Latest blog articles

  • Not crossing the border: recommendation or ban?

    During the Easter weekend there was a lack of clarity about what the rules are at the German-Dutch border. What is actually still allowed when it comes to travelling from the Netherlands to Germany and vice versa? Both the government in North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and in the Netherlands have...

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  • Blind trust?

    May the US President appoint his son in law as advisor to the White House? For quite a lot formal appointments the President needs the advice and consent (permission) from the senate, but not here. Is it permissible? 

    Trump for President MLR blogs
  • Extraterritorial human rights obligations to protect refugees

    It took quite a while before the European countries realized and recognized that the influx from asylum-seekers via the Mediterranean Sea and Turkey into the European Union is not just a matter of controlling the outside borders of the Union, but also a humanitarian and human rights issue. Some...

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  • How I stopped worrying about asylum seekers

    In a short memo, published on 22 March, the Dutch Liberal Party (VVD) expressed its view on how to handle the increasing number of asylum claims in the Netherlands, and more broadly in the EU, as well as the continuously tragic events concerning refugees that occur at the external borders of the EU...

    Trapped in despair: ‘The Great Escape’ in the Mediterranean