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The European Union’s top court ruled Tuesday that EU countries must identify products made in Israeli settlements on their labels, in a decision welcomed by rights groups but likely to spark anger in Israel. The European Court of Justice said that “foodstuffs originating in the territories occupied by the State of Israel must bear the indication of their territory of origin.” The Luxembourg-based court said when products come from an Israeli settlement, their labeling must provide an “indication of that provenance” so that consumers can make “informed choices” when they shop. The EU has consistently spoken out against Israeli settlement...

Are tolls going to be enforced on private drivers? The German government, along with every car owner in the European Union, will finally get a definitive answer to that question on Tuesday. If the European Court of Justice (ECJ) rules in favor of the tolls, all motorists will be charged to drive on German highways. The fees, known as "vignettes," are to be collected according to the time traveled on the autobahn. For cars registered in Germany, however, owners will get a credit deductible from the motor vehicle tax as compensation, meaning the costs would be offset, and ultimately, Germans...

The European Court of Justice ruled Wednesday morning that the Gaza based Hamas organization would remain on the EU’s group of terrorist groups. …

A Swedish woman has explained her shock at being told during a job interview with Scandinavian airline SAS that she would have to take off her headscarf if she wanted the position. Aye Alhassani, 23, had completed several tests and a group interview before she was invited to an individual interview for the position with the airline. It was during the interview that she was informed SAS has a uniform policy banning the wearing of religious symbols. “At first they were cautious, and I don’t think the interviewer wanted to be straight about it. But eventually, it was clarified that...

Dead workers in Germany have a right to any annual leave which they’ve failed to claim at the time of their death, Europe’s top court ruled on Thursday. In a case brought by a widow from North Rhine-Westphalia, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruled she was entitled to money from her dead husband’s employer for the holiday he had failed to claim. The dead man, named only as Mr. Bollacke, worked for the retailer K+K from August 1998 to November 2010, when he died. …

The European Court of Justice on Wednesday (30 April) rejected a UK legal challenge to plans by eleven countries to set up a financial transactions tax (FTT). The main thrust of London’s opposition to the tax relates to the so-called “residence” and “issuance” principle in the proposed bill, which means that some traders operating outside the FTT-11 would still be liable to pay the levy. The UK, which has the largest financial services sector in the EU, says that it would be hit by the tax as a result. But since the proposal has not been agreed, the UK case...

EU governments were entitled to strike down a 1.7 percent pay rise for EU staff during the economic crisis, the bloc’s top court ruled Tuesday (19 November.) The Luxembourg-based European Court of Justice (ECJ) backed a decision by governments to reject the salary hike to 2011 wages proposed by the European Commission. Under the EU’s staff regulations, the European Commission made an annual proposal on officials’ pay and pensions to governments. … However, the court found that governments were within their rights in 2011 to invoke the “crisis clause” in the regulations allowing them to override the “method” in the...

The European Court of Justice will today issue a legal opinion on a landmark case involving an Irish teacher who claims she was unfairly denied paid adoption or maternity leave following the birth of her child through a surrogacy arrangement. In April 2010, a surrogate mother in California gave birth to a child for the woman, known as Ms. Z, and her husband. Although Ms. Z has healthy ovaries and is otherwise fertile, she has no uterus and cannot support a pregnancy. During the surrogate pregnancy, Ms. Z applied to her school for adoption leave, but was refused paid leave...

EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - The European Court of Justice on Monday (28 June) announced that it would reveal on 13 July its judgement regarding the row between the Commission and member states over the rules that underpin the euro. The case was brought to the Court by the Commission after member states voted last November to suspend disciplinary measures against France and Germany under the Stability and Growth Pact. In late April, legal teams from the Commission and from the Council of member states argued their cases in front of 14 judges at the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg....