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 EU: Europol's
anti-terrorist unit demands removal of adverts, books, US-government
produced reports from web archives
Europol's
Internet Referral Unit, which "detects and investigates
malicious content on the internet and in social media" has
been busy sending requests to the Internet Archive for the removal
of hundreds of web pages, but the Archive has said there is a
serious problem - none of the URLs in question contain terrorist
propaganda.
The pages that
Europol wants the Internet Archive to remove include works from
the American Libraries collection, old television adverts and
programmes, the Smithsonian Libraries, television broadcasts
of the US House of Representatives and even an academic paper
entitled 'Spectrum Sharing in Cognitive Radio with Quantized
Channel Information'.
As the Internet
Archive has highlighted in a blog post, such requests pose a
clear threat to freedom of expression and information.
EU: Council
wants a "comprehensive study" on data retention that
considers "a future legislative initiative"
The Council of the EU is set
to ask the European Commission to "prepare a comprehensive
study" on the legal possibilities for retention of telecommunications
data for law enforcement purposes, to be ready by the end of
2019. That study should include "the consideration of a
future legislative initiative," according to a set of draft
conclusions due to be discussed in a Council working party tomorrow.
EU: Terrorist
content online: Civil Liberties Committees makes improvements
but proposal still dangerous
The European Parliament's Civil
Liberties Committee (LIBE) has agreed its position on a proposal
to prevent the "dissemination of terrorist content online".
Digital rights groups say that while LIBE's position is an improvement
on the Commission's proposal, the text is still a danger to freedom
of speech online.
Refugee
crisis: latest news from across Europe (2-8.4.19) including:
- Analysis: Italy's redefinition
of sea rescue as a crime draws on EU policy for inspiration
- IOM: 356 deaths in the Mediterranean
so far in 2019
- Overhaul of Spanish coastguard
agency sparks fears for search and rescue operations
CoE: European
states must demonstrate resolve for lasting and concrete change
for Roma people (link):
"On 8 April, we will
celebrate International Roma Day. This is a day to celebrate
Roma culture and Roma contributions to European societies, and
the cultural diversity of Europe. The 8th of April, which commemorates
the first World Romani Congress held in London in April 1971,
should also be a reminder of the urgent need to better protect
the human rights of Roma.
Across Europe, the continuation
of human rights abuses targeting Roma goes against all efforts
otherwise made to improve their access to education, health care
and employment and prevents them from fully participating in
society."
And see House of Commons - Women
and Equalities Committee: Tackling
inequalities faced by Gypsy, Roma and Travellercommunities
(pdf)
EU: MEPs
make last-ditch attempt to halt mandatory fingerprinting of all
ID holders
Last-ditch amendments are being
proposed by MEPs to try to prevent the mandatory fingerprinting
of every national identity card holder in the EU and the potential
construction of national fingerprint databases, before a final
vote on a proposed new law in the European Parliament due this
Thursday (4 April).
EU: New
'Charter of Commitments' demands parliamentary candidates uphold
migrant rights and stand against racism
A 'Charter of Commitments' calls
on candidates in May's European Parliament elections to commit
to upholding migrants' rights, promoting a culture of reception
and opposing racism and intolerance.
European
Parliament Civil Liberties Committee (LIBE) to adopt new Regulation
on the European Border and Coast Guard
Today the European Parliament Civil
Liberties Committee will be adopting the final text coming out
of trilogue meetings on a new: Regulation
of the European Parliament and of the Council on the European
Border and Coast Guard (240 pages, pdf)
Refugee
crisis: latest news from across Europe (26.3-1.4.19) including:
- New roles for Frontex agreed
by Council and Parliament - but externalised deportations excluded
- UK: Majority of immigration
removals called of
- Study: Sexual torture widespread
for migrants seeking Europe
EU
cooperation instruments with North African states: promoting
or restricting migrants’ and refugee rights?
Two new briefings by the EuroMediterranean
Human Rights Network look at the implications for migrants
and refugees of EU policies and financial aid to North African
states. The first examines the main cooperation agreements aimed
at realising the rights of migrants and refugees, while the second
looks at policies and projects dedicated to border management
"and their often negative consequences on the rights of
persons migrating."
