News

ECJ: Hungary’s restrictions on the foreign funding of civil organisations do not comply with EU law

  • 2020/09/02
  • kutatocsoport5

In its judgment in Case C-78/18 Commission v Hungary, delivered on 18 June 2020, the European Court of Justice condemned Hungary for its 2017 adoption of the “Transparency Law” which imposed an obligation on civil organisations to register as “organisations in receipt of support from abroad” if the yearly sum of the donations they received from abroad exceeded a certain threshold and to publicly disclose the donations received, including the name, the country and the city of residence of the donors whose donations reached HUF 500,000 (around €1400). The Court found that, by adopting these provisions, Hungary has introduced discriminatory and unjustified restrictions in breach of its obligations under Article 63 TFEU and Articles 7, 8 and 12 of the Charter. Read more... (Daniel Szilágyi) 

ECJ: the Commission failed to provide proper reasons for suspension injunctions against Hungary

  • 2020/06/19
  • kutatocsoport5

The European Court of Justice recently published its judgment in Case C‑456/18 P Hungary v European Commission, bringing an end to a five-year legal dispute. According to the judgment, the Commission failed to provide proper reasons as to why it regarded as necessary to order that Hungary suspend the application of the progressive tax rates of the health contribution to be paid by tobacco manufacturers and the food chain inspection fee imposed on certain food business operators until the conclusion of the Commission’s investigation. The Court of Justice has also set aside the judgment of the General Court at first instance which held up the suspension injunctions set by the Commission. Read more... (Daniel Szilágyi)

European Court of Justice: Advocate General voices criticism of Polish judicial reform

  • 2019/07/03
  • kutatocsoport5

In a recently published opinion, Advocate General Tanchev of the ECJ expressed concerns regarding the appointment of judges to the newly established Disciplinary Chamber of the Polish Supreme Court. According to the opinion, the Disciplinary Chamber does not satisfy the requirements of judicial independence under EU law due to national legislative authorities playing a key role in the election of the 15 judicial members of the National Council of the Judiciary (NCJ), the body playing a primary role in the appointment of judges to the Disciplinary Chamber. Read more.. (Daniel Szilágyi)

Government to nationalize research network of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences

  • 2019/06/02
  • kutatocsoport5

In what seems like the final resolution of the dispute between the Hungarian Academy of Sciences and the government about the future of the Academy’s research network, the government has announced its plans to unilaterally move all the research units in question under a new public institution with a 13-member governing board comprised of six government and six academy delegates and a chairman appointed by the Prime Minister. Read more... (Daniel Szilágyi)

Implications of a “no deal” Brexit for students at UK universities

  • 2019/02/21
  • kutatocsoport5

Following the “historic defeat” of PM Theresa May’s Brexit deal at the hands of the UK House of Commons, the possibility of a “no deal” Brexit seems higher than ever before, meaning a scenario in which the United Kingdom would leave the European Union immediately on 29 March 2019 with no agreements in place about what their relationship would be like in the future. Without further preparatory actions or commitments made by the UK government, a “no deal” Brexit would create immediate uncertainty for EU nationals in UK universities, prospective students and staff from across the EU, and for those participating in any of the Horizon 2020, Structural Funds or Erasmus+ programmes. Read more... (Daniel Szilágyi)

Limiting the ne bis in idem principle for the protection of the financial interests of the EU and the financial markets thereof

  • 2018/04/20
  • Kutatócsoport2

In a recent set of judgments, the Court of Justice of the European Union established that the principle of ne bis in idem may be limited for the purpose of protecting the financial interests of the EU and the financial markets thereof, as long as such a limitation does not exceed what is strictly necessary to achieve these objectives. The legal principle, recognized both by the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union and by the European Convention on Human Rights, states that a person cannot be criminally prosecuted or punished twice for the same offence. Read more... (Dániel Szilágyi)

Good, but not enough – the U.S. trio need to do more to fully comply with EU consumer rules

  • 2018/02/21
  • Kutatócsoport2

Social media giants Facebook, Twitter, and Google+ released on February 15 their new terms of service, which are designed to better align with EU consumer protection rules. The changes have been greeted with enthusiasm in Brussels, but still fall short of fully complying with the European Union’s strict regulations. Read more... (Petra Ágnes Kanyuk)

Another step in the EDF v Commission Case – The General Court of the EU upheld the unfavourable decision for the french company

  • 2018/02/01
  • Kutatócsoport2

Despite several decades of application, the concept of the state aid is still not well defined enough and continues to generate extended legal battles throughout the European Union. This is well illustrated by a Judgment in Case T-747/15 of the General Court of the EU released January 16, 2018, confirming that the Commission had correctly applied the state aid rules to order France to require Électricité de France (EDF) to pay back €1.37 billion. Read more... (Petra Ágnes Kanyuk)

The European Court of Justice has ruled that Uber is a transport company

  • 2018/01/09
  • Kutatócsoport2

On 20 December 2017, the European Court of Justice has ruled that Uber is a transport services company. (The decision is a major setback for Uber, which has long insisted that it should be treated as technology service that connects drivers and riders; in other words, the Court placed itself on the side of traditional taxis. This definition will require the company to use only licensed taxi drivers, as well as meet other strict regulations linked to health and safety and background checks on drivers on its digital platform. Read more... (Petra Ágnes Kanyuk)

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