A rum situation where it is the legal profession which has held firm, whilst the political and justice systems have simply given way.

But you can't pardon a disbarment.

One Legal Fiction After Another: The Court of Justice judgment on the asylum border procedure in Joined Cases C‑50/24 to C‑56/24 (Danané) Dr. Vasiliki Apatzidou , Associate Tutor at the University of London   Photo credit : Nicolas Economou, via Wikimedia Commons   ...

One legal fiction after another
Analysis of the latest CJEU judgment on the asylum border procedure, by Dr. Vasiliki Apatzidou eulawanalysis.blogspot.com/2026/04/one-...

Zelenskyy makes a big announcement: “We have already reached 10-year agreements with three key countries: Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Qatar. We already have requests from 11 countries – the Middle East and the Gulf, plus we’re also gradually turning our attention to the Caucasus.

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NEW: Downing Street is attempting to demolish the argument from Olly Robbins’ allies that he was prevented by law from telling ministers that Mandelson had failed vetting, ahead of key Commons statement on Monday.

Ireland, the weak link in Europe's defense Irish neutrality, long seen as a guarantee of independence from its former British colonizer, has been eroding under European and Atlantic pressures. After decades of naval weakness, Dublin has committed to strengthening its navy.

Ireland, the weak link in Europe's defense

In case you missed it 👇

New Era for UK-EU Relations? There is a small but growing awareness in London political circles that Brussels sets the terms for UK-EU engagement. From this is coming a slow dawning that a closer relationship allowing the removal

ecipe.org/insights/new...

More than half of Britons support rejoining EU 10 years on from Brexit vote Experts say Labour’s ‘halfway house’ approach risks losing support from progressives and ‘red wall’ voters

“While 61% of all voters supported the government’s current approach to EU relations, only 19% did so “strongly”…

“A full return to the EU was supported by 53% of all voters with support at 83% among Labour voters, 84% Liberal Democrat and 82% Green”
www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

Hungary’s €10bn use-it-or-lose it EU challenge Fast approaching deadline to tap EU cash will be an early test of Péter Magyar’s incoming administration

Hungary’s €10bn use-it-or-lose it EU challenge

www.irishtimes.com/world/europe...

The US and Europe are still stronger together Despite Trump and the war with Iran, Brussels’ interests remain deeply entwined with Washington’s

For the US or Europe to survive the current geoeconomic moment is by creating a new type of alliance -one based not on an asymmetric security relationship, like the post-Nato one after WWII, but as equals, and based on deeper economic and industrial integration
www.ft.com/content/e4c9...

Trump lost his war on Iran, bigly His nonstop bullshitting can't change the facts on the ground.

New in PN: Trump lost his war on Iran, bigly

"The ability of the free press, much less regime propagandists, to grapple with the scale of the loss & its implications is very much in doubt. It’s worth, therefore, laying out the nature of the defeat, who's unwilling to describe it as such, & why."

Péter Magyar maps out grand bargain to reset Hungary’s ties with Brussels Hungary’s new leader is racing against the clock to regain access to billions of euros in EU funds, but must at the same time satisfy many demands from Brussels.

Hungary’s PM-in-waiting Péter Magyar knows exactly what he wants from Brussels, and Brussels knows what it expects from Budapest.

This is where the grand bargain begins.

Tonight I'm thinking of the many Hungarians I've met over the years - many of them abroad against their wishes, many of them queer - who haven't stopped fighting, for sixteen years. For most of us, Orbán was an on-and-off nuisance on TV - at best. For them, he was a constant nightmare.

“Dynamic alignment” with EU rules: Neither unconstitutional nor undemocratic The forthcoming King’s Speech, it is reported, will include a Bill to facilitate “dynamic alignment” with some EU rules, attracting criticism from some politicians that sovereignty regained through…

Typically clear and thorough demolition by @profmarkelliott.bsky.social of the claim that the forthcoming Bill providing for alignment with EU law is constitutionally objectionable. Recommended to lawyers and non-lawyers alike. publiclawforeveryone.com/2026/04/13/t...

Well worth a read if you have any interest in the way in which law inherited from the EU is treated in the UK courts.

With Orbán gone, has the British far right lost its magic money tree? Hungary’s new PM has described his predecessor’s funding of propaganda bodies as criminal and vowed to investigate. This could be bad news for ultraconservatives in the UK – and around the rest of the...

NEW Hungary’s new PM has described Viktor Orbán’s funding of propaganda bodies as criminal and vowed to investigate.

Bad news for ultraconservatives in the UK!

