Our contents explained

EU Law Live publishes a wide range of content written either by members of its Team (News and Insights), Editorial Board (Editorial Comments), its network of Analysts (Analyses), or external authors (Op-Eds and Long Reads), as well audiovisual content in the form of podcasts and webinars.

Analyses are written by our Analysts who are established legal scholars and practitioners. They are short texts (usually 500 words) that explain and briefly assess the significance of a recent EU law development. This may include a ruling that has been delivered by the Court of Justice or General Court (or European Court of Human Rights), a new EU Strategy, proposal, or legislative measure. Analyses are usually published between 24-72 hours of the legal development that is the subject matter.

Op-Eds are written by external authors who are established specialists in their legal field, and are much longer than Analyses (usually a length of 1,000-1,200 words) that include an analysis of a legal development, presentation of the legal and policy framework, the implications of the legal development, and a clearer personal opinion of the author on how a legal issue should be resolved. As with Analyses, Op-Eds are usually published between 24-72 hours of the legal development to which they refer.

Long Reads are longer pieces (1,500 words or more) and they are published in the Weekend Edition. They are much broader and flexible in content: they may have the style of an Op-Ed, but also include interviews, findings of research projects, and a wider range of EU policy measures. They may be thematic and are not strictly tied to a very recent legal development.

Editorial Comments are written by our Editorial Board, the ‘reflection body’ of EU Law Live. They provide commentary on the most significant issues affecting the European Union – such as the rule of law crisis, the COVID-19 pandemic, Brexit and more.

Insights are written by our Team members. They draw together the existing policy and legal framework, combined with the very latest developments in the EU, to provide further background into a recent legal issue. The content that we publish covers a range of Areas of Practice:

Institutional Law: this field is related to EU legislation-making; the role and obligations of EU institutions, agencies and bodies; the internal functioning and the relations between EU institutions, agencies and bodies; the rule of law in the EU; infringement proceedings; transparency and good governance in the EU; EU Staff cases; European Ombudsman matters; EU budgetary matters; European Citizens’ Initiatives; appointments to EU institutions, agencies and bodies.

Competition and State aid: on legislative updates, State aid decisions, mergers and acquisitions that have been approved and investigations that have been opened by the European Commission, and judgments delivered by the Court of Justice and General Court.

Justice and Litigation: this area concerns issues related to EU criminal law (especially extradition law but also cybersecurity law, money laundering and EU fraud prevention) and to procedural law (mainly jurisdictional issues and civil and criminal law matters), including international arbitration issues.

Data, Tech and IP: this section covers legal developments related to data protection, the law and policy of digital technologies, and intellectual property issues.

Human Rights: including issues related to the protection of fundamental rights at the European level, from the perspective of both the Charter of Fundamental Rights and the European Convention on Human Rights.

External Relations and Trade: covering legal developments concerning international agreements between the EU and third countries; EU-imposed sanctions on third countries, some export-import matters; and anti-dumping and anti-subsidy measures.

Employment and Immigration includes social security coordination matters; sector- specific human rights matters (such as equal treatment at work or non-discrimination of migrants); and the law of migration and asylum.

Consumer, Health and Environment: this covers updates from the EU’s Medical Agency, Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, European Food and Safety Authority, and Chemical Agency, as well as on all matters on environmental law, including information from the EU’s Environmental Protection Agency.

Energy and Transport: in this area we cover all relevant developments with an impact in the energy sector, as well as in the fields of air, maritime and land transport (rail and road), including passenger rights and energy and transport infrastructures.

Internal Market: this includes the free movement of goods, persons, services, capital; agricultural law; public procurement; transport law; classification of goods; and product safety – such as marketing authorisations in pharmaceutical sector;

Tax: this area covers direct and indirect EU taxation, as well as certain categories of fiscal measures in the area of trade.

Banking and Finance: updates from the European Central Bank, European Investment Bank, European Banking Authority, the European Securities and Markets Authority, European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority, Single Resolution Board, and matters generally relating to the European Monetary Union and Banking Union and financial institutions are included in this section.

COVID-19: this is a temporary category added in March 2020 to respond to the EU’s new raft of policy and legislative measures to address the COVID-19 crisis.