December
EU: Tracking the Pact: Member states against a search and rescue "solidarity mechanism"
The vast majority of member states are opposed to a separate "solidarity mechanism" for people rescued at sea under the proposed Asylum and Migration Management Regulation. The proposal foresees this solidarity consisting of relocation or "capacity building". Some states would like to be able to offer "solidarity" in other ways - for example, Austria proposes support for externalisation measures as an alternative option to relocation of people rescued at sea.
European Commission against Racism and Intolerance: opinion on the concept of "racialisation"
"The use of the concept of “racialisation” has the potential to aid understanding of the processes underpinning racism and racial discrimination and to ensure that the voices of racialised groups are heard and taken into account, in particular in the areas of awareness-raising, education and policy making."
EU: Asylum and borders proposals: the only attack taking place is the attack on peoples’ rights
In response to the arrival of thousands of people at the EU's borders with Belarus, the European Commission has published a raft of new proposals that would weaken asylum rights and strengthen border surveillance and controls. Described as “temporary” on 1 December, proposals published this week would allow their enactment whenever the Council deems migrants are being “instrumentalised” to “attack” the European Union.
EU-USA meeting to include discussion on "the re-activated EU-US Migration Platform"
The agenda of the EU-USA Justice and Home Affairs Ministerial Meeting, taking place tomorrow, will include discussions on artificial intelligence; counter-terrorism; "relevant developments" regarding Passenger Name Record travel surveillance; and "Reporting on first meeting of the re-activated EU-US Migration Platform".
Germany: New website documents fatal police shootings
Since German reunification, 309 people have been shot dead by the country's police; there were also 148 fatal police shootings in West Germany from 1976 to 1990. A new website launched by the magazine CILIP documents these cases, seeeking to shed light on the individual cases hidden behind the interior ministry's statistics.
EU: Draft border proposals: "drones and motion sensors, as well as mobile units to prevent unauthorised border crossings"
Proposal for a REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL amending Regulation (EU) 2016/399 as regards the response to threats to the area without controls at internal borders: "SENSITIVE UNTIL ADOPTION"
UK: "Quasi-detention" of asylum seekers must be replaced with "decent, safe acommodation," say MPs
The All-Party Parliamentary Group on Immigration Detention has released a report condeming the government's use of an abandoned barracks in Kent to house asylum seekers, and demanding that plans to extend the use of such sites of "quasi-detention" be halted. The report says people seeking asylum should be "housed in decent, safe accommodation in the community that supports their well-being and recovery from trauma, facilitates their engagement with the asylum process, and allows them to build links with their community."
EU: Tracking the Pact: Presidency wants JHA Council to find "sustainable solutions" on legal proposals
A working paper circulated on 7 December by the Slovenian Presidency of the Council looks at the state of play of discussions on the legal proposals that are part of the EU's Pact on Migration and Asylum. It calls on national ministers in the Justice and Home Affairs Council - meeting tomorrow - to find ways to move forward with negotiations.
Book review: ‘EU Migration Agencies: The Operation and Cooperation of Frontex, EASO and Europol’
David Fernández-Rojo’s comparative analysis, published by Edward Elgar Publishing, explores the way in which the three agencies have grown together, and what this means for the future of migration management.
UK: Home Office publishes latest report on financial allowances for asylum-seekers
The Home Office has released its 2020 report into the pitiful living allowance paid to asylum-seekers and failed asylum-seekers, who are barred from working legally. The amounts paid, which are around half that paid to individuals on Jobseekers' Allowance (unemployment benefit), have long been condemned by charities and human rights organisations for leaving people in poverty.
UK strengthens policing cooperation with Malta
Press release published by the UK Home Office, 6 December 2021.
UN Convention on Transnational Organised Crime: EU competences
More than a decade after the Lisbon Treaty entered into force, the European Commission has decided to notify the United Nations of the competences of the EU under the Convention on Transnational and Organised Crime, and its protocols on migrant smuggling and human trafficking.
EU: Tracking the Pact: Council restricts rights in latest Screening Regulation text
The Council is aiming to water down rights protections in the proposed Screening Regulation, which will see most individuals who enter the EU in an irregular fashion detained at the borders with a view to their swift expulsion.
UK: Police monitoring, suspect communities, racism and policing reform – learning from the past to inform the present
Statewatch Library & Archive goes online after event in Bristol
EU: Data retention strikes back? Options for mass telecoms surveillance under discussion again
In June 2021 the European Commission sought the views of member states on ways to reintroduce the bulk retention of telecoms traffic, location and internet connection data on everyone in the EU. Responses from seven member states, published here, show a divergence of views on what data to retain and when, but a majority in favour of new EU legislation.
EU: Spin it to win it: Frontex seeks public relations support
Earlier this year we analysed the time and money Frontex invests in its public image. Media expertise has remained a high priority for Frontex, with a total of €315,000 set aside for three various media contracts this year.
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