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Issue 24/09, 10 May
Statewatch News
Also available as a PDF.
In this issue:
- Finland and Italy: military should aid migration control
- Council guts Europol smuggling proposal
- New bulletin to monitor EU border externalisation
Elsewhere: Our Director, Chris Jones, has been interviewed by CIVICUS on a new EU law that will interconnect databases of biometric data and “police records”, and moderated an event organised by the Transnational Institute on digitalisation and the security state. The video is available here.
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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.
Full story here.
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Europol migrant smuggling proposal torn to shreds by the Council
The Belgian Presidency of the Council of the EU has proposed gutting the Commission’s proposal to increase Europol’s powers in human smuggling and trafficking cases. There is little that remains of the original proposal, aside from new “Operational Task Forces” led by member states (with a support role given to Europol) and a limited mandatory exchange of information on smuggling and trafficking investigations.
Full story here.
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New project to provide systematic monitoring of EU externalisation policy
What are the objectives of the EU’s external migration policy? With which countries are new migration agreements planned? How is the EU seeking to integrate non-European states into its violent migration control regime? And what impact will this have on people seeking protection, migrants, democracy and human rights, inside and outside the EU?
Our new bi-monthly bulletin helps to answer these questions. Read the first issue here.
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New material
UK and Italy to build on cooperation to stop migrant crossings ----- EU to provide Lebanon with €1 billion, deal covers “internal security” and “managing migration” ----- UK: Met police to pay ‘five-figure sum’ to French publisher arrested under anti-terror laws ----- Italian society remains ‘untamed’ by the most rightwing government in decades ----- Tunis police raid sees refugees abandoned near the border with Algeria ----- UK war powers convention now devoid of content ----- Racism and the food system: from asylum hotels to overfishing in Senegal
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Upcoming events
Florence/Online, 20-22 May
Alternative State of the Union
“The idea of the alternative State of the Union was born in 2023, when a group of researchers decided to organise a pilot event that was meant to provide an alternative to the opaque, top-down, and elitist “State of the Union” conference organised by the EUI. This is not the first time such an event has been organized and we are grateful for all those that have come before us, such as the Colletivo Prezzomolo. They have nurtured the idea of the EUI as a space for serious, critical, and realistic discussions of what the EU is and what it ought to be.”
Including: Sinking Europe, thinking migration: The law in theory and practice
New material
Asylum, immigration and borders
Asylum, immigration and borders
UK: Government’s Illegal Migration Act and Rwanda Plan to cause “system meltdown” costing billions
“A new report from the Refugee Council warns that the UK Government’s flagship Illegal Migration Act and Rwanda Plan will lead to another catastrophic “system meltdown”, trapping over 100,000 people in permanent limbo while costing taxpayers billions.”
NO to the deployment of Frontex in Belgium!
“On Thursday 25 April 2024, Interior Minister Annelies Verlinden's Frontex bill will be put to the vote of federal parliamentarians. This text provides the legal framework for the deployment of Frontex on Belgian territory, to assist the Federal Police in border management and the Aeronautical Police in escorting people subject to forced return measures.”
UK: At least 40 people died in Home Office asylum-seeker accommodation in 2023
“AT LEAST 40 people died while housed in UK Home Office asylum-seeker accommodation in 2023 – and a worryingly high number of them appear to have taken their own lives, The Civil Fleet can reveal.”
UK and Italy to build on cooperation to stop migrant crossings
“The Home Secretary met Italian counterparts and other key figures in Rome to discuss tackling the migrant crisis. Both countries agreed to step up efforts across Europe and Africa.”
EU to provide Lebanon with €1 billion, deal covers “internal security” and “managing migration”
“Third, security and stability are also key for these investments. We will support the Lebanese armed forces as well as the general and internal security forces. This will be mainly focused on providing equipment, training and the necessary infrastructure for border management. In addition, it would be very helpful for Lebanon to conclude a working arrangement with Frontex, particularly on information exchange and situational awareness.
Fourth, to help you in managing migration, we are committed to maintain legal pathways open to Europe and resettle refugees from Lebanon to the European Union. At the same time, we count on your good cooperation to prevent illegal migration and combat migrant smuggling.”
Home Office to detain asylum seekers across UK in shock Rwanda operation
“The Home Office will launch a major operation to detain asylum seekers across the UK on Monday, weeks earlier than expected, in preparation for their deportation to Rwanda, the Guardian can reveal.”
At the heart of Fortress Europe II: Austria’s Role in Border Externalisation Policies in the Balkans
“Over a year ago, the network transform! europe published the first part of the study At the Heart of the Fortress Europe, focusing on the role of Austrian actors and Austrian-based organisations in externalising the EU border regime in the Balkans, more specifically in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Considering the New Pact, Part II of the study follows up on Austria’s involvement in EU border externalisation policies through migration management.”
From Sea to Prison: Borders Without End
Detailed quarterly update from Borderline Europe.
Member states push to outsource migration procedures to non-EU countries
“A group of EU member states, led by Czechia and Denmark, are preparing a letter to the European Commission calling for migrants trying to reach the EU to be transferred to selected third countries before reaching the bloc’s shores – a procedure experts say is likely to be difficult to enforce under current EU migration law.”
Finland frames asylum seekers as security threat
“Finland is prepping legislation to clamp down on migrant border crossings to counter perceived hybrid attacks by Russia.”
How European countries wrongfully classify children seeking asylum as adults
“Thousands of children seeking protection in Greece, Italy, and the UK have likely been registered as adults – a failure with serious consequences.”
Ethiopia 'dismayed' by EU's restriction of visa provisions to Ethiopians
“The Ethiopian government said it was “dismayed by the decision of the Council of the European Union to temporarily suspend certain elements of the EU law that regulates issuing of visas to Ethiopian nationals.””
