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JUNE 2016: STATEWATCHING
EUROPE: European conference marking Statewatch's 25th anniversary
Statewatch Observatory: Refugee crisis in the Med and inside
the EU - a humanitarian emergency: Daily news and document updates
EU: Childrens' rights: EU
strengthens rights of children in criminal proceedings Press release, pdf)
and Full
text of the Directive (pdf)
German
court: anti-terror laws partially unconstitutional (DW, link) : See Court
Press release:
Constitutional Complaints Against the Investigative Powers of
the Federal Criminal Police Office for Fighting International
Terrorism Partially Successful (link) and Decision (link, German)
On 20 April,
the German Constitutional Court declared in a landmark decision
surveillance powers of the Federal Criminal Police Office (Bundeskriminalamt
- BKA) and provisions for information exchange partly unconstitutional.
The powers at
stake were introduced in 2008 in order to expand the mandate
of the BKA in the field counterterrorism. It authorised among
others bugging of homes, online searches of computers and covert
interception of communication for the purpose of preempting terrorism.
Before, only German state police forces had the mandate of crime
prevention. Therefore, critics feared the emergence of a German
FBI. Although the constitutional court did not scrap the new
powers at all, the judges limited their scope and called for
precise regulation, the protection of intimate information, better
oversight and more transparency.
Moreover, the
judges limit both domestic and international information exchange
by the BKA and call for adequate data protection standards in
foreign non-EU countries as a prerequisite for data transfers
by the BKA. The BKA Act is now to be revised in summer 2018 but
is it clear that the decision of the Court is also a message
to the intelligence agencies and their information sharing with
the NSA and other partners.
Council
of Europe condemns EU's refugee deal with Turkey (Guardian, link):
"Human rights body says agreement at worst breaks international
law and progress on integrating refugees is ‘shamefully
slow’... The EU-Turkey agreement “at best strains
and at worst exceeds the limits of what is permissible under
European and international law”, states the report by
the Dutch parliamentarian Tineke Strik. “Even on paper,
it raises many serious questions of compatibility with basic
norms on refugees’ and migrants’ rights. It has so
far given every indication of being even more problematic in
practice.”" [emphasis added]
And see Report:
The
situation of refugees and migrants under the EU-Turkey Agreement
of 18 March 2016 (pdf): Report: Committee on Migration, Refugees
and Displaced Persons Rapporteur: Ms Tineke STRIK, Netherlands,
Socialist Group and Press
release
(link)
EU: Legal Analysis: Migrants in Greece are
denied the rights to international protection and family unity.
The visit to the camps in Idomeni and government-run camps, and
a legal analysis of the situation we observed. (pdf) prepared by ASGI,
Italy
"A delegation
of eight participants in the course of the “Advanced training
school for legal operators specialised in international protection”
organised by ASGI in Rome alongside legal operators from the
ADL Zavidovici association, the K-Pax cooperative, the Idea Prisma
82 cooperative and the Alternata cooperative travelled to Greece
within the framework of the #overthefortress caravan organised
by Melting Pot and the Ambasciata dei Diritti delle Marche to
observe the legal conditions of migrants in the camp in Idomeni
and the government-run camps in the vicinity. The monitoring
was also carried out with the help of mediators from the caravan.
On 26 and 27 March, we visited the Idomeni camp and interviewed
the foreign citizens who were there, as well as some international
organisations."
Translation by
Statewatch. The original version (in Italian) of the report "Idomeni,
un'analisi giuridica sui diritti negati ai migranti" is available on the
ASGI website
EU: Justice and Home Affairs Council, 21 April, Luxembourg:
"B" Points Agenda (for discussion, pdf) ; "A"
Points Agenda
(adopted without discussion, pdf)
Background Note (pdf): Includes: European Border Guard,
IT systems for Security and Borders, Databases (Ministers will
also discuss the systematic feeding and consistent use of European
and international databases), Reform of the Common European Asylum
System and Migration (Home affairs ministers will hold an exchange
of views on several migration-related issues, and in particular
Syrian
children shot dead by Turkish border guards (Times, link)::"Eight
Syrians, most of them women and children, have been killed by
Turkish border guards while fleeing their war-torn homeland.
