Tag Archives: European Union
25 March 2012
The New York Times recently reported that China, the United States and two dozen other countries are looking at coordinated countermeasures against Europe — including putting pressure on European airlines and other industries — if the EU tries to enforce the EU Aviation Directive, that requires airlines to pay for their greenhouse gas emissions.
Much has been said on the legality of the Aviation Directive. Joshua Melzer just published a good analysis of the Directive and its WTO compatibility in the Journal of International Economic Law. In the ATA case, the ECJ considered its compatibility with customary international law (more…)
2 March 2012
Ministers for Home Affairs of European Union countries will next week approve an increase in the compensation Member States receive from the EU budget for allowing refugees from outside the Union to settle in their territory. They will also endorse a pilot scheme under which each Member State is to indicate by 1 May how many refugees it plans to resettle in 2013, and from which groups designated by the EU as priorities. The ministers will meet in Brussels on Thursday 8 March.
Source: European Voice | EU member states to get more money for receiving refugees
28 November 2011
Evidence has emerged of unregulated tuna fishing in Libyan waters during this year’s conflict. EU boats are implicated in the fishing, which the European Commission believes could be judged illegal. The issue led to heated discussion at the recent Istanbul meeting of the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT), where it was decided that research will be carried out into the events.
Source: BBC News – Tuna fished ‘illegally’ during Libya conflict
31 October 2011
The UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) voted on Monday to admit Palestine as a member with the necessary two-third majority. The United States, Israel, and some EU Member States voted against the bid, revealing once again the lack of unanimity in European external relations policy. The approval of the bid is likely to cause the US government to cut off a substantial amount of its 60 million USD in annual funding to the body. The US has already threatened to withhold or actually withheld its contributions to UNESCO at earlier occasions and even withdrew from the Organization in 1984, rejoining only in 2003.
For a legal classification of the practice of withholding membership contributions to an international organization in light of the law of international responsibility see C. Ahlborn, ‘The Rules of International Organizations and the Law of International Responsibility’, ACIL Research Paper No 2011-03 (SHARES Series), in particular the discussion on countermeasures by member States of an international organization.
Source: http://english.aljazeera.net
30 October 2011
Refugees are legally and morally entitled to some form of protection. This is generally undisputed. The disagreement begins when we ask the question which state will be called upon to provide that protection? (more…)