euinside

Cause and Effect in European Politics and Law
Entrance to the Berlaymont building | © EC - Audiovisual ServiceEntrance to the Berlaymont building | © EC - Audiovisual Service

The Fight for the Rule of Law Moves against Its Main Guardian: the Commission

On 15 September 2023, the Commission put a legal end to the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism (CVM) by repealing Decisions 2006/928/EC (Romania) and 2006/929/EC (Bulgaria). This is a very regrettable development at a time when the rule of law erosion and the illiberalism creep have been on ...
 | © European Union 2020, EC - Audiovisual Service | © European Union 2020, EC - Audiovisual Service

CJEU Makes the Differences between the CVM and the General Rule of Law Framework More Visible

2023 could have been a very good year for the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism (CVM), as the CJEU added two new valuable judgments to the growing line of CVM-cases, were it not for the decision of the Commission to repeal Decisions 2006/928/EC and 2006/929/EC (the CVM Decisions) and thus s ...
Commission President Ursula von der Leyen | © European Union 2019 - Source: EPCommission President Ursula von der Leyen | © European Union 2019 - Source: EP

The End of the CVM: The Rule Of Law Mechanism Nobody Wants but Which the CJEU Made a Powerful Tool of

When Ursula von der Leyen said in her election speech in the European Parliament on 16th July 2019 that 'there can be no compromise when it comes to respecting the Rule of Law', it was a beam of hope that the EU had finally recognized that this was its most fundamental priority if it were t ...
Angela Merkel | © European Union 2019Angela Merkel | © European Union 2019

Negotiations on the EU Top Jobs Marked the End of an Era*

Negotiations on the most important appointments in the EU show that the era of Adenauer-ism, of the culture of consensus, and the common European interest is about to go extinct. For the first time since the EU has been created, finding a compromise is so difficult and at the same time, so ...
Manfred Weber | © European Union 2019Manfred Weber | © European Union 2019

The democracy of Macron vs. the democracy of Weber. Round II

Last year, when he first appeared before MEPs in Strasbourg after his election as French President, Emmanuel Macron announced that his goal was Europe based on "true democracy." By "true" he meant a return to the roots of democracy, that is, with the participation of citizens. That is ...
Angela Merkel, Emmanuel Macron | © Council of the EUAngela Merkel, Emmanuel Macron | © Council of the EU

From Deauville to Meseberg or How Euro Area Reform Is Evolving*

On 15 September, it will be 10 years since the crash of Lehman Brothers which marked the beginning of the severest global financial crisis since the Great Depression, which had the potential to ruin the euro area and hence the EU. In the past decade the world has radically changed. The financial ...
Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic | © KGKKolinda Grabar-Kitarovic | © KGK

Croatia's Nationalistic Paradox*

The football World Cup in Russia started with the familiar ethno-nationalism in the region of former Yugoslavia. Then, it evolved into a very rare unity and brotherhood among the peoples in the ex-state to return, again, in the channel of nationalism, leaving bitterness and disappointment behind ...
Klaus Regling | © Council of the EUKlaus Regling | © Council of the EU

Greece Is Exiting the Bailout Programme but Not Quite

Somewhat unnoticed and without much fireworks on August 20th the euro area will finally close the crisis that started in 2009 and threatened the EU's most successful project with a breakup. On that date, Greece will exit its third rescue programme and, according to the European Commission, will ...
Benoit Coeure | © Council of the EUBenoit Coeure | © Council of the EU

Bulgaria Entered a Schengen Mode for the Eurozone Too

The Cooperation and Verification Mechanism (CVM) of the European Commission proved an obstacle not only for Bulgaria's membership in Schengen but the euro area, too. The July Eurogroup discussed Bulgaria's application for membership in the common currency and changed for the first time its ...
 | © Council of the EU | © Council of the EU

Ukraine in the Epicentre of European (Dis)Integration

The 9th of July 2018 was a remarkable day. Several things happened in a single day that are significant for European integration (or rather disintegration). Right after re-organising Turkey into a presidential republic, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan closed down the ministry of European integrat ...
Macron, Merkel, Abe, Trump | © Council of the EUMacron, Merkel, Abe, Trump | © Council of the EU

Multilateralism Is Dead. Long Live Multilateralism!

The decision of President Donald Trump to take the United States out of the Paris climate agreement, from the Pacific trade partnership, the re-negotiation of the North-American free trade agreement, then the introduction of tariffs on aluminium and steel, including against the until recently cl ...
Mario Centeno | © Council of the EUMario Centeno | © Council of the EU

An Italian Remake of the Series "The Economy or Democracy, Voter"

Do you remember the beginning of 2015, when Greece was just about to exit the recession after painful and tormentous reforms? At the time, the anti-establishment party SYRIZA won the elections on a promise to re-negotiate the Greek bailout programme and to deliver debt write-off. That year ...