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.
Schengen borders: more deportations, surveillance and militarisation in the works
An internal EU report obtained by Statewatch offers an update on efforts to strengthen border and immigration controls in the Schengen area in the first half of 2025. The report reflects a desire to step up the anti-migrant policy agenda pursued by European policymakers in recent years – more deportations, more surveillance and more militarisation of borders.
EU member states want to expand police surveillance of travel
In the name of fighting crime and terrorism, EU law requires mandatory police surveillance of international air travel. Governments are now considering surveillance of all other modes of transport, in particular maritime travel. They also want to use data for new purposes, such as immigration control. A working group has been set up to consider new legal proposals.
Prints in politics: cheap, easily replicated and widely accessible
Printmaking is an ideal medium for wide and diverse engagement with art: it is replicable, cheap, and widely accessible. These features have made prints particularly attractive to political activists looking to inspire collective mobilisation. The Statewatch Library & Archive contains a number of examples of the medium, from a wide variety of movements.
EU to increase lethal migration cooperation with Libya
The EU is set to fund migration control infrastructure in the eastern region of Libya, a move that will increase cooperation with general Khalifa Haftar, once a pariah to western states. The plan to extend EU cooperation into eastern Libya comes despite long-standing condemnation of Libyan and EU involvement in human rights abuses, shooting at NGO vessels, and accusations of crimes against humanity.
Reclaiming migration: a call for justice, dignity, and an anti-racist Europe
To mark International Migrants Day more than 40 organisations, including Statewatch, are calling for "a Europe grounded in justice and equality" and "policies that honour dignity and rights of all."
US access to EU citizens’ biometric data: ministers approve EU negotiating mandate
EU ministers have agreed to launch negotiations on an agreement that would grant US border agencies direct access to personal data stored in EU member state databases, and give EU agencies similar access to US data. The US is demanding access to the databases of all states that are part of its Visa Waiver Programme, for “immigration screening and vetting activities.” This is part of a broader plan to massively increase the amount of sensitive data gathered on travellers.
UK: ‘Radio Nick’: a private spy hired by the police
In October, a court case led to the exposure of a private spy who had been hired by the police to infilitrate multiple campaign groups for almost a decade, Nick Gratwick. A new report by the Undercover Research Group documents Gratwick's activities in the late 1990s and early 2000s in detail. The case highlights the lack of laws and regulations governing private intelligence agents.
UK: Joint briefing on the “do not introduce digital ID cards” parliamentary petition debate
In September, the government announced plans for a new digital ID scheme that would be mandatory for ‘right to work’ checks by 2029. A petition against the proposal accrued nearly three million signatures, making it the fourth largest petition in British history and the second largest non-Brexit petition. It highlights problems with: mission creep; privacy; security risks; accuracy; discrimination and exclusion; and fundamental changes in the relationship between the state and the individual.
Border externalisation: radical expansion of Frontex powers in the works
The latest issue of our bulletin on EU border externalisation policies includes: council discussion documents on upcoming Frontex mandate revision; the IOM presents a dire picture for returnees to Afghanistan; and an internal human rights presentation warns the EU is "not there yet"
Documents: EU plans to radically expand border agency's mandate
Two recent European Council documents reveal internal discussions over the potential expansion of Europe's border agency Frontex. One aim is to make it easier for the agency to operate outside EU borders. The discussions come ahead of the expected formal revision of Frontex’s mandate in 2026 and give a glimpse of what member states and the European Commission have in mind for the agency’s role in the EU’s future deportation machine.
Networks of (in)security: how global counter-terrorism and security norms threaten civic space and human rights
Global counter-terrorism and security norms are propelling the introduction of pre-emptive, automated and algorithmic forms of surveillance and profiling, says new research published today by Statewatch. This is reinforcing racism and discrimination, inhibiting free movement, and giving authoritarian states new tools of control. The research calls for an organised response to this long-term state project, and sets out some guiding questions for future work.
UK: Inquiry needed over lack of enforcement against "egregious and repeated data breaches"
More than 70 civil society organisations, academics and data protection experts, including Statewatch, have called for an inquiry into the collapse in enforcement activity by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO). The call comes after the ICO failed to launch an investigation after the Ministry of Defence published a spreadsheet containing the details of over 19,000 people fleeing the Taliban in Afghanistan.
Document: Drones - internal security implications
A document circulated by the Danish presidency of the Council of the EU on 11 November sets out internal security issues raised by the use of drones, and outlines measures being put in place by the EU to try to address the problem. The aim is to prepare a discussion due to take place at the Justice and Home Affairs Council meeting in December.
US searching for “security threats” in European data: not a problem for EU member states
US law enforcement authorities want direct access to EU member state police and immigration databases to identify people considered “a threat to US security.” They may also be seeking access to EU databases. Some member states have concerns over timing, the legal basis and data protection requirements, according to a document obtained by Statewatch – but none have any fundamental problems with the proposal.
European Parliament: Development committee report pushes to use aid as migration leverage
The European Parliament’s Committee on Development (DEVE) is set to debate a report today that supports using development aid to encourage migration control cooperation by non-EU states.
Border externalisation: new documents show EU states want to further ease deportations
The latest issue of our bulletin on EU border externalisation policies includes: second revision of the deportation Regulation proposal; the EU parliament's development committee urged to tie aid to deportation cooperation; and the Danish Presidency of the Council of the EU hailing Turkey-EU migration cooperation as a "success".
UK: Politicians must "stop using our human rights as a scapegoat"
Almost 300 organisations, including Statewatch, have called on the UK government to defend the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). Government ministers and opposition politicians in both the UK and across Europe are demanding changes to, or even withdrawal from, the ECHR, claiming it prevents them from introducing more restrictive immigration policies.
EU: New Handbook offers guide to privacy and data protection for immigration and asylum practitioners
Statewatch is publishing a handbook that explains how data protection law can be used to seek remedies and redress for people in the EU’s immigration and asylum systems. Aimed at lawyers, case workers, volunteers and others working on immigration and asylum cases, it offers an overview of key digital technologies, and privacy and data protection concepts and cases.
US attacks on the international rule of law: will the EU do anything?
Last week, the Slovenian government called on EU justice ministers to “protect the international rule of law and justice system,” which is facing US sanctions due to attempts to bring Israel officials to justice for crimes committed in Gaza. The discussion has now apparently been taken from the EU Justice and Home Affairs Council to “other Council formations.” Whether any practical steps will follow remains to be seen.
US sanctions against Palestinian groups must be immediately withdrawn, say 80 organisations
United States sanctions against three Palestinian human rights organisations have been condemned by 80 organisations, including Statewatch. The US government has frozen the financial assets of Al-Haq, Al-Mezan Center for Human Rights, and the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights. Organisations subject to US jurisdiction are prevented from engaging in transactions with them. The open letter calls on the US government to "immediately rescind the sanctions."
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