Publications

234 Publications
Rule of law

The disciplinary system for judges in Poland - The case for infringement proceedings

22 Mar 2019

This opinion accompanies the ESI report "Under Siege: Why Polish courts matter for Europe". It sets out the legal basis for the European Commission to initiate infringement proceedings against Poland in respect of recent reforms to the disciplinary system for Polish judges.

Rule of law

Under Siege – Why Polish courts matter for Europe

22 Mar 2019

In countries respectful of the rule of law the disciplinary system for judges is meant to uphold standards and prevent abuse. It does not do so in Poland. No other European democracy has a system like the Polish one. Nowhere else is there such a concentration of powers in the hands of one man.

Human Rights

The power of focus - Proposal for a European human rights entry ban commission

14 Nov 2018

Today there is an urgent need to defend key human rights norms, such as the bans on torture, on political imprisonment and on extra-judicial killings. Leaders in many countries are questioning these norms and the international treaties that protect them; in others they are violated with impunity. European democracies have an interest to send a strong message to human rights violators and the wider public that these actions remain wrong and shameful.

Council of Europe

Negotiating with a pointed gun - Sanctions, appeasement and the role of Russia in the Council of Europe

8 Oct 2018

Legislators in Strasbourg will be voting on changes to PACE’s powers to sanction the parliamentary delegations of states violating human rights, democracy and the rule of law. They will also be voting on something much bigger: the relevance and credibility of the Council of Europe itself.

Migration

"On the brink of victory" - Viktor Orban, rhetorical poison and a vision of hell

15 Jun 2018

In February 2018 Viktor Orban gave a carefully crafted speech on the eve of recent Hungarian elections, appealing to (West) European leaders to "reverse" the presence of Muslims in their cities. No wonder that the first to congratulate Orban following his election victory in April were Europe's racist and far-right parties.

Rule of law

Where the law ends. The collapse of the rule of law in Poland – and what to do

29 May 2018

No member state of the EU has ever gone as far in subjugating its courts to executive control as the current Polish government has done. The Polish case is a test whether it is possible to create a Soviet-style justice system, where the control of courts, prosecutors and judges lies with the executive and a single party, in an EU member state.

Rule of law

Hukukun Bittiği Yer. Polonya'da hukuk devletinin çöküşü – Ne yapmalı?

29 May 2018

Daha önce hiçbir AB üyesi devlet, mahkemelerini yürütmenin denetimine Polonya hükûmeti kadar sokmadı. Polonya örneği, bir AB üyesi ülkede Sovyet tarzı bir yargı düzeni, yani mahkemelerin, savcıların ve hâkimlerin üzerinde denetimin yürütmeye ve tek bir partiye verildiği bir düzenin kurulup kurulamayacağının adeta bir denemesi.

Migration

The Italian Magnet - Deaths, arrivals and returns in the Central Mediterranean

13 Mar 2018

The EU, and Italy especially, remains a magnet, as almost nobody who arrives is ever returned, regardless of the decisions of asylum bodies. The political debate returns like a pendulum to earlier experiences of agreements with North African states (Tunisia and Libya) as the only way to stop boats arriving.

Migration

La calamita italiana - Decessi, arrivi e rimpatri nel Mediterraneo Centrale

13 Mar 2018

Dal momento che i rimpatri sono di fatto inesistenti, indipendentemente dagli esiti delle decisioni in merito alle domande d’asilo, l’UE, e in particolare l’Italia, agisce come una grande calamita. Gli accordi con stati nordafricani (Tunisia e Libia) sono visti come l’unica soluzione possibile per fermare gli arrivi.

Western Balkans

Don't believe the Hype – Why Bosnian democracy will not end this October

30 Jan 2018

Bosnian democracy is safe. This should have been obvious all along. But then again, many obvious things have often been obscured when it comes to the work of Bosnian institutions. On this, as one previous occasions, the rational approach is the same: don't believe the hype. Bosnian democracy will not end in October.

Migration

Refugees and asylum in the Aegean - The impact of the EU-Turkey statement

26 Jan 2018

The challenge for Greek and EU policy makers is clear: to ensure humane reception conditions in line with EU standards for every asylum seeker and migrant who arrives on the islands. If the average time people spend on the islands were 2 months only, and arrivals were below 3,000 a month, the accommodation capacity needed on all islands would be 6,000.

Migration

"Amsterdam in the Mediterranean" – How a Dutch-style asylum system can help resolve the Mediterranean refugee crisis

26 Jan 2018

Leaders across the EU are looking for a fast, effective and humane asylum system; a system which determines quickly, but thoroughly, who needs protection; creates disincentives for people to get into boats; and manages to return those who are found not to need protection within a short period of time.

Migration

“Amsterdam nel Mediterraneo” – Come il sistema d’asilo olandese può contribuire a risolvere la crisi migratoria nel Mediterraneo

26 Jan 2018

Così come il presidente francese Emmanuel Macron, anche altri leader dell’Unione Europea sono alla ricerca di un sistema d’asilo veloce, efficiente e che rispetti pienamente i diritti dei richiedenti asilo. Questo sistema deve poter determinare in modo rapido e preciso chi ha bisogno di protezione, deve creare un effetto deterrente verso coloro che si vogliono avventurare su un barcone e, infine, deve permettere di rimpatriare nel più breve tempo possibile chi non ottiene asilo.

Western Balkans

Vino, pseća hrana i klišeji o BiH – Pogrešne ideje i zašto su važne

5 Nov 2017

Bosanskohercegovački političari trebaju postići da sistem koji imaju bolje funkcionira. Ovo zahtijeva da ostave po strani polazni kliše o kome smo ovdje govorili: da u BiH nacionalna i religiozna mržnja godinama raste; da je politika trula; i da Ustav predstavlja nepremostivu prepreku za bilo kakav napredak.

Western Balkans

Wine, dog food and Bosnian clichés – False ideas and why they matter

5 Nov 2017

Bosnian leaders need to make the system they have work better. This requires setting aside the main clichés discussed here: that in Bosnia ethnic and religious hate has been growing for years; that politics is rotten; and that the constitution poses an insurmountable obstacle to any progress.

Migration

A Rome Plan for the Mediterranean migration crisis – The case for take-back realism

20 Jun 2017

The European Union urgently needs a credible policy on asylum and border management. It must combine effective control of external land and sea borders with respect for existing international and EU refugee law.

Rule of law

"Hang them in Taksim" – Europe, Turkey and the future of the death penalty

16 May 2017

For Turkey to reintroduce the death penalty – the last execution took place in 1984 – would constitute a serious setback in the global struggle against capital punishment. Europeans should take the threat of the return of capital punishment in Turkey seriously. The EU and the Council of Europe should take every step they can, in time, to make this as unlikely as possible – in Turkey and anywhere else in Europe.

EU enlargement

The Chapter Illusion – For honesty and clarity in EU-Turkey relations

15 May 2017

Both Turkey and the EU need to find a framework where sensitive issues can be discussed fruitfully. A reformed accession process provides such a framework. The key to such a process is clarity: it needs to be clear what EU standards are, how far Turkey is from meeting them and why it is useful for both sides to remain engaged in a dialogue on this. The EU needs a policy that is understood before it can have one that might be transformative.