Analyzing informal care from an EU perspective

On February 24, 2022February 24, 2022 By officialblogunioIn EssaysLeave a comment

Maria Inês Costa (Master’s student in Human Rights at UMinho).

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A 2018 report by the European Commission highlights that the European Pillar of Social Rights “makes explicit the commitment to people providing care, including their rights to flexible working and access to care services“,^[1] bearing in mind that data suggests that most long-term care in Europe – around 80% – is provided by informal carers, this is, people who care for dependent or elderly people, to whom they offer support in basic and/or instrumental activities of daily living. These caregivers are not trained in health care and presumably do not receive compensation for doing this work, neither do they possess a formal work agreement.^[2]

In fact, the European Pillar of Social Rights Action Plan, whose goals are to be achieved by 2030, addresses the fact that the resilience of long-term care is being put to the test, not only by the additional strain of the pandemic, but also by demographic trends that suggest an increasingly ageing European society, requiring rapid and effective responses in terms of health care services, their quality and distribution across the territory.^[3] Eurocarers, the European network representing informal carers and their organizations, reacted positively to the proposal of the European Pillar of Social Rights, highlighting in a written contribution that support provided to informal carers was key to the sustainability of the health and long-term care systems through participation and integration policies focusing on their well-being, employment and empowerment.^[4] In a letter sent to the Portuguese Presidency of the Council of the European Union in April 2021, the European network insisted on the importance of implementing the principles outlined in the European Pillar of Social Rights, and called for the urgent development of a global EU strategy on care, comprehensive enough to address all aspects of formal and informal care, including the current shortages in the informal care sector and the need to ensure support for informal carers to improve their situation, given their crucial role in providing care across the EU.^[5]

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The relevance of judicial institutions in upholding the Rule of Law

On February 19, 2022February 19, 2022 By officialblogunioIn NewsLeave a comment

Gonçalo Martins de Matos (Master’s student in Judiciary Law at University of Minho)

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Between the 15^th and the 16^th of February 2022, two landmark decisions were issued by two distinct courts: one regarding EU law, by the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), and the other regarding Portuguese law, by the Portuguese Constitutional Court. We shall look at both of them and analyse what they introduce (or establish) regarding the defence of the Rule of Law.

We shall start with the CJEU’s decision. On 16 February 2022, the CJEU rendered its judgment in Cases C-156/21 Hungary v. Parliament and Council and C-157/21 Poland v. Parliament and Council. Both Cases emerged from two actions for annulment brought by the Republic of Poland and Hungary concerning Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2020/2092 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 December 2020 on a general regime of conditionality for the protection of the Union budget^[1]. This Regulation adopted several provisions linking access to EU funding and the respect for the Rule of Law, with a view to “protect the EU budget from financial risks linked to generalised deficiencies as regards the rule of law in the Member States”^[2].

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The EU Circular Economy Strategy: a strong step towards more ecological products design and manufacturing?

On February 16, 2022February 16, 2022 By revistaunioIn EssaysLeave a comment

Beltrán Puentes Cociña (PhD Candidate at the University of Santiago de Compostela)

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Humanity has been engaged in the struggle for sustainability for at least 30 years. Since the Rio de Janeiro Earth Summit in 1992, there have been many political, economic, and social initiatives for a sustainable development that makes human activities compatible with the ecological limits of the planet. One of the latest and most relevant is the circular economy strategy^[i]^/[ii].

1. The first EU Action Plan for the Circular Economy (2015)^[iii]

The current model of production and consumption follows a linear sequence. It is based on the extraction of natural resources, the mass manufacture of products, the over-consumption of short-lived products and the generation of a huge amount of waste that is either incinerated or landfilled. Growth policies encourage the demand for more and more products, so that a country’s economy grows when its consumption and production increase.^[iv]

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Editorial of February 2022

On February 3, 2022February 4, 2022 By revistaunioIn EditorialsLeave a comment

By Sandra Fernandes (Professor at UMinho - School of Management and Economics /Researcher of the CICP)

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Making the Europeans visible again: on the Ukrainian-Russian crisis

The world has its eyes turned to the uncertain faith of Ukraine, a country whose geopolitical situation has settled as an “in-between” State in post-soviet Europe. Since the annexation-reintegration of Crimea in 2014, and the war in Donbass and Luhansk, Kiev has de facto lost sovereignty over parts of its territory. The growing mobilization of Russian military resources at the Ukrainian border since 2021 has escalated the crisis, together with straightforward Russian demands on a new security pact for Europe with less NATO.

In this context, the media have been underlying that the European Union (EU) and the Ukrainians themselves are the noticeable absents from the tentative dialogues amid the diplomatic iron arm that is ongoing between Washington and Moscow. How to make sense of this apparent void? A few days ago, the words of the High Representative/Vice-President of the European Commission, Josep Borrell, helped us in addressing this question.

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Next Generation EU: the empowerment of the Executive(s) and the weakening of the Legislator(s)? A national perspective

On January 24, 2022January 24, 2022 By revistaunioIn EssaysLeave a comment

Pedro Petiz Viana (Master in Law and Informatics from UMinho / LL.M student in European Law at the University of Leiden).

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Von der Leyen: ‘A lot of work ahead of you…’

António Costa: ‘Now I can go to the bank?’

Von der Leyen: ‘You can go to the bank’

News Conference on the approval by the Commission of Portugal’s Recovery Plan, July 2021.

