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Observatory : Refugee
crisis in the Med and in the EU
EU: Council
of the European Union: Proposal
for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council
on combating terrorism and replacing Council Framework Decision
2002/475/JHA on combating terrorism - Follow up of the third
trilogue of 28 September 2016 (LIMITE doc no:12736-26, 99 pages, pdf):
Multi-column document with the Commission proposal, the Council
and European Parliament positions and the "Compromise"
position
"Changes introduced by
the GA [Council agreed "General Approach] are marked in
bold, changes introduced by the EP are marked in bold
italic; new text is marked in bold underlined."
Refugee
crisis: latest news from across Europe (10-11.10.16)
UK: Migrants
plan day of action to highlight contribution to Britain - One
Day Without Us will include labour boycott to protest against
rising racism and xenophobia (Guardian, link):
"Plans
for the event, called One Day Without Us, include a labour boycott
to show how important migrants are to the UK workforce.
Organiser
Matt Carr, a writer and commentator, has urged migrants and their
supporters to join in the day of action on 20 February 2017.
He said the trigger for the event was profound concern about
worsening attitudes to migrants in the UK.
Carr said
he believed that those who voted against Brexit, and also many
of those who voted in favour of it, were alarmed at the levels
of racism and xenophobia that had manifested before and after
the referendum vote.
“We want
to make this an inclusive event,’’ Carr said. “We
realise that because of the legal constraints on striking, many
workers will not be able to take formal strike action. However,
they can choose to support this event simply by taking the day
off work.”"
EU-USA
JHA Senior Officials meeting 8-9 September 2016
- US offers to
help with terrorist intelligence on "special interest aliens', irregularly migrating
foreigners born in countries close to the crime-terrorism nexus"
- EU proposal to "impose temporary visa requirement for
US nationals" went down like a lead balloon
- The US Judicial Redress Act would not come into effect until
the "Umbrella Agreement" on the exchange of personal
data is adopted
See: Outcome
of the EU – US Justice and Home Affairs Senior Officials
Meeting, Bratislava, 8-9 September 2016 (LIMITE doc no: 12385-16, pdf)
Greece: FORGOTTEN:
Administratively detained irregular migrants and asylum seekers (Aitima, pdf) and Summary (pdf):
"In the
Hellenic Police Departments there are serious long-standing systemic
problems:
• Lack of an individualized approach based on the characteristics,
the situation and the needs of foreign nationals who are under
arrest
• Lack of use of alternatives to detention
• Systematic, unjustified detention of dubious legitimacy
on the grounds of public order
• Detention of individuals whose removal violates the principle
of non-refoulement
• Detention for a period longer than six months..."
(and
more)
Council of the European
Union: European
Public Prosecutor's Office
Current documents
under discussion and the latest Consolidated version of the propose
Regulation.
Refugee
crisis: latest news from across Europe (8-9.10.16) inc Taxi drivers not "smugglers"
UK: Lists,
lists of foreigners, lists of foreign born people (Michael Rosen, link):
"Lists
Lists of foreigners
Lists of foreign born people living and working alongside those
not on lists
Lists of children sitting alongside children not on lists
Lists to be sent in to government departments
Lists of names, addresses that can pass from official to official
from department to department so that what starts out as 'information'
drifts into ways of saying to those on the lists that they should
have less they should have no guarantees of the right to work
or live alongside or amongst those not on the lists.....".
[and
click link to see more]
See: Proposals
on lists of foreign workers cause outcry - Economists see little
to link migration and unemployment (FT, link) and: LSE
foreign academics told they will not be asked to advise UK on
Brexit - Experts question legality under anti-discrimination
laws as senior politicians criticise move as ‘baffling’ (Guardian, link)
Refugee
crisis: latest news from across Europe (7.10.16)
Council of
Europe: UK
urged to improve protection of child victims of human trafficking (link):
"The
Council of Europe’s Group of Experts on Action against Trafficking
in Human Beings (GRETA) has urged the United Kingdom to improve
the identification and protection of child victims of trafficking,
expressing particular concern about children going missing from
local authority care.
“Despite
many positive developments in recent years, estimates suggest
that up 60% of children who have potentially been trafficked
are still going missing from local authority care in the UK,
usually within 48 hours of being placed in care and before being
formally recognised as victims.
