European Union

Measures the new EU Commission will set out for insurers in the second half of the year risk thwarting policymakers’ efforts to boost Europe’s competitiveness and private funding capacity if not re-calibrated differently, the sector has warned.

Regions cannot authorise the hunting of wolves if their population numbers are still low at the national level, as is the case in Spain's Castilla Leon region, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) said on Monday (29 July), weeks after upholding strict protection measures in Austria.

France suspects members of far-left groups were behind the sabotage of the country's high-speed rail network last week just as the Olympic Games were about to begin, Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said on Monday (29 July).

Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his opposition rival Edmundo Gonzalez were each claiming victory in a presidential election on Monday morning (29 July), after a vote marked by accusations of underhand tactics and isolated incidents of violence.

Perle
Area of Freedom, Security and Justice
Authorisation to reside on the territory of a Member State for the purposes of studies: a Member State may reject an abusive application for authorisation, even if it has not correctly transposed the directive that provides for that option

Banco BPN v BIC Português and Others
Competition
The exchange of information over a period of more than ten years between 14 credit institutions in Portugal could constitute a restriction of competition by object

Ryanair and Laudamotion v Commission
State aid
COVID-19: the Court of Justice confirms the lawfulness of the subordinated loan of €150 million granted by Austria to Austrian Airlines in the summer of 2020

FTI Touristik
Area of Freedom, Security and Justice
A consumer having booked a trip abroad may sue the organiser before the court of the place of his or her domicile

HDI Global
Approximation of laws
Covid-19: the security against a package travel organiser’s insolvency also applies where the traveller has cancelled the trip, prior to the insolvency, due to unavoidable and extraordinary circumstances

Belgian Association of Tax Lawyers and Others
Taxation
Combating aggressive tax planning: the Court upholds the validity of various provisions of the EU directive

ASCEL
Environment and consumers
The wolf cannot be designated as a huntable species at regional level when its conservation status at national level is unfavourable

Alchaster
Arrest warrants issued by the United Kingdom: the Court clarifies the conditions under which they may be executed in the European Union

Valančius
Law governing the institutions
Appointment of EU Judges: A Member State may propose, from among the candidates named on a list drawn up by a national group of independent experts, a candidate other than the best-ranked candidate on that list, provided that the candidate proposed satisfies the requirements laid down by the Treaties

CU
Area of Freedom, Security and Justice
Social assistance: access for third-country nationals who are long-term residents to a social security, social assistance or social protection measure cannot be made conditional on the requirement of having resided in a Member State for at least 10 years

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni vowed on Sunday (28 July) to "relaunch" cooperation with China, signing a three-year action plan during her first official visit to Beijing since taking office.

Britain's government declared the country was "broke and broken" ahead of an assessment of the public finances on Monday which the newly-elected Labour Party will use to blame their predecessors for a 20 billion pound (€23.7 billion) shortfall.

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sunday (28 July) warned the United States that if Washington deployed long-range missiles in Germany then Russia would station similar missiles in striking distance of the West.

Germany's domestic politics has recently stabilised after a turbulent spring. While Europe faces fresh instability, Chancellor Olaf Scholz's coalition government in Germany has taken steps to solidify its position.  

President Tayyip Erdoğan said on Sunday (28 July) that Turkey might enter Israel as it had done in the past in Libya and Nagorno-Karabakh, though he did not spell out what sort of intervention he was suggesting.

Israel's security cabinet on Sunday (28 July) authorized Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government to decide on the "manner and timing" of a response to a rocket strike in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights that killed 12 teenagers and children.