REINFORCING RULE OF LAW OVERSIGHT IN THE EUROPEAN UNION

Oxford: Hart Publishing, 2016, pp. 173–196.

Werner Schröder (ed.), Strengthening the Rule of Law in Europe: From a Common Concept to Mechanisms of Implementation, Hart Publishing, Oxford, 2015, Forthcoming Ensuring that the EU can efficiently address the problems caused by its own Member States' failure to comply with the foundational values of the Union and, in particular, the Rule of Law, requires establishing, first of all, the normative foundation for enhanced EU monitoring and enforcement of the foundational values of Article 2 TEU – with a particular emphasis on the Rule of Law – in the Member States (I.). Then, secondly, the legal basis making the growing EU’s role possible must be identified and scrutinised (II.). Once this is done, thirdly, the procedural issues of the day-to-day operation of EU’s involvement with the values are to be addressed (III.). In this context, a clearly-designed procedure should identify the actors involved, their functions and roles, as well as the different stages in the process. This chapter outlines concrete options available to the EU with regard to each of the three issues we are concerned with, also explaining what the pros and the cons of each of the choices are. The chapter gives a pretaste of some key-ideas discussed in C. Closa and D. Kochenov (eds.) 'Reinforcing the Rule of Law Oversight in the European Union' (Cambridge University Press, 2015 (forthcoming)).

2014

This paper provides a critical overview of options available to the EU to deal with the Rule of Law crisis in some of the Member States. The options it engages with were offered and discussed by a handful of the leading experts in the field and drawing on the critical EUI discussion, the first part of the paper tackles the following questions: 1. Why should the EU reinforce the oversight of Member States’ Rule of Law performance? 2. Are there sufficient legal bases for such oversight – should a reform of the Treaties be required? 3. What kind of procedure could be designed to meet the need of such oversight? 4. Which body should be entrusted with the oversight function? The second part provides a word of caution warning of the possible problems related to the EU's involvement with the constitutional core of the Member States

Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies Research Paper No. 2014/25

This paper provides a critical overview of options available to the EU to deal with the Rule of Law crisis in some of the Member States. The options it engages with were offered and discussed by a handful of the leading experts in the field and drawing on the critical EUI discussion, the first part of the paper tackles the following questions: 1. Why should the EU reinforce the oversight of Member States’ Rule of Law performance? 2. Are there sufficient legal bases for such oversight – should a reform of the Treaties be required? 3. What kind of procedure could be designed to meet the need of such oversight? 4. Which body should be entrusted with the oversight function? The second part provides a word of caution warning of the possible problems related to the EU's involvement with the constitutional core of the Member States.

Polish Yearbook of International Law 36, 187-208, 2016

The European Union is founded on a set of common principles of democracy, the rule of law, and fundamental rights, as enshrined in Article 2 of the Treaty on the European Union. Whereas future Member States are vetted for their compliance with these values before they accede to the Union, no similar method exists to supervise respect of these foundational principles after accession. This gap needs to be filled, since history proved that EU Member State governments’ adherence to foundational EU values cannot be taken for granted. Against this background this article assesses the need and possibilities for the establishment of an EU Scoreboard on EU values; viable strategies and procedures to regularly monitor all Member States’ compliance with the rule of law on an equal and objective basis; and the nature of effective and dissuasive sanction mechanisms foreseen for rule of law violators.

The troublesome Hungarian, and possibly Romanian, developments regarding democracy, constitutionalism and the rule of law call for the attention of the European Union and its Member States, in particular regarding violations of the principles of Art. 2 TEU. Various proposals for monitoring mechanisms or even new institutions of oversight have been made, including a Copenhagen Commission and a systemic infringement procedure.1 The core problem faced by the European Union regarding the democratic nature of its Member States seems one of the ‘safeguarding of the core values on which the Union has been established’. If one can find reasonable justifications of why the EU should engage in safeguarding those values, then it is adamant to scrutinize the structural efficacy of potential instruments and mechanisms.3 The larger part of the debate on this matter – which particularly erupted with the Hungarian constitutional 'coup' and subsequently the Romanian constitutional and rule of law crisis – identifies a generally legalistic approach to the problem and endorses distinctive legal remedies, which either need reform of the Treaties or not. My argument here will problematize a purely formalistic and legalistic approach, and for that matter, will be less ‘policy-applied’ and ‘problem-solving’, but rather a suggestion for a more comprehensive analysis grounded in sociological and political reflections. My take will be a sociology of constitutional democracy and the rule of law, and I will ask whether current considerations and solutions offered sufficiently take into account distinctive dimensions of the functioning of constitutional democracy. Such dimensions are crucial for the actual ‘safeguarding of the core values’ of the EU, but are in my view unlikely to be satisfied through a one-sided legalistic and formal-procedural approach.

