Centre for Social Sciences Lendület-HPOPs Research Group

Marton Varju

In 2003, the judgment of the Court of Justice in Case C-280/00 Altmark Trans heralded a new era under EU law for the financing of public services in the Member States. It distinguished between state aid and compensation paid for the delivery of services of general economic interest, clarified the circumstances in which the financing of public services would qualify as public service compensation and would be compatible with EU law, and it suggested a decentralised framework for the application of the new rules. By determining the criteria for public service compensation, the judgment has increased certainty in the interpretation and application of the relevant Treaty provisions.

Veronika Czina

December 1 was the day when Herman Van Rompuy officially handed over his seat as European Council President to the former Polish Prime Minister, Donald Tusk. 

Balazs Horvathy - Adrienn Nyircsák

The escalation of the crisis in Ukraine reached a tipping point in March 2014, when the annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation, following a referendum widely deemed illegitimate, triggered a concerted response from the EU in the form of a series of restrictive measures labelled “economic sanctions”. After the evaluation of the legal and political framework of the EU sanctions and the counter-measures by Russia presented in the first part of our analysis, we now turn to the discussion of the repercussions of the sanctions on the national level and the political expression of the perceived clash between Union and national interests.

Balazs Horvathy - Adrienn Nyircsák

The escalation of the crisis in Ukraine reached a tipping point in March 2014, when the annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation, following a referendum widely deemed illegitimate, triggered a concerted response from the EU in the form of a series of restrictive measures labelled “economic sanctions”. In the first part of our analysis, we evaluate the legal framework of EU sanctions and present the Russian counter-measures; after which, in the second part, we turn to the discussion of the repercussions of the sanctions on the national level and the political expression of the perceived clash between Union and national interests.

Veronika Czina

The long awaited final list of Commissioners was announced on September 10 by European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker. The composition of the new group of European policy-makers reflects some fundamental changes compared to the previous, Barroso Commission.

Tamás Szabados

Article 3 of Directive 98/5/EC is not invalid and does not infringe the national identities of the Member States, inherent in their fundamental political and constitutional structures, as set out by Article 4 (2) of the Treaty on European Union (the ‘TEU’), by allowing Italian citizens who obtained their professional legal qualification somewhere else to practise their profession in Italy.

Marton Varju

The judgment of the EU Court (Joined Cases C-501/12 to C-506/12, C-540/12 and C-541/12) was delivered in a case which dealt with the 2009 reform of the remuneration of federal civil servants and the 2011 reform of the remuneration of the civil servants of Berlin. 

Balazs Horvathy

The Council has adopted the regulation concerning the exercise of the Union’s rights for the application and enforcement of international trade rules in May 2014. The regulation will introduce a new horizontal framework to enhance the EU’s ability to enforce its interests in the international trading system and to take measures against third countries that violate obligations stemming from international multi- and bilateral trade agreements.

Balazs Fekete - Veronika Czina (translation)

On March 11, the European Commission addressed a Communication to the European Parliament and the Council in which it informed them about the introduction of a ‘New EU Framework to strengthen the Rule of Law.’ This proposal is interesting from several points of view; therefore its details are worth examining.

Veronika Czina

The first-ever live EU presidential debate was organized on 28 April, at the University of Maastricht with the participation of four candidates for the post of European Commission President.