The group was trying to cross into Turkey via a mountain smuggling
route at the western end of the frontier when they were pushed
back by Turkish forces firing live rounds. Mobile phone footage
obtained by The Times shows a man carrying his young son, who
has been shot in both legs, back down the winding mountain path
in the hope of reaching medical help..." and Turkish
border guards shoot DEAD eight Syrians including women and children
as they try to flee their war-torn homeland (Daily Mail, link)
Refugee
crisis: latest news from across Europe (20.4.16)
EU: Commission (20.4,16):
- Managing
the Refugee Crisis: Commission reports on implementation of EU-Turkey
Statement
(Press release, pdf)
- First
Report on the progress made in the implementation of the EU-Turkey
Statement
(COM 231-16, pdf)
- Annex
to Com 231-16: funding (pdf)
- Implementing
the EU-Turkey Agreement – Questions and Answers (pdf)
- Operational
implementation of the EU-Turkey Agreement including number of
"returns" (pdf)
Refugee crisis: Statewatch: State of Play: Commission
statistics
(dated 18 April 2016): Hotspots, Returns, Pledges and Civil Protection
the implementation
of the 17-18 March 2016 European Council conclusions and the
implementation of the EU-Turkey statement of 18 March 2016).
Refugee
crisis: latest news from across Europe (19.4.16)
Death by Rescue: THE LETHAL EFFECTS OF THE EU’S
POLICIES OF NON-ASSISTANCE
(full
report, link) and Foreword: DEATH BY
(FAILURE TO) RESCUE (link) by by Barbara Spinelli, Member of the European
Parliament (European United Left/Nordic Green Left Parliamentary
Group):
"Looking
back—as the Forensic Oceanography report requires us to
do—we have an idea of how in just two and a half years,
we have passed from hypocritical declarations on Lampedusa to
active indifference in front of the 350 children drowned at sea
following the death of Alan Kurdi, as if this were a natural
catastrophe that does not affect the political sphere. The more
European institutions have talked about rights and humanity,
the more they have proceeded towards a subtraction of means,
personnel, financial assistance for search and rescue, engaging
in agreements with Third Countries not reliable from the point
of view of respect for fundamental rights (the Rabat and Karthoum
processes) and in the deliberate and shameless outsourcing of
refoulement culminating in the EU-Turkey agreement."
EU/Greece:
First Turkey Deportations Riddled With Abuse (HRW, link):
"The
first round of European Union-sanctioned deportations of 66 people
from the Greek island of Chios to Turkey on April 4, 2016 was
rushed, chaotic, and violated the rights of those deported, Human
Rights Watch said today. In Turkey, the detained deportees lost
contact with family and friends held in Greece, and Turkish authorities
have not allowed visits by rights groups or the United Nations.
“In the
mad dash to start the deportations deal with Turkey, the European
Union and Greece tossed rights to the wind, including for people
who wanted to seek asylum,” said Fred Abrahams, Human Rights
Watch associate director for program. “The abusive deportations
expose the fundamental flaws in the EU’s expedited mass
returns to a country that cannot be considered safe.”
Article
29 Working Party Delivers Its Opinion on the EU-U.S. Privacy
Shield
(Covington, link): Useful summary.
EU-LIBYA-MED:
Council
conclusions on Libya (pdf): "The EU stands ready to offer security
sector support in response to possible GNA requests. Should a
Libyan request be forthcoming and following consultations with
the Libyans, a possible civilian CSDP mission could support
Libyan efforts inter alia through advice and capacity building
in the fields of police and criminal justice including on counter-terrorism,
border management, countering irregular migration and smuggling
of migrants and trafficking of human beings, as part of broader
Security Sector Reform support. This possible mission could
draw upon the existing planning capacity of EUBAM Libya. In addition
to the possible civilian mission, further consideration will
also be given to support that can be provided through EUNAVFOR
MED Sophia, by enhancing its capacity to disrupt the business
model of human smugglers and trafficking networks and to contribute
to broader security in support to the legitimate Libyan authorities,
for example through potential capacity building for the Libyan
Coastguard, and the implementation of international law."
See: EU
set to upgrade naval mission in Mediterranean (FT, link): "Europe’s
governments signalled they are ready to expand the role of an
EU naval mission in the Mediterranean, as the bloc braces itself
for an expected surge in the number of asylum seekers seeking
to make the dangerous sea crossing from north Africa. The EU
is under pressure to find solutions ahead of a likely influx
this summer of people setting off for Europe from the coast of
Libya and neighbouring countries." and: EU
navies prepare to start work in Libyan waters (euobserver, link):
"The EU is to make plans for posting security experts
to Libya and for moving its naval operation into Libyan waters
following initial talks with the country’s new government.
