What to do with Altmark Trans? The judgments of the General Court in Case T-309/12 Zweckverband Tierkörperbeseitigung and in Case T-295/12 Germany v Commission

2015. January 13. 14:52

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.

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EU-Russia Sanctions War. Part II: Consequences of restrictive measures for Hungary - national interests and questions of loyalty

2014. October 02. 10:11

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.

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EU-Russia Sanctions War. Part I: The legal framework

2014. October 02. 10:02

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.

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Abuse of law and the free movement of lawyers in the European Union: Judgment of the ECJ of 17 July 2014 in joined cases Angelo Alberto Torresi (C-58/13) and Pierfrancesco Torresi (C-59/13) v Consiglio dell’Ordine degli Avvocati di Macerata

2014. September 15. 18:19

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.

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Defending the EU Trade Interests – New Trade Enforcement Regulation Adopted

2014. June 19. 9:49

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.

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