2020

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19 June 2020

CJEU to look at revocation of a guarantee of the grant of Austrian nationality

"C-118/20 JY concerns the procedure for acquisition of Austrian nationality, and more specifically at which moment during the procedure the previous nationalities have to be lost, and whether this is in conformity with the rules on EU citizenship."

18 June 2020

Digital technologies and borders: Joint submission to the UN Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism

With Privacy International, Fundaciòn Datos Protegidos and Red en Defensa de los Derechos Digitales (R3D), we produced a joint submission to the UN Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, in response to their call for input on how digital technologies deployed in the context of border enforcement and administration reproduce, reinforce, and compound racial discrimination.

15 June 2020

EU 'covered up' Croatia's failure to protect migrants from border brutality

The Guardian has revealed that European Commission officials were fearful of disclosing everything they knew about a mechanism they had funded in Croatia for monitoring violations of fundamental rights at the borders.

15 June 2020

Belgian Jewish community feeling vulnerable over scaling back counter-terror patrols

The Belgian government plans to reduce the number of soldiers deployed on the streets. They were originally deployed in 2015. The proposals have caused alarm amongst the Jewish community in Brussels.

15 June 2020

EU: Parliamentary oversight in the health crisis

A briefing paper from the Robert Schuman Foundation looks at how emergency measures implemented during the novel coronavirus pandemic have granted power to government executives at the expense of parliamentary oversight.

15 June 2020

A fourth pillar for the United Nations? The rise of counter-terrorism

A new report by Saferworld looks at the rise of the counter-terrroism policy within the UN institutions.

15 June 2020

Europol uses Palantir

Answers to Parliamentary questions shed some light on Europol's use of software made by controversial US company Palantir.

15 June 2020

France: Criminal conviction of BDS activists had no sufficient grounds and violated freedom of expression

The European Court of Human Rights has overturned the criminal conviction by French courts of Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaigners. The pro-Palestinian activists were convicted "for incitement to economic discrimination, on account of their participation in actions aimed at boycotting products imported from Israel."

15 June 2020

EU: Damning draft report on the implementation of the Return Directive

Tineke Strik, the Green MEP responsible for overseeing the passage through the European Parliament of the 'recast Return Directive', which governs certain common procedures regarding the detention and expulsion of non-EU nationals, has prepared a report on the implementation of the original 2008 Return Directive. It criticises the Commission's emphasis, since 2017, on punitive enforcement measures, at the expense of alternatives that have not been fully explored or implemented by the Commission or the member states, despite the 2008 legislation providing for them.

15 June 2020

Fundamental rights: put our money where our mouth is

Dozens of civil society organisations have called on the EU institutions to reverse proposed cuts to the EU's Rights and Values Programme.

12 June 2020

IOM Alarmed over Reports of Pushbacks from Greece at EU Border with Turkey

"The International Organization for Migration (IOM) is deeply concerned about persistent reports of pushbacks and collective expulsions of migrants, in some cases violent, at the European Union (EU) border between Greece and Turkey. International media reports and footage showing the use of marine rescue equipment to expel migrants across the Eastern Aegean Sea are especially disturbing."

12 June 2020

Beyond the US: Police brutality, structural racism are a problem in Europe too

"Thousands of people have taken to Europe’s streets not only to protest the deaths of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor in the US but to denounce police brutality and structural racism, which is an issue on this side of the Atlantic as well."

12 June 2020

Controversial US facial recognition technology likely illegal, EU body says

"A European privacy body said it "has doubts" that using facial recognition technology developed by U.S. company Clearview AI is legal in the EU."

12 June 2020

Brexit: EU accuses UK of trying to maintain economic benefits amid coronavirus recession

"The European Union accused the United Kingdom Wednesday of seeking to maintain a relationship with the bloc similar to that of an EU member after Brexit. The EU said they found this idea unacceptable."

10 June 2020

EU Counter-Terrorism Coordinator mulls 'terrorism in times of corona'

An internal note by the EU's Counter-Terrorism Coordinator, published here in full.

10 June 2020

EU: Ending Gag Lawsuits in Europe - Protecting Democracy and Fundamental Rights

Over 100 organisations have signed a call for the EU to take action to end SLAPPs - Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation - which are being used against civic activists and journalists across the continent.

10 June 2020

Maltese official to be posted in Libya in fight against illegal immigration

The full-text of the new 'Memorandum of Understanding' between Malta and Libya, along with reports from the Times of Malta.

10 June 2020

Croatia: Further Evidence of Systemic Push-Backs at the Border with Bosnia

ECRE give an overview of the ongoing violent situation at the Croatian borders.

10 June 2020

Deaths in custody: I know how George Floyd's family feels - I watched my brother die in police custody

Janet Alder explains the similarities between the case of George Floyd and that of her brother, Christopher Alder, who died in police custody in Hull in 1998.

 

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