European Union

The International Court of Justice’s Advisory Opinion of 2024 on Legal consequences arising from the policies and practices of Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Terrritory, including East Jerusalem has prompted many scholarly comments on third states’ obligations to react to violations of international law by Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT) (notably here and…

Ceuta and Melilla are Spanish Autonomous Cities located on the northern coast of Africa and bordering Morocco. They occupy a singular position within the European legal order. They simultaneously constitute the external borders of Spain, the European Union, and the Schengen Area, making them the only land frontiers between Europe and Africa. For decades, these borders have been…

The paradoxical revival of security guarantees Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 has revived the concept of security guarantees. Their content and scope have been central to scholarly and political debates about Kyiv’s resistance to the Russian aggression (see here and here). Yet, this revival highlights a…

In mid-June 2026, the European Parliament gave its final approval to the amendments to the European Union’s policy on the return of third-country nationals staying irregularly on Union territory. With 418 votes in favour, 218 against, and 30 abstentions, the new Return Regulation, which replaces Directive 2008/115/EC, formally aims to “speed up…