Archive
Finland and Italy want more military involvement in migration control
The Finnish and Italian governments last month presented a plan on “countering instrumentalization of migration and migrant smuggling” to the EU Foreign Affairs Council meeting, calling for “innovative ways” to address the issues – including by increased cooperation between the EU and NATO. Read More
EU: Travel surveillance: member state comments on “improving compliance” with court ruling
Last June the EU's Court of Justice massively restricted the scope of the Passenger Name Record (PNR) Directive, which allows the mass surveillance and profiling of air passengers. According to the ruling, member states should make substantial changes to their practices in order to uphold fundamental rights. Instead, they would like to find ways to maintain maximum data collection to continue the hunt for "persons of interest" - yet such practices are incompatible with the rule of law. Read More
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. Read More
Finland halts deportations to Afghanistan after U.S. troops leave
The Finnish government has responded to the rapidly-deteriorating security situation in Afghanistan by temporarily halting deportations - something that the Afghan government has requested of all European states. Read More
EU: Neo-Nazi Nordic Resistance Movement targets Jews on Yom Kippur
Anti-semitic campaigns were launched by the neo-Nazi Nordic Resistance Movement in Denmark, Iceland, Norway and Sweden recently, in the week leading up to Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement), the holiest day in the Jewish calendar. Actions were taken in almost 20 different cities including direct confrontation of Jewish worshippers, putting up anti-semitic posters and distributing flyers. The organisation was issued with a cease-and-desist order by the Finnish Supreme Court in late September, the first such order handed down in Finland since the 1970s. Read More
Viewpoint: Greece-Finland: Ambassador’s condemnation of an academic study on the hotspots shows the link between migration policy and authoritarianism
Preface: The European Agenda on Migration: migration as a pretext to violate laws and promote authoritarianism (2015-ongoing) Since the Commission unveiled its Agenda on Migration in May 2015, an institutional drive at the national, EU Read More
EU: Joint statement on the principles of the rule of law in times of Covid-19
"Statement by Belgium, Bulgaria, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain and Sweden" Read More
Publication launch: “From Tampere 20 to Tampere 2.0 – Towards a new European consensus on migration”
"The publication is centred on the 20th anniversary of the Tampere conclusions of October 1999. It looks back at the Tampere legacy and puts forward proposals that can inform future EU migration and asylum pact. Its content was informed by the Tampere 2.0 conference hold on 24-25 October in Helsinki as a side event of Finland’s Presidency of the EU." Read More
Publication launch: “From Tampere 20 to Tampere 2.0 – Towards a new European consensus on migration”
"The publication is centred on the 20th anniversary of the Tampere conclusions of October 1999. It looks back at the Tampere legacy and puts forward proposals that can inform future EU migration and asylum pact. Its content was informed by the Tampere 2.0 conference hold on 24-25 October in Helsinki as a side event of Finland’s Presidency of the EU." Read More
Deportations: Council Presidency proposes systematic monitoring of readmission cooperation and sanctions for non-compliance
EU: Deportations: Council Presidency proposes systematic monitoring of readmission cooperation and sanctions for non-compliance Read More