A small bombshell on rule of law conditionality from Luxembourg today: Advocate-General Capeta finds in her opinion that Commission was not allowed to unfreeze EU funds to Hungary in December 2023 and proposes that the Court of Justice annul the decision: curia.europa.eu/site/upload/...
Thread:
12.02.2026 10:29 β π 58 π 25 π¬ 2 π 6
Ukrainian skeleton racer disqualified at Olympics for helmet honoring athletes killed in Russia's war
"This is price of our dignity," skeleton racer Vladyslav Heraskevych wrote on X after the IOC's annoucement of his disqualification.
President Volodymyr Zelensky awarded Vladyslav Heraskevych the Order of Freedom on Feb. 12, after the skeleton racer was disqualified from the 2026 Olympics for using a custom helmet depicting Ukrainian athletes killed during Russia's full-scale war.
12.02.2026 15:01 β π 437 π 110 π¬ 9 π 8
"It's not about the messaging, it's literary about the rules and regulations".
Well, IOC, just change the rules and regulations then, and bring them in line with morality and common sense.
And reverse course and let this athlete compete.
It's not that hard.
www.olympics.com/ioc/news/sta...
12.02.2026 12:09 β π 52 π 23 π¬ 6 π 3
Dit
#morality #commonsense
12.02.2026 12:23 β π 132 π 19 π¬ 6 π 0
"It's not about the messaging, it's literary about the rules and regulations".
Well, IOC, just change the rules and regulations then, and bring them in line with morality and common sense.
And reverse course and let this athlete compete.
It's not that hard.
www.olympics.com/ioc/news/sta...
12.02.2026 12:09 β π 52 π 23 π¬ 6 π 3
Must read by @jwmueller-pu.bsky.social
π
07.01.2026 19:40 β π 15 π 5 π¬ 0 π 0
This week we hosted a workshop on the forthcoming Handbook on Article 2 TEU Values (Cambridge UP), edited by yours truly & @jmorijn.bsky.social. Great discussions on structure, methodology & the role of EU foundational values in law & policy. Thanks to all involved! @dimitrispieker.bsky.social
03.12.2025 12:14 β π 1 π 1 π¬ 0 π 0
FC DEMOCRATIE
Aan het warmlopen..
Alle (media)vragen naar mijn Ausputzer, Oscar van Gelderen (oscarvangelderen@gmail.com)
www.vanoorschot.nl/voorjaarsaan...
28.11.2025 08:46 β π 12 π 1 π¬ 0 π 0
FC DEMOCRATIE
Aan het warmlopen..
Alle (media)vragen naar mijn Ausputzer, Oscar van Gelderen (oscarvangelderen@gmail.com)
www.vanoorschot.nl/voorjaarsaan...
28.11.2025 08:46 β π 12 π 1 π¬ 0 π 0
Opinion | In Trumpβs America, Are We Losing Our Democracy?
Donald Trump has wielded power as no previous president has.
The Times editorial board has compiled a list of 12 markers of democratic erosion. The sobering reality is that the United States has regressed, to different degrees, on all 12.
08.11.2025 13:40 β π 27 π 19 π¬ 9 π 2
"Het is voor landen zeker mogelijk om het #EVRM aan te passen, als daarvoor voldoende steun is
Maar het was eerder een zeer bewuste politieke keuze om het Europees Hof voor de Rechten van de Mens, bestaande uit onafhankelijke en onpartijdige rechters, op afstand van nationale politici te plaatsen"
04.11.2025 22:28 β π 4 π 4 π¬ 0 π 0
Conference participation question: Would you agree to attend a symposium on the rule of law in an expert capacity in a situation where the conference organisers have also sought to invite fake judges and pseudo experts in the name of βdialogueβ, βpolitical balanceβ and/or βdiversity of viewsβ?
03.11.2025 08:12 β π 7 π 6 π¬ 4 π 1
πͺπΊβοΈπ΅π± On 2 December, CJEU will hear the case of European judicial associations challenging the Commission's assessment that Poland met the rule of law milestones for unlocking the RRF (recovery fund). Ahead of the hearing, the Court has asked the Polish government an extremely difficult question:
24.10.2025 08:03 β π 22 π 6 π¬ 2 π 2
People are losing faith in democracyβs ability to deliver social progress. But are democracies better than autocracies at promoting economic growth, alleviating poverty, and creating healthier, more educated, and more peaceful societies? On all counts, the answer is yes.
muse.jhu.edu/pub/1/a...
23.10.2025 18:34 β π 3 π 3 π¬ 0 π 0
MEPs approve revised rules for European political parties and foundations | News | European Parliament
Parliament approved new rules to boost transparency, curb foreign interference, and strengthen funding for European political parties and foundations.
π³οΈ MEPs approve revised rules for European political parties and foundations
Parliament approved new rules to boost transparency, curb foreign interference, and strengthen funding for European political parties and foundations.
Details β€΅οΈ www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/pres...
21.10.2025 12:08 β π 6 π 3 π¬ 0 π 1
This probably sounds weird and technical, but it is crucial that EU member states use Article 259 TFEU to challenge democratic and rule of law backsliding in other member states, as I argue in my book.
