2019

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 an RSS feed to get instant alerts.

16 December 2019

New analysis: Monitoring "secondary movements" and "hotspots"

Frontex is now an internal surveillance agency.

16 December 2019

Greece: Six People Found Dead in Evros Region while Authorities Prop Up Border Security

"The corpses of six people who had entered Greece irregularly were discovered between December 5 and 8 in the Evros region. Greek authorities are reportedly considering to extend an existing iron fence along the entire Evros River on the Northeastern border."

16 December 2019

EU: Eurojust becomes an Agency

The new Eurojust Regulation agreed in November 2018 comes into force, bringing into being the European Agency for Criminal Justice Cooperation.

16 December 2019

Europe spends billions stopping migration. Good luck figuring out where the money actually goes

The complex web of projects, funds and budgets used by the EU to attempt to stop migration from Africa is almost-impossible to untangle, meaning problems for oversight and accountability.

16 December 2019

Data watchdog raps EU asylum body for snooping

The European Asylum Support Office has been ordered to stop a social media monitoring project by the European Data Protection Supervisor.

14 December 2019

No need to stargaze, digitalisation in healthcare is already here, say health experts

"Using digital tools to deliver care more efficiently presents a massive opportunity to relieve Europe’s strained healthcare systems, but also carries significant ethical and environmental considerations, EURACTIV heard at a recent event."

13 December 2019

Silencing the Opposition in Hungary

"On 10 December, the Hungarian opposition MPs got a lovely present from the governing majority for Christmas wrapped in a big legislative package amending both the Act on Parliament and the Rules of Procedure."

13 December 2019

UK: Rats in the kitchen, sodden carpets in the living room

"When researcher John Grayson visited a family with disabilities living in a Mears asylum house in Rotherham, he was stunned by what he saw."

13 December 2019

EU-USA: Joint EU-US statement following the EU-US Justice and Home Affairs Ministerial Meeting

The twice yearly meetings of respective Ministers concerning justice and home affair took place 11 December 2019. As usual the press release contain little of substance.

12 December 2019

Refugee crisis: latest news from across Europe (3-9.12.19)

Including: Report on illegal pushbacks at the Greek-Turkish border - Ministers call for renewed migrant smuggling crackdown on "Eastern Mediterranean" route - Croatia Is Abusing Migrants While the EU Turns a Blind Eye

12 December 2019

Migrant hailed after rescuing man in wheelchair from fire

"Spain could give residency to undocumented hero Gorgui Lamine Sow from Senegal. Spanish authorities are considering giving residency to an undocumented migrant from Senegal after he rescued a man who uses a wheelchair from a burning, second-storey apartment."

12 December 2019

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."

12 December 2019

Bosnia: Police clear controversial Vucjak refugee camp

"Several buses came to the squalid camp to move the hundreds of refugees following an international outcry. Bosnia along with Serbia has been experiencing an unexpected increase in migrant arrivals in recent months."

09 December 2019

Croatia Is Abusing Migrants While the EU Turns a Blind Eye

"BIHAC, Bosnia and Herzegovina—Cocooned in a mud-spattered blanket, thousands of euros in debt, and with a body battered and bruised, Faisal Abas has reached the end of the line, geographically and spiritually."

09 December 2019

Libya: Accountability for Serious Crimes under International Law in Libya: An Assessment of the Criminal Justice System

A report from the ICJ that provides "concrete law, policy and practical recommendations" for establishing the rule of law in Libya and ending impunity.

09 December 2019

UK: Mobile fingerprint scanners bring a dangerous new front to the hostile environment

"Police technology is being used to draft frontline officers into the Government’s hostile environment, undermining access to vital police services for countless people, Liberty research has found."

09 December 2019

Germany sets out plan for automatic relocation of asylum seekers

A "non-paper" from the German authorities proposed reforming the Common European Asylum System to introduce an automatic relocation scheme and the mandatory initial assessment of asylum applications at the external borders.

09 December 2019

Serbia: Unlawful video surveillance with face recognition in Belgrade

"The installation of smart video surveillance in Belgrade, with thousands of cameras and face recognition software, has raised public concern."

07 December 2019

58 dead as migrant boat capsizes off Mauritanian coast

Mauritanian officials rescued the Gambian migrants from the shore

06 December 2019

Secret document: "Club de Berne" criticises member in Austria for possible extremism

"An audit report of the "Club de Berne" finds serious deficiencies in the Austrian domestic intelligence service. Its IT systems were not approved for secret information. The authority should also ensure that it is not infiltrated by "extremist organisations“.

 

Spotted an error? If you've spotted a problem with this page, just click once to let us know.

Report error