“Children
who go missing in one part of the UK can also end up being trafficked
and exploited in another part of the country, without any connection
being made” said GRETA President Nicolas Le Coz.
GRETA’s
second
report
on the UK’s implementation of the Council of Europe convention
on human trafficking says that progress has been made in a number
of areas since 2012, notably including the adoption of dedicated,
comprehensive legislation on human trafficking/modern slavery."
GREECE: Prosecutor
wants US suspect to face trial for wiretapping (ekathimerini.com, link):
"Prosecutor
Maria-Sofia Vaitsi on Thursday proposed that an American citizen,
William Basil, be indicted to trial on spying charges in connection
with a wiretapping system set up to eavesdrop on top Greek government
officials during and after the Athens 2004 Olympics.
Basil, an
American agent, left Greece after the wiretaps were discovered
in 2006 and his whereabouts remain unknown..."
See: Prime
minister and top officials' phones tapped by "unknown individuals" (Statewatch database,
link) and Vodafone
faces court case in 'bugging' row - Parents believe their son
was murdered before he could blow the whistle (The Observer, link)
European Parliament
Briefing: Growing
impact of EU migration policy on development cooperation (pdf):
"Along
with the non-governmental organisations (NGOs) active in this
field, the European Parliament opposes aid conditionality dependent
on partner countries cooperating on readmission and return, as
laid out in the migration compacts. Addressing the current migration
challenge without jeopardising development policy achievements
and objectives will be one of the key issues of the ongoing revision
of the European consensus on development."
EU-CANADA
TRADE DEAL: Leaked
CETA declaration given short shrift (euractiv, link)
"Five
leaked pages of a draft declaration on the EU-Canada trade deal,
CETA, have surfaced ahead of a Council meeting on 18 October
when all member states will be asked to adopt the deal. It has
done little to placate the concerns of the agreement’s critics....
Guy Taylor,
of Global Justice, said that “Now that TTIP is widely acknowledged
to be effectively dead, Brussels is doing all it can to salvage
CETA. The declaration has no legal basis, is devoid of substance
and only goes to show how desperate the Commission is to obtain
support for a corporate coup that has been condemned across Europe.”"
See: CETA
document
(pdf)
Refugee
crisis: latest news from across Europe (6.10.16)
EU Border
Guard Agency: Securing
Europe's external borders: Launch of the European Border and
Coast Guard Agency (Press release, pdf):
"Under
the new mandate, the Agency's role and activities have been significantly
expanded. The Agency's permanent staff will be more than doubled
and the Agency will be able to purchase its own equipment and
deploy them in border operations at short notice. A rapid reserve
pool of at least 1,500 border guards and a technical equipment
pool will be put at the disposal of the Agency - meaning there
will no longer be shortages of staff or equipment for Agency
operations. The European Border and Coast Guard will now ensure
the implementation of Union standards of border management through
periodic risk analysis and mandatory vulnerability assessments."
And see new:
REGULATION
(EU) 2016/1624 OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL
of 14 September 2016 on the European Border and Coast Guard and
amending Regulation (EU) 2016/399 of the European Parliament
and of the Council and repealing Regulation (EC) No 863/2007
of the European Parliament and of the Council, Council Regulation
(EC) No 2007/2004 and Council Decision 2005/267/EC (pdf)
See: Shooting
revelations clouds EU border guard launch (euobserver, link):
"The EU inaugurated the launch of the new border and
coastguard agency on Thursday (6 October), amid revelations that
border forces routinely used firearms against migrants off Greece
in 2014 and 2015.
The new agency,
called the European Border and Coast Guard Agency, replaces Frontex,
and is a precipitous policy response to last year's large inflow
of refugees and broader security issues. ... On 23 September,
EU ombudsman Emily O'Reilly and Nils Muiznieks from the human
rights watchdog Council of Europe were cc'd in a letter to Frontex
that demanded answers over the shooting incidents. The letter,
signed by 42 MEPs, asks if the new agency will continue to use
firearms against boats carrying refugees."
See: European
Parliament: From 42 MEPs: Letter to Mr Fabrice
Leggeri, Executive Director of Frontex concerning "Shoot
First" policy (pdf): and Shoot
First: Coast Guard Fired at Migrant Boats, European Border Agency
Documents Show (The Intercept, link) and full file: Serious
Incident Reports (190 pages, pdf) also Frontex rules: Serious
Incident Reporting (pdf).
