2020

Launched in 1999 and updated regularly, Statewatch News includes our own reporting and writing as well as articles, announcements, documents and analyses from elsewhere on civil liberties, EU policies and state practices. You can receive updates in your inbox by signing up to our mailing list, or use an RSS feed to get instant alerts.

16 March 2020

Coronavirus: The EU Is Abandoning Italy in Its Hour of Need

Italy's fellow EU member states have failed to send assistance to aid the country with the coronavirus pandemic, but help has arrived from the Chinese government.

16 March 2020

Migrants on Greek islands to be offered €2,000 to go home

"Migrants on the Greek islands are to be offered €2,000 (£1,764) per person to go home under a voluntary scheme launched by the European Union in an attempt to ease desperate conditions in camps.

16 March 2020

Returned to War and Torture: Malta and Frontex coordinate push-back to Libya

"On Saturday, 14 March 2020, RCC Malta coordinated a push-back operation from the Maltese Search and Rescue (SAR) zone to Libya in cooperation with the EU border agency Frontex and the so-called Libyan coastguards...

14 March 2020

New EU migration pact must dust off fundamental rights

"The EU's new Pact on Migration and Asylum is an opportunity to take a different approach. To take a breath, to remember the values that the European project was founded upon, and to dust off the good old fundamental rights and put them to use."

14 March 2020

Frontex launches new operations in Greece

"In two RABIT missions, the EU Border Agency is sending 100 additional officials to the Greek-Turkish land and sea border. Frontex currently have around 600 operational forces stationed in Greece."

13 March 2020

Revealed: the great European refugee scandal

A report in The Guardian reveals the "coordinated and unlawful assault" by EU institutions and members states on the rights of people trying to cross the Mediterranean sea.

13 March 2020

Erdogan says border will stay open until EU meets his demands

"Turkey’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, said Wednesday he would keep the border open for migrants until the European Union had met all his demands."

13 March 2020

Coronavirus: How are Middle East refugee camps prepared?

"With the Syrian health care system "on its knees," according to the World Health Organization, refugee camps across the region are also facing the potential threat of COVID-19. So far, no cases have been found."

13 March 2020

Artificial intelligence isn’t as smart as it thinks

The technology is decades away from being able to mimic human decision-making

12 March 2020

Brussels considers pan-EU police searches of ID photos

"Ready for your closeup? Your face could soon be included in police databases searchable by law enforcement across the European Union.

11 March 2020

Frontex border operation in Greece 'lacks legal basis' after Greece suspends asylum law

"Experts have questioned the legality of EU border agency Frontex sending officers to the Greek-Turkish border."

11 March 2020

Are You Syrious? Daily Digest 06/03/20 — MEP Joins Far-Right Vigilantes in Greece

A Golden Dawn MEP has been seen with far-right vigilante groups operating on the Greek-Turkish border.

11 March 2020

Greek-Turkish border: MEPs reject Turkey’s pressure, demand common asylum rules

"The EU must help Greece manage its border with Turkey, while ensuring the right to asylum for those who need it, several MEPs said on Tuesday."

11 March 2020

Bulgaria is not changing its push-back policy at its border to Turkey

Will Frontex's presence at the Bulgarian-Turkish border help stop the Bulgarian authorities' practice of illegal push-backs?

11 March 2020

HRW denounces Greece over migrants held on warship

Greece must find adequate accommodation for the 450 people detained on a navy ship, says Human Rights Watch.

11 March 2020

UK: Police forces not taking threat of far-right officers seriously, says report

The body responsible for inspecting the activities and performance of UK police forces has warned that forces must take the risk of far-right officers within their ranks seriously.

 

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