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The European Parliament's resolution on the functioning of the Schengen Area calls for an end to illegal internal border controls imposed by EU member states, the upholding of individual rights at the external borders of the Schengen area, and calls for more stringent evaluation of the operational activities of Frontex and close oversight of the implementation of the security and law enforcement provisions in the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement.
2,087 people died on migration routes towards Spain in the first half of 2021, says a new briefing from the organisation Caminando Fronteras, an increase of 526% when compared to the first half of 2020.
The European Court of Human Rights has ruled that the Polish and Hungarian authorities violated the prohibitions on torture and collective expulsion and breached the right to an effective remedy in two separate pushback cases.
The Joint Committee on Human Rights, made up of members of the House of Commons and House of Lords, says that there is "no case" for amending the Human Rights Act, something that has long-been part of government plans as part of the effort to limit accountability measures and undermine protections for individuals.
Just prior to handing over the Council Presidency to Slovenia, the Portuguese authorities circulated a note setting out the state of play with negotiations on the controversial "e-evidence" proposal. The proposal would make it simplier for law enforcement and judicial authorities to obtain electronic data held in another member state, but without sufficient safeguards it poses grave risks to fundamental rights.
In a discussion paper focusing on Frontex's deportation activities, the new Slovenian Council Presidency proposes more strategic cooperation with “crucial third countries of origin and transit”, as well as stronger internal structures and improved procedures at EU and member state level, to overcome “fragmentation” between national approaches.
The government has announced a new Nationality and Borders Bill that it claims will "fix the broken asylum system" - a system that the Conservative Party has now been in charge of for more than a decade. It includes a variety of proposals that have been branded as illegal, cruel and "anti-refugee", which will only serve to increase the hardship faced by people in need attempting to reach the UK, and by refugees who make it to UK territory.
On 7 July, the Council of the EU's Working Party on Terrorism will discuss whether the EU should launch a specific initiative to counter "violent left-wing and anarchist extremism and terrorism," with a background paper from the Counter-Terrorism Coordinator providing a menu of possible activities that the member states and EU institutions could undertake.
Comments from 14 member states show significant divergences on the proposed Screening Regulation, which would entrench hotspot-like infrastructure at the EU's external borders "in the interest of the Member States and to the detriment of the exiled persons".
The Portuguese Presidency of the Council is approaching agreement on its position on granting new powers to EU policing agency Europol. A compromise text, published here, was sent by the Presidency to the Permanent Representatives Committee (COREPER) yesterday. If approved, it will form the basis for negotiations with the European Parliament.
"The UK is an important global player with which the EU has an interest in cooperating in many fields in the international arena... At the same time, the UK can become a competitor on several fronts vis-à-vis the EU, for instance by trying to bolster its position as a global norm-setter and decision-shaper, or by promoting trade deals with third countries that put it in direct competition with the EU."
"To effectively incentivise voluntary return and promote sustainable reintegration, well-established reintegration programmes are needed. Against this background, the ERRIN take-over by Frontex constitutes big potential but at the same time a major challenge," says a document produced by the Austrian authorities on increasing Frontex's role in "voluntary return and reintegration."
"It is important that Member States’ law enforcement and judicial authorities which have not yet done so establish a regular dialogue with their military forces and relevant intelligence and security services," as part of the attempt to gather and use "battlefield information" to prosecute terrorists, says a note from the EU's Counter-Terrorism Coordinator.
The UK parliament's Joint Committee on Human Rights has condemned the public order powers in the proposed Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill, saying that they would further increase restrictions on non-violent protests "in a way that we believe is inconsistent with our rights."
After 13 meetings, the Council has made a number of changes to the proposed Asylum and Migration Management Regulation, mainly to the provisions on "solidarity". The document, published here, gives an indication of what exactly the member states think solidarity means in the context of migration and asylum.
On 15 and 16 June, the European Ombudsman closed enquiries relating to different aspects of Frontex transparency: complaints, and access to documents.
Between 2000 and 2020 the use of rubber bullets by Spanish security forces has caused the direct death of one person and contributed to the death of 14 others; 11 people have lost an eye. A new report renews the long-standing call for the Spanish government to ban their use.
Member states are making little progress in changing national laws to ease biometric identity checks by the police, one of the key aims of the EU's 'interoperability' initiative.
A legal complaint has been submitted against Frontex executive director Fabrice Leggeri for “aggravated defamation by the press” by the Greek Helsinki Monitor (GHM), on behalf of themselves and 27 people who were “illegally deported”.
The Draft EU Drugs Action Plan 2021-25 is heading to the Council for approval, and amongst other things includes an action to "improve possibilities to tackle encryption," as well as the use of new technologies (including the near-ubiquitous "artificial intelligence") for "monitoring suspicious postal items... while preserving the fundamental right of privacy of correspondence."
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