Defending Checks and Balances in EU Member States, 2021

At present, the European rule of law enforcement framework under Article 7 TEU (RLF) is vulnerable to unguaranteed, discretionary influences of the Member States. This vulnerability arises from its procedural format which requires high thresholds in decision-making with the effect that this procedure is prone to be terminated by the EU Member States likely to be scrutinized under it, if only they collude. Yet, the Framework may prove effective to correct serious breaches against human rights (in the context of ineffective rule of law standards). The European Commission is bound to pursue the RLF effectiveness for the sake of achieving relative uniformity of application of EU law (at large), and making the European Union a credible actor and co-creator of international legal order. The RLF is an important tool for the maintenance of relative stability of human rights and the rule of law in the EU despite natural divergence propensity resulting from the procedural autonomy of the EU M...

The EU's rule of law: work is needed, 2021

One of the European Union's main values, the rule of law, is under severe pressure. The cases of Hungary and Poland, albeit not isolated, are certainly the most paradigmatic ones. The two eastern European countries, in fact, do not wish to leave the EU, but repeatedly challenge the EU's rule of law ideal by claiming that different interpretations of it are possible and that illiberal democracies can co-exist with liberal ones within the EU constitutional framework. The recent EU budget negotiations again brought the question into the spotlight with the so-called conditionality regulation, whereby Hungary and Poland are legally bound to accept an EU role in the rule of law and yet simultaneously attempt to restrict an EU role in the rule of law, via the European Council. These recent developments call for an analysis of the (evolution of the) principle of the rule of law in the EU, as well as an overview of how Hungary and Poland (in the meantime) have changed the actual situation of the rule of law domestically and of the strategies that the two countries have devised to further counter (legal) intervention by the EU.

Prácticos, psicólogos y aplicación de la psicología al deporte Tradicionalmente la psicología ha mantenido en apariencia buenas relaciones con el mundo del deporte y de la actividad física en general. En cursos de formación de entrenadores y profesores de educación física se hace constantemente hincapié en la importancia de todo lo derivado de lo psíquico y en la comprensión de la conducta humana para llegar a ser un buen entrenador o profesor. Sirva como ejemplo de esta valoración un pequeño comentario sobre los resultados de una encuesta llevada a cabo entre técnicos y teóricos de la educación física y el deporte. Sobre un total de 31 cuestiones referidas a aspectos psicológicos del deporte infantil, la inmensa mayoría de las valoraciones hacían referencia a los conceptos de importante y muy importante al aludir a aquéllos (P. Recio, en preparación). En mesas redondas y entrevistas hechas a entrenadores se proclama la importancia e influencia de los fenómenos psíquicos en el entrenamiento y en los resultados de la competición.

Veterinary World, 2024

Background and Aim: The high prevalence of diabetes mellitus in Indonesia indirectly reflects the high risk of developing chronic wounds that are susceptible to infection. Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is an infectious pathogen that is resistant to various antibiotics. Therefore, antibiotic therapy is ineffective enough to treat chronic hyperglycemic wounds caused by MRSA infection. Curcuminoids have anti-inflammatory and antibacterial effects by inhibiting the enzymatic pathways involved in the pathogenesis of inflammation. Collagen is a tissue regeneration inducer. The combination of these two ingredients is expected to be an alternative therapy for MRSA-infected hyperglycemic chronic wounds without the risk of antibiotic resistance. The aim of this study was to investigate the efficacy of hydrolacin-gel in wound healing and inhibiting the growth of MRSA bacteria, as well as to determine the optimal concentration of curcuminoids combined with collagen marine peptides (CMPs). Materials and Methods: Hydrolacin-gels were prepared by homogenizing curcuminoid nanoemulsions and CMPs. The evaluation of preparation includes stability tests and antibacterial activity tests. Wound diabetic mice were treated with various combinations of curcuminoid and CMPs. Wound healing was observed based on malondialdehyde levels as a marker of oxidative stress and histopathological changes in the skin wound. Results: Hydrolacin-gel was formulated by combining curcuminoid nanoemulsion (more water soluble) and CMPs, with the ratio of formula 1 (1:2, curcuminoid 43.3 mg and CMPs 5.58 mg), formula 2 (1:1, curcuminoid 86.8 mg and CMPs 3.72), and formula 3 (2:1, curcuminoid 130.2 mg and CMPs 1.87 mg) calculated based on the effective dose of curcuminoid 200 mg/kg body weight (BW) and CAMPs 0.9 g/kg BW. Hydrolacin-gel had a potential antibacterial activity against MRSA. Hydrolacin-gel induced wound tissue repair and reduced oxidative stress caused by inflammation in diabetic-infected MRSA. Hydrolacin-gel could be used for healing MRSA-infected diabetic wounds, especially formula 3 with the ratio of curcuminoid: CMPs = 2:1. Conclusion: Hydrolacin-gel combining curcuminoid nanoemulsion and CMPs effectively inhibited the inflammatory process and increased re-epithelialization in MRSA-infected diabetic wound healing. Hydrolacin-gel with curcuminoid (130.2 mg) and CMPs (1.87 mg) at a concentration ratio of 2:1 appeared to be the best formula against MRSA infection in diabetic wounds. Keywords: collagen marine peptides, curcuminoids, diabetic, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, wound.