Mariana Cunha Marques (Masters in European Union Law from the School of Law of University of Minho)

The new horizons of consumer credit legislation

Consumer credit is a fundamental instrument, but despite its indispensability, it continues to pose significant risks, especially when granted irresponsibly. This phenomenon has driven up levels of indebtedness and over-indebtedness within the European Union. The new Consumer Credit Directive – Directive 2225/2023 – introduced important innovations, considering its main objective of strengthening consumer protection.

Firstly, we must mention the extension of the scope of application in Article 2, which was vital in order to regulate and adapt to the digital economy and new credit products on the market. Of particular note is Article 2(2)(c), which delimits the application of the Directive, stipulating that its provisions do not apply to credit agreements with a total amount exceeding €100,000. The abolition of the minimum limit allowed its provisions to cover certain types of credit that required stricter regulation, such as high-cost credits or payday/instant loans[1] and “buy now, pay later” solutions.[2] These products can be considered harmful to consumers because they are granted quickly,[3] ignoring the need to assess creditworthiness. Furthermore, they have very high costs, and, in the event of default, the additional costs are exorbitant.[4]

Continue reading “Beyond legal duty: the new EU solvability rules and the challenge of systemic non-compliance in Member States” →

Bruno Miguel Saraiva (Masters in European Union Law from the School of Law of the University of Minho)

Though the idea that the transformative effects of high technology are sudden and self-imposing is tempting, this truism collapses when confronted with reality. The digital and internet revolutions may have unfolded within a single human lifetime, yet they were fundamentally transgenerational efforts shaped by people with diverse educations and upbringings.

Arriving at the technological landscape we inhabit today required the combined expertise, unique skills, capabilities and opportunities of individuals with remarkably different backgrounds. The major technological shifts of the 19^th and 20^th century enabled – and accelerated – further technological development through cross-disciplinary exchange.

This is especially visible in the evolution of programming languages. From Assembly to Elixir, new languages emerge regularly. As they rise in popularity, older ones fade as the pool of proficient users shrinks. This cycle is natural, but not without consequences. Legacy systems underpin everything from warehouses to critical infrastructure. Many rely on “outdated” but highly effective languages that excel at specific tasks – languages shaped during moments of generational transition, when the practices of analog-era experts were translated into digital workflows, data processing, and automation.

Continue reading “Education and circular economy: Europe of the regions revived” →

Teresa Freixes (President of Citizens pro Europe and Jean Monnet Professor ad personam)

[1]

Liters of ink would flow, were it not for computers, regarding the controversial Opinion of the Advocate General of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) concerning the preliminary questions submitted to this Court by the Audiencia Nacional[2] and the Tribunal de Cuentas[3] on certain aspects of the Spanish Organic Law on Amnesty (OLA).[4]

Two mandatory, but not binding, opinions were issued as required by the proceedings before the CJEU, serving as a preparatory draft for the judgment that the Court will eventually deliver. This is not the only “guidance” available to the CJEU, as the European Commission also expressed the opinion of the EU executive branch on the matter, and the parties that raised the questions, as well as those who initiated them, were able to submit their arguments and observations. Furthermore, there was a debate during the oral hearing held in the Grand Chamber (15 judges), with the participation of the State Attorney and the Public Prosecutor before the Tribunal de Cuentas. We mention this because, given the media frenzy, it seems as though the Advocate General’s Opinion has been interpreted as an oracle destined to guide our lives, and especially those of people involved in the application of the OLA. Nothing could be further from the truth, as the CJEU has this entire body of legal evidence to support its deliberations and judgment.

Continue reading “The trees and the forest in Advocate General Spielmann’s Opinion on the amnesty in Spain” →

Juan Gálvez Galisteo (PhD Candidate, University of Seville)

1. The context: election system of the governing body of judges in Spain and the request for an Opinion from the Venice Commission

On 13 October 2025, the European Commission for Democracy through Law (known as the Venice Commission) of the Council of Europe made public its Advisory Opinion No. 1248/2025, adopted at its 144^th Plenary Session, in which it responds to the request submitted by the General Council of the Judiciary – the governing body of judges in Spain – concerning the reform proposals included in its February report and their possible alignment with European standards on judicial independence. The request was submitted with the intention of determining whether the proposed reforms could be adjusted to the European standards that institutions of the European Union and the Council of Europe – such as the Venice Commission – have been establishing through their soft-law instruments in recent years.

Advisory Opinion No. 1248/2025 was adopted on 9 and 10 October, approximately one month after the rapporteurs visited Spain and met with authorities and stakeholders involved in the General Council of the Judiciary and its renewal process. To properly contextualise and understand the Commission’s document, it is necessary to briefly outline its most recent background. In the summer of 2024, the governing body of judges in Spain was finally renewed after nearly six years of an unprecedented deadlock, given that this constitutional institution – which must be renewed every five years – had remained in an interim situation since 2018, when its renewal should have taken place.

Continue reading “Judicial independence in the EU and the election of the governing body of judges in Spain (commentary on the Venice Commission’s Advisory Opinion No. 1248/2025)” →

João Pedro Sousa (master’s student in European Union Law at the School of Law of the University of Minho) 

I.