Refugee
crisis: latest news from across Europe (5.10.16)
EU-AFGHANISTAN:
SENDING BACK REFUGEES: Second "dodgy deal" agreed:
Joint
Way Forward on migration issues between Afghanistan and the EU (18 pages, pdf)
See: EU
mulls 'migrant' terminal at Kabul airport (euobserver, link):
"The
EU and Afghanistan are looking into creating a new terminal at
Kabul's airport designed specifically for migrants rejected by
EU states. The plan is part of a broader deal on stepping up
the returns of rejected asylum seekers from the EU to Afghanistan
signed over the weekend....
the return
agreement appears to contradict an internal
document from the European Council, representing member states, which earlier
this year said security is actually getting worse in Afghanistan.
"Due
to the deteriorating situation in Afghanistan, as well as pressure
on Afghans in Pakistan and Iran, there is a high risk of further
migratory flows to Europe," noted the internal document."
See also:
Joint
"non-paper" from the European Commission and the European
Action Service (EEAS) in March 2016:
Joint Commission-EEAS non-paper on enhancing cooperation on migration,
mobility and readmission with Afghanistan (Restricted do no: 6738-16,
pdf)
Tony Bunyan,
Statewatch Director, comments: "Under the dodgy EU-Turkey
deal we have two Letters and a Statement now for the Afghanistan
deal there is a "Agreement" - yet again by-passing
formal law-making and parliamentary scrutiny. Yet again the Council
demonstrates its contempt for the rule of law. There is no way
Afghanistan, even in Kabul, is a safe country to return refugees
to."
Refugee
crisis: latest news from across Europe (4.10.16)
European
Parliament Study: A comparative
analysis of media freedom and pluralism in the EU Member States (pdf):
"This
study was commissioned by the European Parliament's Policy Department
for Citizens' Rights and Constitutional Affairs at the request
of the LIBE Committee. The authors argue that democratic processes
in several EU countries are suffering from systemic failure,
with the result that the basic conditions of media pluralism
are not present, and, at the same time, that the distortion in
media pluralism is hampering the proper functioning of democracy.
The study
offers a new approach to strengthening media freedom and pluralism,
bearing in mind the different political and social systems of
the Member States. The authors propose concrete, enforceable
and systematic actions to correct the deficiencies found."
Czech
president Zeman: economic migrants to be deported to “uninhabited
Greek islands” (Keep Talking Greece, link):
"Czech
president Milos Zeman has proposed that economic migrants should
be deported from Europe to “uninhabited Greek islands”
or to “empty places” in North Africa."
UK-EU BREXIT:
German Bundestag Study: Consequences
of Brexit for the realmof justice and home affairs Scope for
future EU cooperation with the United Kingdom (pdf)
"In the
referendum of 23 June 2016, a majority of British voters opted
for the United Kingdom to leave the European Union (EU).1The
present study deals with the consequences of the referendum result,
particularly with the repercussions of Britain giving notice
under Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union (TEU) of its
intention to withdraw from the European Union. The study focuses
on Union legislation in the realm of justice and home affairs
and, in particular, on police cooperation and judicial cooperation
in criminal matters."
EU-Afghanistan
returns plan: Another "dodgy" deal
- Deal to
be signed next week to start immediate refugee "return"
flights
- Is Afghanistan a "safe country"?
- Quick return of 80,000 refugees planned
- "effectively implement readmission commitments" - by-passing parliamentary
scrutiny
Tony Bunyan,
Statewatch Director, comments: "Under the dodgy EU-Turkey
deal we have two Letters and a Statement now for the Afghanistan
deal there is to be a "Declaration" - yet again by-passing
formal law-making and parliamentary scrutiny. Yet again the Council
demonstrates its contempt for the rule of law. There is no way
Afghanistan, even in Kabul, is a safe country to return refugees
to."
See: Dated 22 September 2016: Draft
Joint Way Forward on migration issues between Afghanistan and
the EU - Adoption (LIMITE doc no: 12191-16, 2016, pdf).
And a joint "non-paper"
from the European Commission and the European Action Service
(EEAS) in March 2016:
Joint Commission-EEAS non-paper on enhancing cooperation on migration,
mobility and readmission with Afghanistan (Restricted do no: 6738-16,
pdf)
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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