Category: Guest Articles

European Public Policy, Guest Articles

A Critical View on the Treatment of Pushback Allegations by Greek Authorities and the Detention of Asylum Seekers

Guest Author: Ann-Kathrin Grunwald Ann-Kathrin Grunwald studies Law at the University of Bonn with a special interest in European law, international human rights law, and Asylum law.    Introduction According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, “the right to seek and enjoy asylum does not depend on the mode of arrival to a country. People who wish to apply for asylum should be allowed to do so and they should be made aware of their rights and provided legal assistance”.[1] However, looking at Greece’s border and asylum policy, […]

European Public Policy, Guest Articles

Barely addressed but highly important: Migration Camps

Guest Author: Paulina Matt Paulina Matt studies International Relations at the Central European University with a focus on International Political Economy, Development and Refugee Policy.   The new EU Pact on Migration and Asylum offers an ambitious framework for dealing with high immigration numbers. However, it does not dedicate one single sentence to the poor conditions in migration camps. The influx of migrants is a major challenge for the European Union (EU)[i]. In 2020, more than 80 million people were forcibly displaced worldwide[ii], with over 6.6 million living in poor […]

Guest Articles

Is the European Court of Human Rights going too far in expanding the scope of certain rights under the Convention?

Guest author: Margarida Luciano Martins   Introduction In this short paper I intend, to the best of my legal and research abilities, to analyse the issue of the expansion of the scope of some European Convention on Human Rights (henceforth mentioned as ECHR or the Convention) rights by the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR, the Court or the Strasbourg Court), and evaluate whether the Court is overstepping its competences in its evolutive and dynamic approach on human rights protection or if its action is legitimate, in light of international […]

Guest Articles

Women Protesters in Belarus and Poland – the key to change?

Guest Author: Lara Brett Lara Brett is a MA student in Contemporary European Studies at the University of Bath.   2020 was a turbulent time for everyone, but it also saw the amplification of ongoing political upheaval in eastern Europe. In Belarus and Poland, there is growing discord between authoritarian governments and the freedoms demanded by their citizens. In both nations, women have taken a leading role in the protests, but have often faced harsh repercussions. This post aims to highlight the contributions of these female activists in challenging patriarchal […]

European Public Policy, Guest Articles

Making Polluters Pay – Policy Options for an Ambitious Reform of the European Emissions Trading System

Guest Author: Benedikt Heyl Benedikt Heyl is a climate activist with German Zero, developing a concrete plan to make Germany climate neutral by 2035. He is a member of the Green Youth in Germany and studies theoretical physics at the University of Amsterdam.   The damages that the release of greenhouse gases causes to society as a whole are in crass contrast to the little repercussions that polluters experience for emitting them. To close this gap the European Emissions Trading System (ETS) was formed. Owners of selected point sources of […]