Archive
Police to be able to run face recognition searches on 50m driving licence holders
The Guardian, 20 December 2023. Read More
Tracking the Pact: Council for detention of families, against legal advice and sibling reunion
A discussion document circulated by the Spanish Presidency of the Council of the EU prior this week's crunch trilogues on new migration and asylum legislation sets out the Council's red lines: families with children should not automatically be excluded from border procedures, and thus may be detained; free legal advice should not be provided to asylum applicants; and siblings should not be considered as family members. The Council also wants to maintain "a menu of derogations as broad as possible." Read More
All EU institutions want billions more for borders, but disagree on the details
At its meeting last week, the European Council – made up of the heads of state and government of EU member states – backed the European Commission’s proposal to boost the EU’s 2021-27 border budgets by €2 billion. This is not enough for the European Parliament, however, which would like to see the budgets increased by €3 billion. Meanwhile, all three institutions have different positions on the proposed increase for development aid, which includes funding for externalised migration control. Read More
New Brexit fingerprint checks for UK travellers in Europe set to start in 2024
i, 18 December 2023. Read More
NGOs: EU asylum overhaul will create ‘cruel system’
EUobserver, 18 December. Read More
EU: Hamas ban plan sparks concerns of crackdown on pro-Palestinian action
A Franco-German-Italian plan setting out proposals to counter the activities of Hamas at both EU and global level has raised concerns that governments may use it as a justification for further attacks on pro-Palestinian protest and campaigning. The document outlines strategies ranging from restricting resources to banning support networks. Read More
Expansive new police powers hidden behind EU’s migrant smuggling proposals
At the end of November, the European Commission announced two new laws to fight migrant smuggling. One seeks to make the legal framework more punitive. The other aims “to reinforce Europol’s role in the fight against migrant smuggling and trafficking in human beings,” but would in fact expand Europol’s powers in relation to all crimes for which it has competence, and let the agency conduct “non-coercive investigative measures” during joint operations with national police forces. Its staff are currently prohibited from conducting any kind of investigative measure. Read More
Frontex working groups
Frontex rules on the creation and functioning of internal working groups, and a chart of working groups as of early October 2023. Read More
Tracking the Pact: Human rights disaster in the works as Parliament makes “significant concessions” to Council
Negotiations are close to an end on the new laws that make up the EU's Pact on Migration and Asylum, and the Council - which has consistently favoured rules that will downgrade human rights protections - appears to have largely got its way, according a document circulated by the Spanish Council Presidency yesterday. Amongst other things, the document openly admits that the Council is planning to sideline Parliament's concerns over "potential discrimination based on race." Read More
UN travel surveillance system needs “pause and urgent review”, says Special Rapporteur
A UN Special Rapporteur has called for a pause to the roll-out of an UN-sponsored travel surveillance system, and for an urgent review to be initiated. The international exchange of travellers’ information amongst police and border forces is on the rise but access to remedies remains limited, leaving gaps in the protection of individual rights. Azerbaijan, a state that imprisons political opponents and that has been accused of committing genocide, is one of dozens of countries that have received UN assistance. Read More