Building on the lessons learnt since 2014 and detailed consultations since April this year, the Commission has decided on a series of measures to further strengthen the rule of law in Europe. Over the past five years, the European Commission has had to deal with a series of challenges to the rule of law in […]
Rejected Puigdemont and Comín’s request that the European Parliament be ordered to allow them to take their seats
The applicants, Mr. Carles Puigdemont i Casamajó and Mr. Antoni Comín i Oliveres, stood as candidates in the elections to the European Parliament on 26 May 2019. On 26 May 2019, the Lliures per Europa (Junts) coalition, led by the plaintiffs, won 1,018,435 votes and two seats in the European Parliament. On 13 June 2019, […]
Adoption of new rules to better protect children caught in cross-border parental disputes
The EU makes it easier and faster for decisions on divorce, legal separation and marriage annulment, as well as on parental responsibility issues and international child abduction to be applied across borders. The Council recently adopted a revision of the so-called Brussels IIa regulation which sets out rules on the jurisdiction, recognition and enforcement of […]
New rules and guarantees in criminal proceedings now apply across the EU
On June the 11th, the directive on special safeguards for children starts to apply. It is the last in a set of six EU directives guaranteeing procedural rights for people across the EU, completing the full set of rights. In addition to these new rights for children, the directive guaranteeing access to legal aid started to apply on 5 […]
Call for proposals on judicial training covering civil law, criminal law or fundamental rights
The objective is to contribute to the effective and coherent application of EU law in the areas of civil law, criminal law and fundamental rights, judicial ethics and the rule of law, by helping to address the training needs of justice professionals in these fields. It also targets the specific training needs of court staff […]
OSCE Parliamentary Assembly Research Assistant Fellowship
The OSCE PA Research Assistant Programme is open to graduate students and recent graduates of political science, law, international relations or other related fields from OSCE participating States and Partners for Co-operation. Research Assistants develop their knowledge of international politico-military, economic and environmental, and human rights affairs and build their professional skills in areas connected […]
Summer School ”The Protection of Fundamental Rights in Europe”
C.I.R.D.E., in cooperation with the Law School of the Strasbourg University, the Centre for European Law of King’s College London and the Centro Residenziale Universitario di Bertinoro (Ce.U.B.), and with the financial support of the Fondazione Cassa dei Risparmi di Forlì, organises every year a Summer School on “The Protection of Fundamental Rights in Europe”. The XIXth edition of the Summer School […]
Trade: European Court of Justice confirms compatibility of Investment Court System with EU Treaties
The European Commission welcomes today’s Opinion of the Court of Justice of the European Union that the Investment Court System (ICS) provisions of the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) between the EU and Canada are consistent with the EU Treaties. The agreement with Canada is under provisional application since September 2017 and can only […]
Secure ID cards and residence documents: Commission welcomes Parliament’s vote
The European Parliament voted on a new Regulation, which will strengthen the security of identity cards and residence documents throughout the European Union. The weak security features of ID cards in some Member States, still issuing paper ID cards, represent a serious security risk, as they can easily be falsified and could be used by […]








