Latest blog articles

  • The increased flow of asylum applicants and migrants to the EU in recent years has not only put considerable pressure on the reception systems of Member States, but at the same time raises challenges regarding the integration of newcomers at the national and local level.

  • After the United Kingdom had voted to leave the European Union in the national referendum on 23 June 2016, the swift ascent of May to the leadership of a deeply divided nation was not marked by decisive and resolute action, but a sense of uncertainty and strategic obfuscation.

  • The Yeomen of the Guard proceed to the Lords chamber on their way to undertake the first ceremony of State Opening, the checking of the cellars.

    Westminster's turn

    How the Supreme Court restored Parliament to its rightful place. That’s precisely what happened on Tuesday: The Supreme Court decided, by a 8-3 majority, to mandate that the triggering of Article 50 TEU can only take place after prior approval from both houses of Parliament.

  • I am sure you have heard that the Bulgarian government built a fence on the Bulgarian – Turkish border and that the ‘refugee crisis’ put the national asylum system to the test. What about the Bulgarian integration policies? Did you know that currently refugees in Bulgaria face ‘zero’ integration...

  • Two prominent issues on the agenda of European equality lawyers have so far largely (although see recently CJ C-83/14 Nikolova) remained outside scrutiny of the Court of Justice of the European Union: discrimination on grounds of religion or belief and segregation of Roma. Recent developments may...

  • The 2015 Migrant Integration Policy Index (MIPEX)   update highlights and confirms the shift towards a restrictive migration and integration policy in the Netherlands. Overall, the Netherlands dropped to the eleventh place in the MIPEX ranking, down from the fifth in 2010.

  • 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...