20.10.2025 10:23 β π 13 π 7 π¬ 1 π 1
πͺπΊβοΈIn the launch webinar of the new strategic litigation project STARLIGHT 2.0 by @democracyreporting.bsky.social / @hertieschool.bsky.social / @hungarianhelsinki.bsky.social listening to @jmorijn.bsky.social talk about how strategic litigation on EU law is a "full contact sport". Savate, then?
20.10.2025 09:34 β π 8 π 1 π¬ 0 π 0
Good questions.
Motion requires government to bring the complaint, but this government is in caretaker mode. So current minister might wait to act until after elections. However, the motion is supported by all mainstream political parties which will likely continue to have a parliamentary majority
19.10.2025 07:06 β π 4 π 0 π¬ 1 π 0
Breaking EU rule of law protection news
Late on Thursday, the NL Parliament, by majority, instructed the NL government to initiate *Article 259 TFEU State-to-State infringement proceedings against Slovakia* over its recent constitutional change to limit LGBTIQ-rights & to deny supremacy of EU law
18.10.2025 15:35 β π 62 π 25 π¬ 2 π 2
Breaking EU rule of law protection news
Late on Thursday, the NL Parliament, by majority, instructed the NL government to initiate *Article 259 TFEU State-to-State infringement proceedings against Slovakia* over its recent constitutional change to limit LGBTIQ-rights & to deny supremacy of EU law
18.10.2025 15:35 β π 62 π 25 π¬ 2 π 2
I would argue the same approach should guide and indeed has guided many law academics in a situation where the rule of law is under systemic threat or attack
cc @alemanno.bsky.social @jmorijn.bsky.social @verfassungsblog.de
16.10.2025 07:41 β π 8 π 4 π¬ 1 π 2
The EU Charter of Fundamental Rights holds the power βto drive real change in courtrooms across Europe, yet it remains underused. Itβs time to change that!
If you are ready to turn rights into action, join us next week for the STARLIGHT 2.0 β launch webinar where we will have π
15.10.2025 08:00 β π 4 π 2 π¬ 1 π 0
Tired most of the time. May or may not be notable. Jsem farmΓ‘ΕskΓ© dΓtΔ z Iowa nynΓ NYer slova: NYTimes, FP, Atlantic, Cosmo, Al Jazeera, Guardian, Playboy, etc. Iowa on the Hudson. http://linktr.ee/andykopsa
Andy at Andy Kopsa dot com
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staff writer @newrepublic.com / author A WOMAN IS AGAINST THE LAW (@littlebrown.bsky.social, 2KTK) + PLAYING THE WHORE (Verso)
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Samensteller en podcastmaker NPO Radio 1. Luister βDe Koningswensβ via NPO Luister of je favoriete podcast-app π»
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Rtd Dutch ambassador + army officer, husband, (grand)father, recreational photographer, amateur genealogist. @voltnederland.futuremadein.eu @volteuropa.bsky.social
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Law Librarian with wanderlust living in Dublin π @biall.org.uk @laibluesky.bsky.social @aslibraries.bsky.social #repealedthe8th #vitaminsea
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SPDEuropa & TheProgressives MEP | NDS-Germany | Handelsausschuss (INTA) -Vorsitzender |Vorsitz CCC|Co-Vorsitz UK Contact Group EP | Tweets:Bernd Lange & Team
CBE.
Previously: UK Labour Party Leader in EurParliament, Yorks&Humber MEP, NEC, ShadowCabinet.
Currently: EM, LME, writing & lecturing
psycholoog, professor, auteur, spreker, idealist | mensen, dieren, natuur, duurzaamheid | je bent wat je doet | mijn ego heeft altijd gelijk | http://roosvonkboeken.nl
Boeken: Uit Koers ('14). De Kleine Heinen ('16). De zaak Tom ('19). Buiten de Lijnen ('19). Uit Koers 2 ('24). Grijs ('25). Reizen is onzin ('25).
En wat ik verder schrijf, plaats ik hier.
www.fheinen.nl
Historian; Author, NYT Bestseller Strongmen; Publisher, Lucid, a Substack newsletter on authoritarianism and threats to democracy; Film & TV Consultant
Professor of Politics, Research Community Lead (School of Social Sciences) @UniOfSurrey. #populism, #EuropeanPolitics, #partyorganisation. Posts=my views.
Regius Professor of Law at the University of Glasgow School of Law. Nothing should be inferred from the absence of unnecessary disclaimers on this profile.
π΅πΈ international legal philosopher PhDβing through π and late stage capitalism πππ
(she/elle)
occasionnellement en franΓ§ais ve iΕler Γ§ok kΓΆtΓΌ gidiyorsa TΓΌrkΓ§e
Journalist, copywriter, teacher. Working in Hungary since 1997.
Writing about climate, environmental and human rights law. Assistant prof in Maynooth University School of Law and Criminology, Ireland. She/her
Bluesky account of the REVEL (Realising European Values and European Law) Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence at Maynooth University School of Law and Criminology. Funded by the European Union (2025-2028).
