Category Archives: Europe

Don Quijones: Wall Street Mega-Landlord Blackstone Turns Screw on Spanish Government & Property Market

Blackstone is a major operator in the Spanish property market. This post discusses the Spanish government’s plans to enact modest protections for tenants by reforming rent laws. Will the government respond to tenant needs, or give way to the private equity firm’s implicit threat to reduce its Spanish property investments? Alas, it looks likely that the government will fail to deliver on its reform pledge.

Brexit Is an Issue Too Deep To Go Away: It Will Be the Theme of English Politics for Decades to Come

Musings about what Brexit will mean to the British people.

Brexit: More Thrashing About

Expect Brexit craziness to get even worse.

‘We Are Not Robots’: Amazon Workers Walk out on Black Friday over Low Wages and ‘Inhuman Conditions’

The Amazon strikes in Spain, Italy, France, the United Kingdom, and Germany.

Uncertainty and Legal Institutions: The Impact of the Brexit Vote on EU Law Application in the UK

How Brexit is already affecting UK jurisprudence.

Brexit: Even More Confusion

Brexit politics have become even more deranged.

Labour MPs Should Vote Against Theresa May’s Brexit Deal. It Is a Poison Pill

Labour wants to play a game of chicken with May over Brexit.

Brexit: May at Her Marks to Run a Gauntlet. Update: Cabinet Approves Draft Agreement

Brexit spectacle is about to kick into a higher gear.

Brexit: A State Change Nigh? Updated: UK and EU Said to Reach Agreement; Key MPs Denounce It

If May does not get her vaunted Brexit breakthrough this Wednesday, the UK will have to start passing “no deal” emergency legislation and laying out funds for preparation. Expect the dial to go to 11 if that happens.

Brexit Dithering and a Labour Push for Revocation?

More Brexit motion, but progress is likely a very different matter.

How UK (and US) Surveillance Creates Havoc for Personal Data Movement Post Brexit

The UK’s surveillance state poses legal problems for the legality of personal data transfers to it post Brexit, and the UK and EU are not close to having a solution.

Northern Ireland Constitutional Settlement: A Brexit Booby Trap?

Why Northern Ireland poses even bigger hurdles to reaching a Brexit deal than you thought.

Brexit: Even More Noise in the Signal

Rumors of Brexit progress seem to be greatly exaggerated.

Plastic Watch: Five Flaws in the EU’s Single-Use Plastics Plan

Plastic Watch: The European Parliament recently approved a plan that will ban outright certain single-use plastics. Alas, these measures fall far short of what’s necessary, both in timing and scope, to address the burgeoning plastic crisis. And they would only apply to the EU.

Yanis Varoufakis: How the Italian Budget Fight Helps Brussels and Salvini, Hurts Europeans and the Eurozone

Contrary to popular perception, Brussels and the Italian government come out ahead from sparring over Italy’s budget, and what works for them does not work for much of anyone else.