Citizenship of the Union: denying EU citizens residing in a Member State of which they are not nationals the right to become a member of a political party infringes EU law EU law confers on EU citizens residing in a Member State of which they are not nationals the right to vote and to stand […]
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EU Court of Justice annuls 2019 EU-Morocco fisheries agreements
The consent of the people of Western Sahara to the implementation, in that non-self-governing territory, of the 2019 EU-Morocco trade agreements regarding fisheries and agricultural products is a condition for the validity of the decisions by which the Council approved those agreements on behalf of the European Union. It is true that a consultation process […]
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The Court of Justice definitively dismisses the action brought by Mr Puigdemont and Mr Comín
Following the holding, on 1st October 2017, of the referendum on the self-determination of Catalonia (Spain), criminal proceedings were brought against Carles Puigdemont i Casamajó and Antoni Comín i Oliveres (who, at the time, were President and Member of the Autonomous Government of Catalonia, respectively). Since Mr Puigdemont and Mr Comín had left Spain, those […]
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The Court of Justice upholds the fine of €2.4 billion imposed on Google for abuse of its dominant position by favouring its own comparison shopping service
By decision of 27 June 2017 , the Commission found that, in 13 countries of the European Economic Area (EEA) , Google had given preference, on its general search results pages, to the results of its own comparison shopping service over those of competing comparison shopping services. Google had thus presented search results from its […]
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European Court of Justice reprimands Commission for failing to give sufficiently wide public access to Covid-19 vaccine purchases
That infringement concerns, inter alia, those agreements’ provisions on indemnification, and concerns the declarations that there was no conflict of interest on the part of the members of the team who negotiated the purchase of the vaccines In 2020 and 2021, purchase agreements for Covid-19 vaccines were concluded between the Commission and some pharmaceutical […]
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EU Justice Scoreboard 2024 shows that perception of judicial independence has improved
The European Commission has published the twelfth edition of the EU Justice Scoreboard, an annual overview providing comparative data on the efficiency, quality, and independence of justice systems among the EU Member States. Compared to last year, the public’s perception of judicial independence has improved, also in countries that had experienced systemic challenges. This year’s […]
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CJEU Judgment: the Court upholds the Commission’s decision authorising the solvency support fund for strategic Spanish undertakings
Ryanair had challenged that decision, relating to an aid scheme amounting to €10 billion. In July 2020, Spain notified the European Commission of an aid scheme to set up a solvency support fund. The beneficiaries were (non-financial) strategic Spanish undertakings experiencing temporary difficulties as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. That aid scheme provided for […]
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CJEU Judgment: McDonald’s loses the EU trade mark Big Mac in respect of poultry products
The General Court holds that McDonald’s has not proved genuine use within a continuous period of five years in the European Union in connection with certain goods and services. Supermac’s and McDonald’s, an Irish and American fast-food chain respectively, are involved in a dispute regarding the EU trade mark Big Mac. That trade mark had […]
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More than 27 000 unitary patents registered in the first successful year of the unitary patent system
Over the first successful year of application of the Unitary Patent system, the European Patent Office (EPO) has already registered more than 27,000 unitary patents. This means that on average, almost one in four (23%) granted European patents apply across all participating Member States. This rate is also steadily increasing. The uptake rate reaches almost […]
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