Editorial Note: It was a good year....wasn’t it?

When a calendar year comes to an end, many of us pause to reflect on the previous twelve months. Just like a vigneron who takes the first sip of Beaujolais nouveau to see what the new harvest is like. With it comes a question: was it a good year? As always, the answer is neither a straightforward ‘yes’ nor a simple ‘no’. The same applies to the European Union where 2013 was neither black nor white but rather full of shades of grey. In some respects, it was a good year, in others an annus horribilis. But without question it was certainly a year of anniversaries

Exercises in Legal Acrobatics: Brexit Transitional Arrangements

With the imminent closure of the first part of Brexit negotiations, the EU and the UK are shift- ing the centre of gravity from discussions about the termination of membership to the future arrange- ments. Anyone au courant with EU affairs is aware that what is left of the two-year period laid down in Art. 50 TEU will not be enough to negotiate, to sign and to ratify a future trade agreement. This is one of the reasons why both sides have recently engaged in discussions about a transitional period. As this Article proves, this is idea has merits, yet it will be hard to accomplish a plausible solution. Arguably, it may be more beneficial, and less problematic, to extend the two-year period instead

When Cives Europae became bargaining chips: free movement of persons in the Brexit negotiations

This article aims at taking stock of the Brexit developments thus far and provides the readers with an analysis of how, broadly understood, immigration has contributed to the results of the referendum and what role it plays in the negotiations between the EU and the UK. Brexit negotiations, as anticipated, have proven to be a very complicated and multifaceted affair. One of the most controversial items on the agenda of the negotiating teams have been the rights of EU migrating citizens residing in the United Kingdom as well as UK nationals, who have been exercising their free movement rights in one of the Member States of the European Union. This dossier was bound to stir controversies from the start. Alas, the pre-referendum debate, as well as events that unfolded in its aftermath, have turned Cives Europae into bargaining chips. Whatever the outcome of these negotiations, or - in more general terms - the Brexit itself, it is likely to leave a bitter aftertaste. This article aims at taking stock of the developments thus far and provides the readers with an analysis how broadly understood immigration has contributed to the results of referendum (section 2) and what role it plays in the negotiations between the EU and the UK (section 3). In the latter part, the analysis will cover the tentative agreement on the status of EU/UK citizens post-Brexit. While the deal was reached in December 2017, a draft Withdrawal Agreement presented in February 2018, there were still leftovers to be dealt with in course of 2018. Furthermore, the entry into force of Withdrawal Agreement should not be treated as a fait accompli. Bearing this in mind the readers are also offered an analysis of a hypothetical - for the time being - scenario of an unregulated withdrawal. Furthermore, a transitional period, which was being contemplated on when this article was finalised, is also taken on board

The Sky Is Not the Limit: Mutual Trust and Mutual Recognition aprés Aranyosi and Căldăraru

In the present article, judgments of the European Court of Justice, together with the case of Aranyosi and Căldăraru, are put under the academic microscope. The analysis is conducted through the lenses of domestic judges. It starts by drawing a broader picture of the challenges that the domestic judiciary faces when it comes to EU criminal law, in particular the mutual recognition instruments. It argues that judges are faced not only with the legal framework of sometimes questionable quality but also with potential conflicts of loyalty resulting from the multiplicity and occasional inconsistency of applicable legal regimes. In turn, the analysis moves to the exegesis of the Aranyosi and Căldăraru line of jurisprudence, in particular to the already mentioned security vs justice conundrum, which domestic judges sometimes face. The article ends with conclusions looking into the current state of affairs, and suggestions are made regarding the way forward

The European Court of Justice blocks the EU's accession to the ECHR

The European Court of Justice delivered a long-awaited opinion on the accession of the European Union to the European Convention of Human Rights (Opinion 2/13) on 18 December 2014. To the surprise of many, the judges in Luxembourg held that the draft Accession Agreement is not compatible with the EU treaties because it undermines the autonomy of EU law. As a consequence, the negotiators will be called back to the drawing board to take the Court’s conclusions into account, or to come up with other solutions. The Accession Agreement would require a major revision, not just cosmetic changes. Moreover, any deal would require the consent of all ECHR contracting parties, including Turkey and Russia. With this opinion, the Court of Justice went against the will of the member states and has thus put itself on a collision course with them

When Caveats Turn into Locks: Opinion 2/13 on Accession of the European Union to the ECHR

The Court of Justice of the European Union (the Court of Justice) decided to strike again. On 18 December 2014, for the second time in history, the Court rejected the European Union’s (EU) accession to the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). Although the judges do not seem to negate the idea as a matter of principle, they made the renegotiation of the Draft Accession Treaty very difficult, to say the least. The message sent by the Court of Justice to the Member States may have surprised some,2 but for many it was a rather expected development

Is there a way out of the Polish pickle? EPIN Commentary No. 31/22 January 2016

Poland is making headline news again. This time, however, not in a role of Central European Wunderkind surfing the economic crisis, but for reasons to be less proud of. Ever since the Prawo and Sprawiedliwość (PiS, a member of European Conservatives and Reformists group in the European Parliament) government took power after the elections in November, Poland has experienced political turmoil and is now facing accusations that the rule of law is in danger. This constitutes a major challenge for the European Union and for its other member states, which are looking for ways to deal with a recalcitrant state that makes a rapid U-turn on democratic fundamentals and takes any criticism hysterically. This is not the first time that the organisation has had to deal with such a case, yet solutions have not yet been found. Hungary is a case in point. And now Polish leaders too seem convinced about the virtues of the concept of illiberal democracy. Which prescription should the EU use to buck the trend and what are the potential side-effects

Is Turkey going to join the EU in the next decade? Not likely, Mr Gove

Michael Gove and other Vote Leave campaigners have warned that Turkey, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Albania are likely to join the EU in the near future, which would lead to an influx of migrants looking for jobs in Britain. On the contrary, says Adam Lazowski: the EU will probably not expand at all in the next decade. If and when it does, transitional arrangements mean the UK labour market would remain closed to new EU citizens for a long time to come

The Seventh EU Enlargement and Beyond: Pre-Accession Policy vis-à-vis the Western Balkans Revisited

The accession of Croatia to the European Union is yet another milestone in the history of EU enlargements. After seven enlargement rounds the membership has increased from the original six founding countries to twenty-eight Member States. Many claim, quite rightly, that the enlargement policy is the most successful of the EU’s foreign policy tools. Even those who bring this bold argument into doubt have to agree that, when contrasted with other external policies, and the European Neighbourhood Policy in particular, the overall balance sheet of the enlargement policy is positive. The accession of Croatia is symbolic in a number of ways. As argued in this article, it closes one big chapter in the history of EU enlargements but, at the same time, opens another. Croatia is – most likely – the last country to join the EU this decade. After a sometimes painful pre-accession process, it has proved to be a ‘success story’ of the stabilisation and asso-ciation process. As the European Commission claims, it is living proof that the raison d’être and mechanics of the policy employed vis-à-vis the Western Balkans have their merits. However, a quick look into the future proves that the next enlargements will be far more complicated affairs. The current list of candidates and potential candidates is a mix of a heavyweight (Turkey) and the Western Balkan countries, all struggling to meet the fundamental prerequisites for a democracy based on the rule of law. Failure to comply with the Copenhagen criteria, together with a dwindling appetite for further enlargement among some Member States, create a rather dangerous mix. This article argues that following recent enhancements to the pre-accession policy, further improvements are necessary to make future expansions of the European Union possible. If only from the geopolitical perspective, this is in the joint interest of the European Union, its Member States and the countries of the Western Balkans