European Institute

By Kelsey Fraser and Lauren Gieseke, Editorial Assistants

Within 24 hours of the European Court of Justice’s ruling on the so-called “right to be forgotten,” Google received over 12,000 individual requests for the exclusion of links to personal data from search results. EU citizens can now request the removal of such information via an online form (found here).

By Kelsey Fraser, Editorial Assistant

The upcoming referendum on Scottish independence comes with some unusual rules on voter eligibility.

Under the Referendum Franchise Bill which governs voter eligibility in September’s vote, the voting age for the referendum, and only for the referendum, has been lowered from 18 to 16. ^[1] The pro-“yes for independence” leaders support the younger age eligibility and say that young people, younger than the usual voting age, have the most at stake in determining the future of Scotland.

By Lauren Gieseke, Editorial Assistant

The self-proclaimed Luhansk People's Republic (LPR) has taken a bold and defiant move in its drive for independence from Ukraine by issuing letters to 15 states and entities seeking acknowledgment of LPR “as a sovereign independent state.” This follows a similar request sent to the UN in mid-May which was summarily denied.

By Véran Bérard-Quélin, Editorial Assistant

Last month’s European Parliamentary elections (May 22^nd-25^th) have triggered changes at the top of the European Union’s governing institutions, including the Presidency of the European Commission, the Presidency of the European Council, as well as the Presidency of the European Parliament.