News

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 our RSS feed to get instant alerts.

31 March 2020

Portugal to treat migrants as residents during coronavirus crisis

Portugal is granting temporary rights to people with pending residency applications, including asylum-seekers, residence until at least 1 July.

31 March 2020

Return to borderless Europe after COVID-19 will be difficult but not impossible

An article by the director of the GLOBSEC think-tank.

31 March 2020

Hungary: Orbán to rule by decree with new powers to ‘silence critics'

More news on the new powers granting the Hungarian government the ability to rule by decree.

31 March 2020

Brexit: The Protocol on Ireland/ Northern Ireland: What it says is not what it does

Professor Steve Peers sets out what the Northern Ireland Protocol will actually mean regarding checks at the border between the Republic and Northern Ireland.

30 March 2020

EU/Greece/Turkey: Crisis not averted: security policies cannot solve a humanitarian problem, now or in the long-term

At the end of February, the Turkish government announced it would allow refugees to travel onwards to Greece and Bulgaria, in the hope of extracting from the EU further financial support as well as backing for its military operations in Syria. It has now taken up its role as Europe’s border guard again, but the manufactured crisis induced by the Turkish decision and the EU response highlight the long-term failings of the EU’s asylum and migration model.

30 March 2020

Books for refugees in Greece: Help ECHO buy a new library van!

A mobile library for refugees in Greece is raising funds for a new van.

30 March 2020

EU: Data protection in times of coronavirus: not a question of if, but of how

The Austrian NGO None of Your Business looks at data protection law and location tracking apps being proposed in Europe.

30 March 2020

EU: MEPs, migration policy experts call for urgent action to uphold refugee rights

Over 100 MEPs from four political groups in the European Parliament have called on the European Commission to take action so that "fundamental rights and the right to asylum" are upheld in Greece. Their calls have been echoed by dozens of migration policy experts working on EU-funded projects.

30 March 2020

Hungary passes law allowing Viktor Orban to rule by decree

Viktor Orbán's 'Enabling Act' has been passed into law by the Hungarian parliament.

30 March 2020

Migration: tales of brutality along Europe’s borders

A report in the Financial Times highlights the brutal treatment meted out to people on the move in the Balkans.

27 March 2020

Malta: Free the #ElHiblu3

A new campaign has been launched calling for the release of three young men who prevented a boat that had rescued them from returning them to Libya. They are being charged with terrorism offences in Malta.

27 March 2020

Court orders Netherlands to pay colonial victims

Victims of colonial massacres must be paid compensation by the Dutch state, a court has ruled.

27 March 2020

UK: Act to guarantee the rights of EU nationals now: Right to Stay

The UK government must act to grant EU citizens living in the UK the right to stay.

27 March 2020

It’s official: North Macedonia becomes NATO’s 30th member

North Macedonia has joined the North Atlantic Treaty Organization military alliance.

27 March 2020

EDPS Annual Report 2019: new EU data protection rules must produce promised result

The annual report of the European Data Protection Supervisor has been published.

26 March 2020

From Windrush to Covid 19: another scandal in the making

The pandemic affects everybody, but it does not affect everybody equally.

26 March 2020

UK police use drones and roadblocks to enforce lockdown

The police's over-enthusiastic response to enforcing the lockdown has led to criticism.

26 March 2020

UK: New powers for police to enforce coronavirus public health rules

The new powers are so the police can enforce government instructions to stay at home and avoid non-essential travel.

25 March 2020

UK broke law over IS 'Beatles' by passing information to US

The Supreme Court has ruled against the UK government's handing of information to the USA.

 

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