Archive
Frontex and deportations, 2006-22
Data covering 17 years of Frontex’s deportation operations shows the expanding role of the agency. We have produced a series of visualisations to show the number of people deported in Frontex-coordinated operations, the member states involved, the destination states, and the costs. Read More
EU: Tracking the Pact: Texts of the Asylum Procedure and Eurodac Regulations
The laws making up the EU's Pact on Migration and Asylum were agreed in feverish secret meetings between the Council, Commission and Parliament at the end of December. However, they only reached "political agreement" - the actual texts of the different pieces of legislation have since been hammered out in "technical discussions". Statewatch is publishing the consolidated texts of the Asylum Procedure Regulation and the Eurodac Regulation, two of the multiple new laws set to govern asylum and migration in the EU in the years to come. Read More
UK: More than 250 organisations call for rejection of “legal fiction” of Rwanda Bill
The Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Bill is to receive its second reading in the House of Lords today. A statement signed by 265 civil society organisations and other entities from across the UK, including Statewatch, calls for it to be rejected. Read More
EU: Council Presidency seeks “common vision” on US database access demands
The US wants to vet travellers through direct access to foreign databases, including those of EU member states. Bilateral discussions are ongoing and are at different stages in different states, but it remains unclear whether the agreements are an EU or national competence. The US is organising an “informal information meeting” for EU member states and institutions, after which the Presidency wants to develop a “common vision”. Read More
Risk screening and watchlists: Europol and Frontex reports on development of the “permission to travel” system
Reports circulated by Europol and Frontex to member states last October show that the development of the European Travel Information and Authorisation System (ETIAS) was – at least at the time – still plagued by delays, which both agencies blame on eu-Lisa, the EU’s database agency. Frontex’s report says the delays were causing problems for the “assessment functionality for the risk screening of the ETIAS applications,” through which travellers will be profiled. Meanwhile, Europol continues to develop its new “watchlist” of potential terrorists and criminals, and is seeking permission to use data supplied by non-EU states in the assessment of travel applications. Read More
EU: Police data access working group needs transparency and critical advice, says joint civil society letter
A letter signed by 21 organisations, including Statewatch, calls on the EU's new High Level Group on Access to Data for Effective Law Enforcement (HLG) to ensure its proceedings are transparent and that it facilitates the participation of independent civil society experts, instead of relying solely on the input of police, interior ministry and industry officials. Read More
US migration data demands are “challenging”, say Norwegian authorities
Norwegian government officials have met with their US counterparts to discuss the US' demands for direct access to biometric, identity and criminal record databases as part of its new “border security” plan, according to a report in the newspaper Bergens Tidende. The Norwegian police have apparently described the proposals as “challenging,” given existing legal requirements. Read More
EU missions in Palestine ponder role for “day after” Gaza bombardment ends
Two reports from EU security missions in Palestine, dealing with policing and border control, indicate that officials are pondering their role in the planning for whatever happens when Israel's bombardment of the Gaza strip ends. Read More
Germany: Fatal police shootings in 2022
For the year 2022, the official firearm usage statistics of the Conference of the Ministers of the Interior recorded a total of 54 shots fired at people. 11 individuals were killed as a result. This is three more than the previous year. Legally, these shots were classified as self-defense/emergency aid. 41 people were injured due to police firearm use. Read More
USA krever fri adgang til å søke i norske registre
Bergens Tidende, 1 January 2024. Read More