"
EU
leaders 'killing migrants by neglect' after cutting Mediterranean
rescue missions (The Independent, link): "EU policymakers
are guilty of "killing by neglect" by cutting rescue
missions in the Mediterranean - potentially costing the lives
of more than 1,500 refugees, according to a report.
The Italy-led
search and rescue mission, Mare Nostrum, ended in October 2014
and was replaced by Triton, which deployed fewer ships and prioritised
deterring migrants over rescue operations, the report says."
See: New
evidence proves EU policymakers knew reduced search-and-rescue
operation would cause mass migrant deaths (press release, pdf):
"A new investigation accuses EU policymakers of “killing
by neglect” after cutting rescue missions in the Mediterranean
in full knowledge of the lethal consequences of their actions.
Meeting transcripts and documents unearthed in a report from
Goldsmiths, University of London and the University of York show
that the EU border agency Frontex’s own internal assessment
of replacing Mare Nostrum with Triton predicted increased deaths
at sea, but the policy was introduced anyway.
And: Summary
of report: Death by Rescue - The lethal effects of the EU's policies
of non-assistance at sea (pdf) and Embargoed Press Release:
"Death
by Rescue": EMBARGOED until 00:01 Monday 18 April - Full
report available on request
The report
will be launched on Monday 18 April at 6pm at The Mosaic Rooms,
226 Cromwell Road, SW5 0SW London. For
details and to book a ticket click here.
EU: Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP): migration control
to take more prominence in overseas missions
A paper produced
by the European External Action Service in February 2016 provides
an overview of current CFSP missions and sets out possibilities
for their future development. Key issues are ensuring that missions
take into account the requirements of EU migration and counter-terrorism
policy, and the paper notes overall that: "there will
likely be needs to intensify CFSP actions in support of Third
States, either via projects implemented by civilian CSDP missions
or through dedicated CFSP projects. This will also require additional
staffing, skills and expertise in project management." Several
hundred million euros are currently available for ongoing and
future CSDP missions.
See: European
External Action Service, CFSP
budget orientations for 2016 and 2017 (doc. 6383/16, 22 February 2016, pdf)
and COR
1
(pdf)
Information
exchange for internal security: Council documents
Documents from
recent discussions within the Council on how to improve information
exchange amongst Europe's law enforcement authorities. The issue
has come to the fore (again) following recent terrorist attacks
and the movement of refugees towards and within Europe.
Refugee
crisis: latest news from across Europe (16-17.4.16)
ECHR case opened against Macedonia and Greece: Are
You Sryious
(link)
"European
Court of Human Rights opened up the case against Macedonia and
Greece for last Sunday's tergas bombing, plastic bullet shooting
and torturous unannounced military exercise yesterday –
all of it at Idomeni Camp. They still did not find room for indicating
an urgent measure at this point. The applicants, women fleeing
war alone with their children, in their majority, are invited
to complete their submissions by May 9th."
Italy
proposes 'migration compact' to EU (ANSA, link): " Italy has sent
a wide-ranging 'migration compact' to the presidents of the European
Commission and the European Council, Jean-Claude Juncker and
Donald Tusk, to cut migrant flows, EU sources said Friday. "
See: Italian
Italian
Non-Paper: MIGRATION COMPACT: Contribution to an EU strategy
for external action on migration (pdf): Like current EU policy it avoids
the issue of "safe countries" to use forced returns
to or states where EU-funded: "reception centres" (open
or closed?) are set up.
Frontex
launches talks on possible use of remote piloted aircraft systems (link):
"This
week, Frontex launched discussions with industry representatives
about a possible use of remote piloted aircraft systems (RPAS)
for maritime border surveillance and the potential for industry
to provide these kinds of services to Frontex.
While at the
moment there is no European legislation that allows the
use of remotely piloted aircraft in shared airspace, the preliminary
discussions were meant to explore the feasibility of extending
the pool of assets providing aerial surveillance services
to include medium altitude long endurance RPAS." [emphasis added]
Tony Bunyan,
Statewatch Director, comments: "I'm sure the "industry"
will be very interested in extending its markets.But is Frontex
going to consult more widely on the desirability and ethics of
using drones to police EU sea borders to exclude people fleeing
from war, persecution, poverty and climate change or is it just
a practical question of whether they can be supplied?"
