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Can we expect Europe’s courts to dispense impartial justice? |
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To expect European courts to dispense impartial, dispassionate justice is somewhat naive. |
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The European Court of Justice, for example, has supported the drive towards greater European Union federalism in many of verdicts since its inception. It is inherently biased towards taking power from nation-states and giving it to Brussels; judges are hardly going to bite the hand that feeds them.
Hitherto, though, these biases have been subtle and hidden. Today, the gloves are off.
It seems blatantly obvious to me that the European Commission — the bloc’s top regulator — freely uses legal probes to attack governments it does not like.
Poland is a good case in point. The European Commission claimed Poland’s courts were dangerously biased when a Euro-sceptic government was in power. Now that a pro-European government is at the helm, everything is fine and EC probes are history.
But, as our Poland correspondent Krzysztof Mularczyk reports, rulings are still far from impartial. The decision by a Warsaw court to revoke the terrestrial broadcasting licences of two independent broadcasters looks have been based on flimsy evidence indeed.
Krzysztof has interviewed the founder of one of the broadcasters concerned, who pointed out that “Liberal media journalists” were “fraternising openly with the judge and cheering the verdict” — not a good sign in a well-oiled democracy. You can watch Krzysztof’s interview here.
There have of late been many examples of politically motivated judgments in Europe. French judges attempted to prevent Marine Le Pen from standing in the next presidential election by removing her right to appeal — a step too far even for many of her opponents.
As for Romania, not even the establishment-friendly Bucharest media believes the court justification that prevented leading candidate Călin Georgescu from standing in presidential elections there (I’ve conducted an informal survey here in Brussels).
Do those who cheer on the judges who hand down verdicts against their opponents not realise that the shoe could soon be on the other foot?
The notion that you can somehow temporarily suspend democracy in order to save it is oxymoronic (and moronic) outside of wars.
Some European leaders would have you believe that we are already at war (with Russia, in case you missed it) and that anything is justified to keep opponents at bay.
We should oppose these warmongers, their unjustified authoritarian drift and their manipulation of the courts.
Judges — and journalists! — should at least try to be impartial, for the sake of society at large.
Take care,
Justin Stares |
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Krzysztof Mularczyk |
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A Warsaw court has revoked the terrestrial broadcasting licences of two independent broadcasters, TV Republlika and wPolsce 24. The pair have been the two fastest growing news channels in Poland, with the court decision on April 10 coming in the middle of a presidential election campaign. |
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Konstantinos Bogdanos |
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Here we go again. The Liberal West, that self-anointed guardian of liberty, is dusting off its cape for a grand Ukrainian encore. In essence, it has all but lost the war. But as far as appearances are concerned, it pretends that the mission is accomplished. |
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Commentary Of The Day |
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Karl Pfefferkorn |
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Europe pays regular obeisance to remembering “the lessons of the past”. Meaning, of course, the enormity of the Nazi years, which serves both to discipline the political ambitions of an economically dominant Germany and obscure the lesser crimes against humanity committed by her European Union partners. Atrocities in the Belgian Congo, French Indochina or Spanish Peru can be safely hidden in the dark shadow of Auschwitz and so Europe is happy to concede to the Germans the role of star pupil in recalling its particular lessons of the past. In the latest iteration of this ritual, incoming chancellor Friedrich Merz maintained the firewall against the AfD, regarded by him and all respectable Germans as Russian proxies, a danger to constitutional government and a likely reincarnation of fascism. |
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'President Trump has a non-diplomatic negotiating style' |
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UK Government scrambles to secure raw material needed to keep Britain's last two blast furnaces capable of producing virgin steel |
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Carl Deconinck |
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In Finland’s municipal and regional elections, the Social Democratic Party (SDP) emerged as the strongest party, increasing its vote share compared to the 2021 municipal contest. |
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Chris Gattringer |
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The number of European travellers going to the US has fallen as political and economic tensions have risen under the administration of US President Donald Trump. |
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Anne-Laure Dufeal |
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A rise in both online and physical attacks has threatened France’s defence industry, according to Général Philippe Susnjara, director of the French Government’s Defence Intelligence and Security agency (DRSD). |
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Krzysztof Mularczyk |
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Poland’s government-controlled television broadcaster TVP has been accused of participating in a presidential debate from which five candidates were excluded, leading to threats of legal action that could see the upcoming election invalidated. |
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On this day, a German adventurer became king of a European island. Do you know where? |
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For the answer, check back in the next Brussels Calling.
As for our previous question:
On this day, a famous volcano eruption took place. Do you know where?
On April 14, 2010, the Eyjafjallajökull, located in Iceland, erupted, causing worldwide effects.
The ash cloud from the eruption caused the largest air-traffic shutdown since the Second World War. More than 100,000 flights were cancelled, affecting in excess 10 million travellers across Europe.
Unlike lava eruptions, this one blasted fine volcanic ash high into the atmosphere, which spread over much of Europe due to favourable wind conditions. This ash can damage jet engines, which is why flights were grounded.
Eyjafjallajökull is a stratovolcano, a tall, cone-shaped volcano built up by many layers of hardened lava, ash and volcanic rocks from past eruptions and is covered by a glacier. The heat from the eruption caused rapid melting, triggering floods (called jökulhlaups in Icelandic) and impacting nearby infrastructure.
Etymologically, Eyjafjallajökull means "glacier of the island mountains".
Despite being a relatively small volcano by global standards, its location under ice and unique eruption style made it disproportionately disruptive.
Remarkably, no lives were lost during the eruption. Authorities quickly evacuated nearby areas and closely monitored the volcano's behaviour, showcasing excellent disaster preparedness.
For those who want to try, the phonetic spelling (IPA) of the volcano is /ˈɛɪjəfjætlaˌjœːkʏtl̥/. Easier English Approximation: AY-yah-fyat-lah-yuh-kutl.
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Zelensky urges Trump to view devastation in Ukraine caused by Russia’s invasion. Hungary has passed a constitutional amendment to ban LGBTQ+ public events. Association of Mayors of France will boycott PM François Bayrou's conference on public finances. |
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