Alice McCool's deep dive into Orban, his propaganda college MCC – and its links to the British right ⏬

www.thenerve.news/p/viktor-orb...

The Brexit delusion is dead – so now Keir Starmer doesn’t need to pretend any more | Rafael Behr To rebuild relations with Europe in a dangerous world, the prime minister needs to win big arguments, not hide behind outdated red lines, says Guardian columnist Rafael Behr

This is right, but I'd go further: winning the domestic argument on the free movement of people is what's needed to unlock anything further than the reset. That means Starmer has to repudiate many of his own arguments on migration.
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

The weird resilience of the EU

www.ft.com/content/927e... via @FT

No state aid ‘free for all’ to ease energy shock, new EU antitrust chief warns Also in this newsletter: UN trade agency chief says Brussels protectionism hurts developing world

No state aid ‘free for all’ to ease energy shock, new EU antitrust chief warns - www.ft.com/content/0061... via @FT

Why Hungary will find it hard to dismantle the Orbán system The country has become beholden to former premier’s oligarchs and Russian interests, experts warn

Magyar will pursue those who “plundered, looted, betrayed, indebted & ruined” the country..but promised to respect the independence of law enforcement agencies,
& Hungary will now allow the Euro Public Prosecution Office to aim at Orbán and associates for the first time
www.ft.com/content/258b...

What happens to Britain's radical right if Orbán loses? Inside the money, power and patronage connecting Hungary and the British right

Link here to piece here open.substack.com/pub/democrac...

A good time to read this excellent @mikegalsworthy.bsky.social piece on why an Orban loss would be (IS!) so important

In France, legislation came into effect recently for all car parks that have over 80 spaces to be covered with solar panels. Estimated to add around 11GW of renewable energy capacity to the national grid. Why not do likewise in Scotland? Braehead, Silverburn, Glasgow Fort etc.

Medical delays and misdiagnoses drive rising death toll in ICE custody ICE facilities’ medical staff repeatedly failed to diagnose critical illnesses and misdiagnosed patients, according to a Chronicle review.

🧵ICE has not just murdered people - in corporation run ICE detention facilities, 48 have died since Trump took office and many survivors have received negligent care.

This deep dive by the @sfchronicle.com will hurt your heart & enrage you.

39 yo Ismael Alaya-Uribe, car wash worker, beloved..

Britain could adopt single market rules without MPs’ vote as part of UK-EU reset Exclusive: Ministers planning new legislation for alignment without full parliamentary scrutiny if in national interest

Experience of Northern Ireland could be relevant here.

Key will be the definition of ‘new’ acts

Parliamentary scrutiny for new EU acts to be added to those subject to dynamic alignment… but not for those ‘amending’ or ‘replacing’ EU acts already applying?

www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

The "Betrayal Brigade" will always be with us, but our very sluggish economy since Brexit, and realisation that right wing authoritarian politics is inherently flawed & inconsistent with liberal free market economies, will enable the UK to realign & effectively rejoin the european mainstream.

Britain could adopt single market rules without MPs’ vote as part of UK-EU reset Exclusive: Ministers planning new legislation for alignment without full parliamentary scrutiny if in national interest

This looks like a return to section 2(2) of the European Communities Act 1972, under which for decades successive governments implemented EU law by secondary legislation. The scope of the power & level of parliamentary scrutiny will be important www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

EU ties €35bn fund release to Hungary’s break with Orbán era Brussels links unfreezing of funds to 27 conditions it expects incoming prime minister Péter Magyar to deliver on

The European Commission has begun “immediate engagement” with Péter Magyar after his landslide win in the Hungarian election, pushing for him to mend ties with Ukraine and start long-demanded reforms to unlock €35bn in frozen EU funds
- www.ft.com/content/7c8b... via @FT

Keir Starmer defends fast-tracking EU rules into UK law Prime minister says mechanism would help cut business costs and bring down prices

Keir Starmer defends fast-tracking EU rules into UK law
The bill..has been attacked by politicians on the right, who until now have been reluctant to refight Brexit battles: polls show that Britain’s exit from the EU is now unpopular with voters
- www.ft.com/content/71e9... via @FT

Can a Member State be expelled or suspended from the EU? Updated overview of Article 7 TEU Professor Steve Peers , University of Essex With the re-election of the Orban government in Hungary, some of its critics are calli...

Some thoughts on the EU law issues arising from the Hungarian elections.

First of all, my earlier blog post on the suspension of EU membership or expulsion from the EU 1/
eulawanalysis.blogspot.com/2022/04/can-...