Council
of Europe urges states to protect whistleblowers and journalists (link):A recommendation
adopted on 13 April 2016 by the Committee of Ministers of the
Council of Europe (CoE) defined a series of guidelines to ensure
the safety of journalists in the 47 member countries: See Recommendation (link)
Refugee
crisis: latest news from across Europe (15.4.16)
EU:
Council of the European Union: New asylum policy,
EU-Turkey resettlement and Visa Code
- Discussion
paper on Commission Communication "Towards a reform of the
Common European Asylum System and enhancing legal avenues to
Europe"
(LIMITE doc no: 7861-16, pdf): Discussion on Commission's new
asylum paper.
- Draft
Council Decision amending Council Decision (EU) 2015/1601 of
22 September 2015 establishing provisional measures in the area
of international protection for the benefit of Italy and Greece (LIMITE doc no: 7500-16,
pdf) Resettlement issues -EU-Turkey plan
- Proposal
for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council
on the Union code on Visas (Visa Code) (recast) - mandate for
negotiations with the European Parliament (LIMITE doc no: 7714-16,
pdf) Council deal on visa code, no humanitarian clause. Only
benefits states agreeing readmission deals
Migrant
numbers dwindle as EU-Turkey deal proceeds (Daily Sabah TUrkey,
link): "The latest figures show that Turkish law enforcement
captured more than 1,500 smuggling suspects in 2015, 400 suspects
have been arrested so far in 2016 and that more than 65,000
migrants have been intercepted at sea and land by security forces
since January."
Refugee
crisis: latest news from across Europe (14.4.16)
Another bad day for rights and privacy: European Parliament:
Parliament
backs EU directive on use of Passenger Name Records (PNR) (pdf): The text was approved
by 461 votes to 179, with 9 abstentions.
"The
new directive regulating the use of Passenger Name Record (PNR)
data in the EU for the prevention, detection, investigation and
prosecution of terrorist offences and serious crime was approved
by Parliament on Thursday. It will oblige airlines to hand national
authorities passengers' data for all flights from third countries
to the EU and vice versa."
The Press release
is disingenuous: It says: "member states could also
extend it to “intra-EU” ones (i.e. from an EU country
to one or more other EU countries), provided that they notify
the EU Commission" As Statewatch reported in December:
Member States circulated a Note following the Justiice and Home
affairs Council of 3-4 December 2015:
"Draft
declaration by the Member States to the minutes of the Council:
"Article 1a of the PNR Directive allows Member States that
so wish to apply it to intra-EU flights on a voluntary basis,
upon notice to the Commission to that end. Considering the current
security situation in Europe, *Member States declare that by
the date of transposition provided for in Article 15 they will
make full use of the possibility provided for by Article 1a under
the conditions set by the Directive."
See: EU-PNR:
European Parliament has "egg on its face"
Top reports
See: Resources
for researchers: Statewatch Analyses: 1999-ongoing
SECILE Project:
Borderline: The EU's New Border Surveillance Initiatives:
Assessing the Costs and Fundamental Rights Implications of EUROSUR
and the "Smart Borders" Proposals (pdf) A study by the
Heinrich Böll Foundation. Written by Dr. Ben Hayes and Mathias
Vermeulen: "Unable to tackle the root of the problem,
the member states are upgrading the Union’s external borders.
Such a highly parochial approach taken to a massive scale threatens
some of the EU’s fundamental values - under the pretence
that one’s own interests are at stake. Such an approach
borders on the inhumane."
How the EU works and justice and home
affairs decision-making (pdf)
Statewatch's
20th Anniversary Conference, June 2011: Statewatch
conference speeches
TNI/Statewatch:
Counter-terrorism,
'policy laundering' and the FATF - legalising surveillance, regulating
civil society
(pdf) by Ben Hayes
Statewatch publication:
Guide
to EU decision-making and justice and home affairs after the
Lisbon Treaty
(pdf) by Steve Peers, Professor of Law, University of Essex,
with additional material by Tony Bunyan
Neoconopticon: the EU security-industrial
complex
(pdf) by Ben Hayes
The Shape of Things to Come (pdf) by Tony Bunyan
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