UNIO – EU Law Journal

COVID-19-related travel restrictions and mobility rights: A test for international human rights standards and EU citizenship

2021-01-15T16:11:24+00:00

While there is still much that we do not know about COVID-19, it has by now become clear that, far from being “the great equalizer” or a catalyst for international solidarity, the disease is disproportionately impacting the poor and the most vulnerable, fuelling nationalist and xenophobic sentiments, and prompting a resurgence of borders and mobility restrictions all over the globe. Many States have resorted to emergency measures and/or derogated from their international human rights obligations to enjoy more leeway when restricting individual freedoms in their “war” against the pandemic. Mobility rights are among the most impacted by the COVID-19-related measures, with lockdowns, mandatory quarantines, and travel bans. The article discusses the extent to which the EU Member States’ use of their international and EU law prerogatives to close their borders on public health grounds can be considered to have breached international human rights standards and hindered EU citizenship.

Revisiting access to internet as a fundamental right in times of COVID-19

2020-07-30T15:07:06+00:00

The pandemic crisis that we are experiencing today has demonstrated the vulnerability of people with no Internet access. To begin with, during the obligatory quarantine, lots of students did not attend classes because they did not have Internet access. This means that they did not exercise their right to education, a fundamental right in the European Union. Besides that, those who are info-excluded are not able to communicate with anyone or obtain information, which leads to a digital divide problem that brings serial inequalities. It is also known that many people use the Internet to exercise their civil rights and participate in democratic processes, which once more reveals the disadvantages for those who do not have Internet connectivity. The truth is that, nowadays, Internet access is vital for the exercise of other fundamental rights that have to be safeguarded. All of these factors combined are proof of the importance of establishing Internet access as a fundamental right in the European Union.

The impact of disinformation during the COVID-19 pandemic and its regulation by the EU

2020-08-19T18:50:44+00:00

This article aims to point out the main suggestions of regularisation by the European Union of disinformation in the internet. To do so, initially, we will point out what disinformation is and how it became popular through social media. Afterwards, some suggestions for regularization will be listed, along with an assessment of the impact this could have on the fundamental rights of citizens.

Digital contact tracing and data protection: assessing the French and Portuguese applications

2020-08-20T18:31:22+00:00

The rapid outbreak of COVID-19 has necessitated a global response to manage the transmission, spread, and impact of the virus. Many countries started developing digital contact tracing applications to contribute to the process of lifting the restrictions imposed on its citizens. Generally, the protection of personal data is a right that appears in constitutional and legal provisions, and its processing can only be performed under very restricted circumstances, the protection of health being a valid justification. This article focusses on the systems developed as digital contact tracing tools in France (StopCovid) and in Portugal (STAYAWAY COVID), presenting their characteristics and the most relevant aspects concerning the processing of personal data. The most relevant positive characteristics of these systems are their voluntary adoption, their developers’ concern with the people’s security and privacy, and the transparency of their functioning. With the negative characteristics, the most relevant are the restricted interoperability with the systems from other EU countries, and the permanent risk to people’s privacy of collecting lists of contacts and the circumstances of their interactions with other users of the systems.

The justification of the means by the ends in the context of indirect taxation in COVID-19 times – a real catastrophe?

2020-08-24T17:45:35+00:00

The terms in which VAT and customs duties are carried out in the Member States of the European Union are an integral part of the regulatory framework that arises from the European Institutions, specially designed to guarantee the functioning of the Single Market, as a dimension underlying the European project. In the context of COVID-19 – in which the imports of goods necessary for the respective combat and prevention have known and are of particular practical importance –, the Union’s intervention with regard to the taxation of such imports was (and is) necessary to guarantee an appropriate response and garner effective action by Member States. This answer, at least in the context of the indirect taxation, could not be made in several voices, but rather in a single way, in front of a normative plan that, in the case of VAT, is harmonised and which, in the case of customs duties, is uniformed, in a tax integration that seems to move (or should move) towards fullness. Among the various solutions put forward by the Union, of a tax nature, in the pandemic situation, one stands out in particular, of a substantive scope (although others, of an adjective character, having been adopted), which is related to the customs relief and the VAT exemption on the import of necessary goods to combat the effects of COVID-19 in 2020. The highlight is essentially justified by reasons related to its (i) ratio legis, (ii) the corresponding teleology and also (iii) the terms in which Portugal welcomed and developed the measure. This paper will focus on each of these reasons, under the pretext of which the dimensions deemed worthy of special reflection will be addressed, in a perspective that essentially starts from proportionality considerations, aimed at assessing whether the ends justify the means.

Locally decentralised responses to the European recovery: exploring the role of the Euratom Treaty and the ESM

2020-08-09T16:05:23+00:00

The pandemic stressed the key role of sustainable consumption and production patterns and highlighted the role of local systems as key actors of a recovery aiming at enhanced resilience to endogenous and exogenous shocks. Although the Recovery Plan marked a radical shift in the attitude of the EU towards crisis management and allowed for an unprecedented joint financial effort, it might not be enough for tackling the challenges ahead. In this paper we suggest that two instruments should be further explored for this purpose: the Euratom Treaty and the European Stability Mechanism.

Solidarity and responsibility as a framework for the COVID-19 response in the European Union – the European Green Deal is a path?

2020-08-27T22:50:11+00:00

Recognised as an ambitious step, the European Green Deal guides the application of European Union policies not only in the environmental field, but also in other areas that may directly or indirectly interfere with human health and environmental sustainability, with the aim of transforming climate challenges and environmental issues in applicable opportunities. With the COVID-19 crisis, major challenges have emerged and aggravated extant problems in the most varied societies. In the European Union’s context, the impact of the new pandemic stood out, especially at the beginning, showing different responses by the Member States, in a disorderly and isolated way between one border and another, which highlighted when it would be placed in practice. Member States´ solidarity and responsibility to work together towards an economic and social recovery plan is critical in order to keep European project alive. Therefore, in an attempt to reinforce the link between solidarity and responsibility among Member States, the European Union uses the Green Deal to respond to the crisis through a recovery that has common objectives around the sustainability and well-being of its citizens.

World Health Organization guidelines, the COVID-19 pandemic, and transnational law

2020-09-13T15:22:11+00:00

The reflections within this paper discuss the importance of transnational law, following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, considerations are made about the transnational law produced by the World Health Organisation (“WHO”) against COVID-19. Also, an analysis will be made of the central categories and their relationship with the prefix “trans” and transnational law. Subsequently, the WHO as an entity is discussed along with its emergence and performance in the elaboration of a transnational legal framework, which is to be considered when internalising its guidelines by each Member State. In the context of final considerations, it is emphasised that, in addition to the importance that should be attributed to transnational law, the work of WHO, as a transnational actor, practices materialised acts such as transnational law, both in terms of guidance and in connection with public health matters. The methodology used was based on the inductive method, using the bibliographic research.

Editorial

2021-01-15T16:22:38+00:00