By Jaime, Jasper and Héloïse Since the beginning of the war in Ukraine in February 2022, more than 6 million Ukrainian refugees have fled their home country, with the majority seeking refuge in the European Union; a number that can increase as the war rages on. Normally, Member States (MSs) and FRONTEX work together and cooperate to handle border control in the European integrated border management framework[1]. However, the gravity of the Ukrainian situation (the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees going as far as to qualify it as ‘the fastest growing refugee crisis in Europe since ..read more

By Katelijn, Kyriaki, Nik & Tim Introduction The Court of Justice of the European Union’s (CJEU) ruling in the case C-281-22 (Parquet Européen) has been hailed as a legal triumph by the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO). Initially perceived as a validation of EPPO’s strategies for streamlining cross-border investigations, the decision was met with celebration. However, upon closer assessment of the facts of the case and questions posed of the EPPO’s jurisdictional reach, it becomes clear that the legal complexities surrounding the case are extensive. The Court’s final decision res ..read more

By Elaine, Gersi, Joris and Leonoor The Asylum Crisis Granted with a new mandate following the adoption of Regulation (EU) 2021/2303 on 19 January 2022, the European Union Agency for Asylum (EUAA) has transitioned into a full-fledged agency. Its goal is to improve the functioning of the Common European Asylum System (CEAS). As the successor of the European Asylum Support Office (EASO), the EUAA is tasked with upholding and promoting respect for fundamental rights within the European Union’s (EU) asylum system.  Fundamental rights are particularly relevant in the CEAS. This is espe ..read more

By Anouk, Katharina, Sabina, and Soraya It has become nearly impossible to watch the news, open social media, or even attend a social gathering without a person mentioning “crypto” (cryptocurrency). With the emergence of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, the financial world has fundamentally changed. This blogpost will focus on the impact of cryptocurrencies on money laundering practices, including the problems that this development has caused for law enforcement. Even for the new EU Agency AMLA, it remains to be seen whether they have the resources to effectively investigate these new cases ..read more

By Ariana, Beatrice and Elsa Due to increasing global mobility and security challenges, Europe has reinforced its border management strategies. The European Border and Coast Guard Agency, commonly known as Frontex, is essential to this policy. Frontex assumes a lead position in managing the European Union’s external borders. On this subject, a new system will be implemented: the European Travel Information System (ETIAS). This new system contributes to fortifying the external European borders, and Frontex has a significant role in its implementation. Photo: European Travel to Become Payable ..read more

By Brenda, Giulia and Ot Since unfreezing 10,2 Billion on EU funds for Hungary, the Commission has been the center of attention. Initially frozen because of rule of law concerns, the funds were unblocked just before the commencement of an EU summit about the possible accession of Kyiv and new aid for Ukraine. The Hungarian leader, Prime Minister Orbán, openly stated his eagerness to block these moves. The European Parliament, unhappy with the Commission’s actions, is preparing to start proceedings against the Commission stating: “the rule of law can not be traded for deals with Orbán”. The sud ..read more

By Elisabeth, Furat, Joseph and Matthew Europol’s Accountability: Tension Between Secrecy and Supervision This blogpost addresses the tension between effective policing and democratic oversight in the context of Europol’s extensive data collection used for ‘predictive policing’. This practice raises questions about the balance between security and individual privacy rights in the digital age. This blogpost provides an oversight of Europol’s powers and corresponding accountability, with the goal in mind of asking whether the Joint Parliamentary Scrutiny Group’s (JPSG) supervisory powers are suf ..read more

Over the past decade, user influencing practices have gained prominence in academic and digital policy debates in Europe. These practices include dark patterns, dark nudges, sludge, and highly personalised processes such as hypernudging. In essence, they rely on manipulating users’ cognitive and environmental constraints to steer their behaviour in a predictable manner. Growing empirical evidence of harms have triggered regulatory responses in the recent Digital Services Act, Digital Markets Act, Artificial Intelligence Act, and Data Act. In addition, the enforcement guidance documents were up ..read more

I. Introduction In the vast landscape of technology, Google stands out as a global giant, operating the world’s largest search engine, Google Search. The sheer influence and market power of this tech behemoth has sparked debates over whether Google qualifies as a natural monopoly, which would mean that it could be subjected to ex-ante, utility-like regulation combined with separation. This contribution delves into the ongoing discourse surrounding Google’s classification as a natural monopoly, analyzing contrasting perspectives, exploring potential regulatory approaches, and analyzing their im ..read more

Introduction Geo-Engineering (GE) is an attempt to intervene in the Earth´s climate system. It refers to “the deliberate large-scale intervention in the Earth’s climate system to counteract man-made climate change”. Solar Radiation Management (henceforth GE), is to mitigate global warming by reducing solar radiation reaching the Earth’s surface through techniques such as stratospheric aerosol injection, aiming to cool the planet by reflecting a portion of incoming sunlight. This could have significant levels of risk concerning its impact on the global climate system, natural ecosystems, weath ..read more