overdue application. At the initiative of Renew Europe, a resolution on the application of the Rule of Law conditionality mechanism has been tabled…
The EPP has said that “Russia must immediately stop intimidating Lithuanian judges.” The group also said the EU should establish a mechanism to protect its citizens from being transferred to third countries on the basis of illegal or politically-motivated extradition requests”. This is the demand of MEPs Jeroen Lenaers and Rasa Juknevičienė. Their comments come as…
The National People’s Congress of the People’s Republic of China adopted last week a Decision that will have a significant impact on democratic accountability and political pluralism in Hong Kong. The Decision will lead to a concentration of power and influence in the Hong Kong Election Committee, which is not a democratically elected body. The…
Between 9-11 March, the representatives of the 47 member states of the Council of Europe met to examine the implementation of judgments of the European Court of Human Rights, in accordance with the supervisory role of the Committee of Ministers under Article 46 of the European Convention on Human Rights. On the agenda was Romania and…
The Council this week decided to prolong for one more year, until 6 March 2022, the existing asset freezes directed against 7 individuals identified as responsible for the misappropriation of Ukrainian state funds or for the abuse of office causing a loss to Ukrainian public funds. The restrictive measures against one person were prolonged until 6 September 2021, and those…
Sinem Tezyapar is in jail in Istanbul. She was sentenced by a kangaroo court in Turkey on flawed evidence to 867 years in prison for allegedly belonging to a religious sect organised by Adnan Oktar. She has been imprisoned for her religious beliefs and because she is an intelligent and articulate woman with strong opinions…
The European Court of Justice (ECJ) has issued a ruling that Poland’s legislative amendments to the rules for appointing judges to the Supreme Court in 2018 and 2019 are in breach of EU law. The ruling on Tuesday, which commands the Polish PiS-government to withdraw the changes, once again highlights the Polish Government’s unacceptable crackdown…
In an exclusive Q&A with EU Political Report, top Ukrainian lawyer Kostiantyn Kryvopust, a member of the International Union of Lawyers (UIA), gives an insight into the cryptocurrency market, Ukrainian-style “digitalisation” and the prospects for a “digital law”. EU Political Report: What legal problems have businesses faced in Ukraine during the pandemic? Kryvopust: I see three problematic blocks. The…
Renew Europe says it is “very concerned” about recent political developments in Slovenia related to press freedom. “The situation in Slovenia is becoming extremely worrying. We want the European Parliament’s plenary debate in March, on the Government’s attempt to silence free media in Poland and Hungary, to be extended to the situation in Slovenia”, said Dacian Cioloş,…
In Romania, a battle is under way regarding the essential watchdog organisation that investigates crimes within the justice system. Known as the Special Section for Investigating Crimes in the Judicial System (SIJCO), the organisation is seen by many as an essential defence of the independence of the justice system during an era when Prosecutors have…