Refugee
crisis: latest news from across Europe (19-25.3.18) including:
- Greece: Three years of "cruel,
inhumane and cynical" treatment of migrants and refugees
- UK: “Utter failure”
of Home Office has led to serious problems with every part of
the immigration detention system
- Spain's migration agreements
with Morocco have grave consequences for Mediterranean shipwrecks
EU: "Policing
in a Connected World": Council looks to help police deal
with "Novel Actionable Information"
A recent document produced by
the Romanian Presidency of the Council takes up the issue of
"Policing in a Connected World" and calls for the establishment
of new networks and tools so that police forces across the EU
can better make use of the "Novel Actionable Information"
generated by the "explosion in the number of digital devices
used, each generating more data, more diverse and complex types
of data, and connections between data."
UK: House of Commons Library
briefing: Brexit:
contingency planning and powers (pdf):
"This briefing looks
at emergency planning in the UK and specifically at the how emergencies
are defined, how the Government may deploy its emergency powers
to deal with them, and how this relates to no-deal planning."
Brexit
and Extending EU Membership: The Legal Issues (EU Law Analysis, link)
by Professor Steve Peers:
"This
blog post was updated following the approval of the official
decision extending EU membership. (...)
Apart from
the legal issues directly related to the extension, next week
is likely to see a number of crucial votes relating to the UK’s
imminent and future relationship with the EU. Time will tell
what indirect effect they may have on the length and circumstances
of the UK’s extended EU membership – and in particular
whether the UK government and parliament is able to agree upon
a way forward in the event that the withdrawal agreement is not
approved."
EU: Names
of national authorities that drafted "interoperability"
plans published following Statewatch complaint
The names of the authorities
that made up the EU high-level expert group on information systems
and interoperability, which was responsible for outlining the
plans that have led to the interconnection of EU policing and
migration databases, have been published by the European Commission
following a successful complaint by Statewatch.
Greece:
Three years of "cruel, inhumane and cynical" treatment
of migrants and refugees
(Doctors Wiithout Borders, link):
"Thousands of people
remain trapped in overcrowded, unsafe and unsanitary Greek island
camps three years after the implementation of the European Union-Turkey
deal, said Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières
(MSF) today, calling on European leaders to immediately evacuate
children and other vulnerable people from these locations.
The European Union (EU) and
Turkey deal, signed three years ago today, is a set of policies
aimed at preventing refugees, migrants, and asylum-seekers from
crossing irregularly from Turkey to Greece. These policies now
trap about 12,000 men, women, and children in unsafe and degrading
conditions in five Greek island camps, where they have little
access to basic health services and suffer widespread misery."
Spain's
migration agreements with Morocco have grave consequences for
Mediterranean shipwrecks, warn trade union and human rights group
Andalusia, 16
March 2019 - The General Work Confederation (Confederación
General del Trabajo, CGT) and the Andalusian Association
for Human Rights (Asociación Pro-derechos Humanos de
Andalucía, APDHA) have said in a press conference
that the consequences of the recent agreements between Spain
and Morocco on migration will have serious consequences for the
human beings risking their lives in the Mediterranean.
Refugee
crisis: latest news from across Europe (13-18.3.19) including:
- Italy delivers 50 off-road
vehicles to fight irregular migration in Tunisia
- 45 migrants drowned between
Morocco and Spain
- Human rights organisation
propose "fair and predictable rescue system" for the
EU
EXCLUSIVE: EU
in talks with Egypt and other states over police data-sharing
(Middle East Eye, link):
"European Union officials
have begun talks with counterparts in several Middle Eastern
countries, including Egypt and Turkey, about proposed data-sharing
deals that would allow Europol to exchange personal information
about suspects with local law enforcement authorities."
Background and documentation:
Warnings
over proposed new Europol partners in Middle East and North Africa
(Statewatch News, 14 May 2018)
EU: Security
Union: new measures agreed to introduce biometric identity cards
and a new database for convicted non-EU nationals
MEPs approved this week new measures
that will introduce mandatory fingerprinting for national identity
cards and a controversial new database to make it easier for
the authorities to find information on any previous criminal
convictions handed down against non-EU nationals. The Parliament
also agreed its position for a revamped Visa Information System
that will permit the profiling of all short-stay Schengen visa
applicants.
EU: Saving
lives in the Mediterranean: human rights organisations propose
plan for "a fair and predictable rescue system"
Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have sent
an action plan for "a fair and predictable rescue system
in the Mediterranean Sea" to Carmen Daniela Dan, the internal
affairs minister of Romania, which currently holds the Presidency
of the Council of the EU.
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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