To follow the project Biometric Europe: imposing digital identities in the name of security, we are organising workshops with civil society partners from a variety of countries to explore and examine the implementation of the EU's 'interoperability' initiative, the development and deployment of biometric technologies for policing and border control, legal safeguards and and rights protections.
In the past two decades a series of legal measures (such as the fingerprinting of asylum seekers, visa applicants and passport holders) have progressively aimed at the biometric registration and identification of everybody in the EU. More recent measures include the introduction of biometric identity cards and the creation of a vast database holding the identity data of up to 300 million foreign nationals who are present, have been present, or have been refused entry into the EU.
The remit, powers, staffing and budgets of EU agencies have grown significantly over the last decade, reflecting the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty and a rapidly-changing social, political and legal context – in the last few years in particular as a result of terrorist attacks in Europe and the continent’s so-called “refugee crisis”. These new and growing powers have been accompanied by new methods of transparency and accountability which leave much to be desired. Investigating, analysing and exposing these issues in order to promote positive changes is the aim of this project.
Statewatch contributed background research on EU investments in biometric technologies for the cross-border investigative journalism project Invisible Borders.
Statewatch contributed a chapter to the Ethical Journalism Network publication Moving Stories – International Review of How Media Cover Migration. The chapter, 'How journalism plays follow-my-leader with rhetoric of negativity', examines UK press coverage of the Europe-wide migration crisis.
Statewatch contributed background research to Taz newspaper's project Migration Control. The project looked at EU funding and policies in Africa aimed at controlling or stopping migration.
The JUSTICIA Network endeavours to strengthen the domestic impact of the work of its network member organisations in the area of EU justice. This multi-faceted approach will equip partner organisations more effectively, enabling them to promote the observance of EU standards on procedural rights and the rights of victims of crime, and to contribute to an all rights-based progressive reform, whilst strengthening their existing working relationships with their European counterparts.
Securing Europe through Counter-terrorism: Impact, Legitimacy and Effectiveness (SECILE)
SECILE (Securing Europe through Counter-terrorism: Impact, Legitimacy, and Effectiveness) is a part-EU funded project of assembled European human rights and legal research experts tasked with exploring the true impact of European counter-terrorism policy since 2001.
Statewatch complaints to the European Ombudsman regarding the transparency obligations of Frontex, Europol and Eurojust
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