The digital transformation has reconfigured the foundations of modern society, multiplying channels of communication, accelerating economic innovation, and redefining the exercise of citizenship.  However, the same technological developments that sustain progress have also created new vulnerabilities, giving rise to a new domain of criminality: cybercrime.  Within the European Union (EU), the protection of the digital sphere has thus become a constitutional concern, lying at the intersection of security policy, protection of fundamental rights, and market regulation.[1][2]

The concept of digital citizenship within the EU captures the recognition and protection of citizens’ rights and obligations in cyberspace, including privacy, freedom of speech and safe access to digital technologies.[3]  Cybercrime threatens these rights, ranging from data breaches to large-scale attacks on critical infrastructure, undermining citizen’s confidence in the Union’s capacity to ensure safety and accountability online.[4]  In this context, the 2024 Report on the State of Cybersecurity in the Union by the EU Agency for Cybersecurity (ENISA)[5][6][7] exposes a worrying rise in cyber incidents,[8] particularly ransomware, phishing, and artificial-intelligence-related crimes, accentuating the urgent need for coordinated legislative and operational responses at the Union level.[9]

Continue reading “Harmonisation of sanctions and the protection of digital citizenship in the European Union” →

Bruno Saraiva [master’s student in European Union Law and Digital Citizenship & Technological Sustainability (CitDig) scholarship holder])

Why the EU’s approach to AI development differs from that of the U.S. or China is a question that spans philosophy, sociology, geopolitics, and economics. But the simplest answer may be the following: they are different. Each polity carries distinct priorities, institutions, and constraints – and these differences translate into divergent AI trajectories.

In Europe, this divergence goes beyond regulation and economics; it extends to the very technical models being developed. While the U.S. and China pursue scale through ever-larger general-purpose systems, the EU has signaled a regulatory preference for limited models – special-purpose systems trained with curated data.

This post explores the methodological virtues of that approach. In a world where large models struggle with trust, reliability, and compliance with rights-based law, the EU’s strategy offers an alternative: models designed to minimise hallucinations, resist “model collapse”, and reduce opacity. By embedding rigor into training practices, the EU may not only advance trustworthy AI but also begin addressing its competitiveness woes, as underscored by the Draghi Report.[1]

Continue reading “Limited model approach: the merits of methodological rigor in the European legal order concerning AI developments” →

Beatriz da Silva Pereira (master’s in European Union Law at the School of Law of University of Minho)

“Make fast fashion out of fashion” is the most recent slogan adopted by the European Commission to promote its new campaign to engage the Europeans in the battle against fast fashion and to raise public awareness about the EU Strategy for Sustainable and Circular Textiles.[1]

The EU Strategy for Sustainable and Circular Textiles arises within the scope of the much-quoted European Green Deal[2] launched in 2018, which marks the beginning of a new age in the environment protection across the EU and imposes a new perspective on the old principle of sustainability, which requires that all political and economic measures undertaken by the EU must consider the impacts and effects that those policies may have on the long run: on the economy, society and the climate.

This means that any initiative taken in order to satisfy a current need of the Europeans must be long-sighted and take in consideration the potential effect it may cause on the economic wealth of the Europeans, ideally resulting in economic growth, increasing monetary resources, in social peace, addressing inequalities, fostering the feeling of belonging and promoting an overall wellbeing to each and every individual, as well as a conscious impact on the environment, preserving ecosystems,  and repairing the damage already caused.

Continue reading “Making fast fashion out of fashion” →

José Vegar Velho [Guest Lecturer at the School of Law of the University of Minho | Commissioner at the Portuguese Data Protection Authority (Comissão Nacional de Proteção de Dados – CNPD)]

On the 25th of March 2024, the Portuguese DPA – CNPD – issued a decision to temporarily limit the processing of biometric data relating to the processing operation for the collection of iris, eye, and face data in Portugal, that was being performed by a globally established private company, which, at the time, already had a direct impact on about 300,000 persons in said national territory.[1]

Such data was claimed to be the basis of a universal ID, to be used as proof of personhood and human condition, that is, establishing whether an individual is both human and unique – a digital ID.

This ID was presented as a global digital passport that guarantees people a way to preserve their privacy to authenticate themselves as humans online, in a world where intelligence is no longer a discriminator between people and AI.

Continue reading “Looking identity in the eye: brief considerations on the frontiers of biometric data and identity” →

Bruno Reynaud Sousa (Professor at School of Law of the University of Minho | JusGov Researcher in Space Law and Policy)

Introduction

During the 18th and 19th centuries, Great Britain’s undisputed dominance of the seas under Pax Britannica not only secured its economic and naval supremacy but also enabled it to export its legal norms worldwide.^[1] British admiralty courts and jurists, backed by the Royal Navy’s enforcement power, set precedents in maritime law that other nations gradually adopted.^[2] A notable example concerns landmark rulings by British courts in the late 18th century that established principles regarding neutral shipping rights and contraband, influencing international agreements such as the Declaration of Paris of 1856.^[3] Indeed, the Declaration of Paris, recognised as the first multilateral law-making treaty, was a compromise in which Britain conceded wider neutral rights in exchange for the abolition of privateering. At the time, as privateering was central to U.S. naval strategy in the event of conflict with the former colonial power, Britain secured a diplomatic victory by pushing for the closure of most global ports to privateers, effectively ending the practice.^[4]

In 1898, the Spanish-American War sparked a shift that eventually dethroned the Royal Navy’s supremacy and established the U.S. as the leading maritime power.^[5] America’s quick victory and subsequent naval expansion – symbolised by steel battleships and the global cruise of the Great White Fleet^[6] – transformed industrial might into blue-water reach and began a decades-long, peaceful transition from British to American dominance.^[7]

Continue reading “The Brussels Effect in orbit: can the EU Space Act reshape global space governance in an American-led era?” →