This dialogue summarizes the increased importance of the Commission stemming from Next Generation EU. In the first line, the Commission takes on its technocratic, ‘administrative-executive’ role, guiding the Member States in their path to economic reforms. In the remaining dialogue, the Commission assumes a more political role, as the guardian of the 750 billion euros vault: Von der Leyen, ‘cheque’ in hand, flying across the Union and holding various press conferences, showing the European public that the Commission is the symbol of European funds to come. Alongside the Commission, national governments have also been empowered by NextGenEU, having been tasked with drafting national recovery plans.

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Case C-817/21, Inspecția Judiciară. Compatibility of the organization of an authority competent to carry out the disciplinary investigation of judges, which is under the total control of a single person, with the rules of the rule of law

On January 18, 2022January 18, 2022 By officialblogunioIn Essays1 Comment

Dragoș Călin [Judge at the Bucharest Court of Appeal, Co-President of the Romanian Judges' Forum Association, Director of the Judges' Forum Review (Revista Forumul Judecătorilor)].

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The saga of requests for preliminary rulings by Romanian courts on the rule of law and the independence of judges continues, although, under pressure from the Romanian Constitutional Court’s decisions, ordinary judges have begun to refuse to apply European Union law. Failure to comply with the decisions of the Constitutional Court constitutes a disciplinary violation, a legislative solution that allows total disregard of the decisions of the Court of Justice of the European Union, for fear of disciplinary action. A climate of fear among judges was created by disciplinary actions initiated without any reservations by the Judicial Inspection against the judge of the Pitești Court of Appeal who dared to apply the CJEU decision of 18 May 2021, but also the judges who proposed and/or referred to the CJEU in this case.

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Editorial of January 2022

On January 13, 2022January 13, 2022 By officialblogunioIn EditorialsLeave a comment

By Alessandra Silveira (Editor)

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Talking openly about the federative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the EU integration

Jean Monnet stated that Europe will be forged in crises and will be the sum of the solutions adopted for those crises. Crisis is the natural condition of Europe, and, as in every crisis the EU has survived in recent times – be it the sovereign debt crisis, the migration crisis, or the identity crisis with Brexit – at the beginning of the health crisis the imminent collapse of the EU was again proclaimed. And oddly enough, or not, those who were most critical of the EU’s initial silence were the same ones who traditionally postulate the least possible integration[1].

However, the existential risk at this time was also sensed by politicians and academics unsuspicious of any Euroskepticism – such as Mario Monti, Jacques Delors or Giscard d’Estaing[2] – which made that historical moment especially unique. The public opinion in the various Member States called for concerted EU action in the area of public health, in accordance with its competencies under the TFEU [both shared competencies (Article 4/2/k) and the so-called complementary competencies (Article 6/a), both set out in Article 168 under the heading “public health”], in order to fight a virus that knew no borders, endangered the health and lives of citizens, and threatened to cause an economic crisis of unimaginable proportions, foreseeably more serious than the recession crisis of the 1930s.

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Summaries of judgments: Consorzio Italian Management e Catania Multiservizi and Catania Multiservizi| IS (Illégalité de l’ordonnance de renvoi)

On January 3, 2022January 2, 2022 By officialblogunioIn Summaries of judgments1 Comment

Summaries of judgments made in collaboration with the Portuguese judge and référendaire of the CJEU (Nuno Piçarra and Sophie Perez)

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Judgment of the ECJ (Grand Chamber) of 6 October 2021, Case C-561/19, Consorzio Italian Management and Catania Multiservizi, EU:C:2021:799

Reference for a preliminary ruling – Article 267 TFEU – Scope of the obligation on national courts or tribunals of last instance to make a reference for a preliminary ruling – Exceptions to that obligation – Criteria – Question on the interpretation of EU law raised by the parties to the national proceedings after the Court has given a preliminary ruling in those proceedings – Failure to state the reasons justifying the need for an answer to the questions referred for a preliminary ruling – Partial inadmissibility of the request for a preliminary ruling

Facts

In proceedings between Consorzio Italian Management and Catania Multiservizi SpA, the successful tenderers for a public contract for cleaning services for the national railway infrastructure, and Rete Ferroviaria Italiana SpA, the Consiglio di Stato (Council of State, Italy) made a reference to the ECJ for a preliminary ruling. The ECJ delivered its judgment in 19 April 2018, Consorzio Italian Management and Catania Multiservizi (C‑152/17, EU:C:2018:264). However, the parties to those proceedings asked the Consiglio di Stato to refer other questions for a preliminary ruling.

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Holiday break

On December 27, 2021 By revistaunioIn UncategorizedLeave a comment

By Editorial Board

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Dear readers,

We will be taking a short 1-week break for holidays. We will resume our regular publishing schedule on 3 January 2022.

In the meantime, we are always open to receiving new academic contributions from our readers. If you have an innovative, dynamic, thoughtful piece that you believe would fit in this blog, feel free to send it to us at: unio.cedu@direito.uminho.pt.

If you would like to catch up on some reading on EU matters please check our news, comments, essays, reviews, and case law of the ECJ sections. Do not forget to subscribe to the blog by filling your email on the “FOLLOW THE OFFICIAL BLOG OF UNIO” section in the sidebar so you can be updated on all our latest posts.

Pictures credits: cocoparisienne