The Commission’s Handbook on Marriages of Convenience

 Alina Tryfonidou, Associate Professor in EU Law, School of Law, University of Reading On 26 September 2014, the Commission published a Handbook(‘Handbook on addressing the issue of alleged marriages of convenience between EU citizens and non-EU nationals in the context of EU law on free movement of EU citizens’) to assist Member States to take action against marriages of convenience between migrant EU citizens and third-country nationals,...

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Mr. Avramopolous goes to Brussels: thoughts on the EP hearing of the new Migration Commissioner

Steve PeersDuring his marathon three-hour hearing today in the European Parliament, the designated Commissioner for migration and home affairs, Dimitris Avramopolous, repeatedly stated his adherence to liberal principles. He strongly supported the continuation of the Schengen system, a liberal approach to asylum and legal migration, and freedom of movement for EU citizens. What was lacking was further detail on how his principles would be put into...

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Posting third-country workers within the EU: the ECJ squares the circle

Amedeo Arena, Assistant Professor of European Law - University of Naples "Federico II" School of LawJudgment of the court (Second Chamber) of 11 September 2014, Essent Energie Productie BV v. Minister van SocialeZaken en Werkgelegenheid, Case C-91/13.The ECJ has repeatedly held that, unlike workers from EU Member States, Turkish nationals are not entitled to freedom of movement within the European Union but can rely only on certain rights in...

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Questions for the would-be home affairs and justice Commissioners

Steve Peers, Emilio de Capitani and Henri LabayleThe would-be Commissioners for immigration and home affairs and Justice will shortly be questioned by Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) in hearings, to determine whether the EP should vote to confirm them in office. MEPs have already asked some written questions and the would-be Commissioners have replied. Since most of the written questions were not very searching (except for a couple of questions...

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Free movement of murderers? EU law aspects of the Alice Gross case

Steve PeersAs British readers of this blog will know, a potential suspect in the disappearance of teenager Alice Gross from her London home is a Latvian man, Arnis Zalkalns, who had a previous conviction for murder in Latvia before moving to the UK. He is now missing and could potentially be in Latvia. This raises obvious questions: how could a convicted murderer move to the UK, without being stopped or detected? And what could now be done to get...

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