Commission publishes Schengen report setting new priorities for the year ahead
“…the Schengen evaluation missions identified that an improved application of the Schengen rules is needed, notably by:
Enhancing the quality of border control
Stepping up capacities for return, as the overall figures for effective returns remained low
Maximising the use of the Schengen Information System
Removing obstacles to the cross-border exchange of information.”
Meloni and Von der Leyen strengthen agreements with Al Sisi in violation of human rights
“In March of this year, the usual European pre-election training was repeated for a delegation visiting Cairo, led by Commission President Ursula Von Der Leyen, accompanied again this time by Giorgia Meloni, with other European government representatives, in view of a series of bilateral agreements with Egypt. These include several billion euros coming from Brussels for investments and loans and a few hundred million euros to intensify cooperation in the fight against irregular immigration (law enforcement) in a declared ‘holistic’ perspective, which includes important agreements on economic and financial matters.”
“…“hope is like the sun” and a ruling from the 30th of January reminds us of the judicial lawmaking role the Court of Justice of the European Union can play setting higher human rights standards than the ones negotiated at political level – in this case, on the right to family reunification.”
Restoring the Borderless Schengen Area: Mission Impossible?
“The increase in border checks within the Schengen zone, since 2015, has prompted a recent EU strategy to ‘save Schengen’. But according to expert on EU law Steve Peers, the ongoing changes are unlikely to restore a fundamentally border-free travel area.”
Poland won't accept migrant relocation mechanism, PM says
“Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on Wednesday Poland will not accept a European Union immigrant relocation mechanism despite the European Parliament's approval of legislation meant to curb migration into the continent.”
Refugee who left UK for holiday in 2008 stranded in east Africa for 16 years
“A refugee who left the UK on holiday as a teenager in 2008 has been stranded in east Africa for the last 16 years in a case that senior judges have described as “extraordinary”.”
Civil liberties
UK: Met police to pay ‘five-figure sum’ to French publisher arrested under anti-terror laws
“A French publisher who was arrested in London by counter-terror officers has been awarded “substantial” damages by the Metropolitan police, as new figures reveal thousands of foreign nationals have been stopped at UK ports under anti-terror laws.”
And see: UK Islamophobia: Why Schedule 7 must be immediately repealed: “My case shows how the Terrorism Act is selectively applied, with Muslims facing a disproportionate burden”
Violent attacks against environmental journalists on the rise, report finds
“More than 70% of environmental journalists have been attacked for their work since 2009, according to a Unesco report, which warns of rising threats against those covering the climate crisis.”
Attacks on press freedom around the world are intensifying, index reveals
“Political attacks on press freedom, including the detention of journalists, suppression of independent media outlets and widespread dissemination of misinformation, have significantly intensified in the past year, according to the annual World Press Freedom Index published by Reporters Without Borders (RSF).”
And see: Media freedom ‘perilously close to breaking point’ in several EU countries
Ghassan Abu Sitta: British-Palestinian surgeon 'prevented' from entering France
“Prominent British-Palestinian surgeon Ghassan Abu Sitta said he was denied entry into France on Saturday where he was scheduled to address the senate about Israel's attacks against Gaza's healthcare system.”
Italian society remains ‘untamed’ by the most rightwing government in decades
“Repression is the hallmark of Giorgia Meloni's far-right government. The targets: migrants, the LGBTQ+ community, climate activists, and demonstrations of dissent in general. But Italian society is proving resilient.”
Italy: Rai journalists strike over ‘suffocating control’ by Meloni’s government
“An Italian union has called for political parties to be “eliminated from Rai” as journalists with the public broadcaster went on strike in protest against the “suffocating control” allegedly being wielded by Giorgia Meloni’s rightwing government over their work.”
Italy bans NGO planes from using airports close to migrant routes
“Italy said on Tuesday that planes used by charities to track migrant boats in difficulty would no longer be able to fly from airports on the islands of Sicily, Pantelleria and Lampedusa that are close to the shipping routes.”
Tunis police raid sees refugees abandoned near the border with Algeria
“Tunisia’s sub-Saharan African refugees and migrants describe being victims of vilification and kidnapping nationwide.”
Repression is also taking place again organisations that support migrants and refugees in the country: In Tunisia, the crackdown is intensifying on sub-Saharan migrants and the associations that support them
Law
“The European Court of Human Rights has today given notice1 to the Government of Türkiye of another five cases covering 1,000 applications concerning convictions for membership of an armed terrorist organisation, based on the alleged use of the encrypted messaging application called “ByLock”.”
“In the context of criminal proceedings in Germany concerning illegal drug trafficking involving the use of the encrypted telecommunications service EncroChat, the Court of Justice clarifies certain conditions for the transmission and use of evidence under the Directive regarding the European Investigation Order (EIO) in criminal matters.”
Joint NGO Statement on recast EU Anti-Trafficking Directive
“On 23 of April, during its last plenary meeting of this mandate, the EU parliament adopted the final text of the recast of the EU anti-trafficking Directive1. We, the undersigned non-governmental human rights organisations, welcome some progress that has been made in the revised Directive. It is positive that sanctions for legal persons have been strengthened for those liable for misconduct; that the non-punishment clause now applies to all unlawful activities that victims have been compelled to commit as a direct consequence of being subject of trafficking and that the right to international protection is strongly recognised in the text.
Overall, however the final legislative text demonstrates a lack of commitment of the European institutions to advance the rights of trafficked persons.”
Military
Under the Radar: Twenty years of EU military missions
“In 2003, the EU deployed its first-ever foreign mission to the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. In the 20 years since then it has undertaken more than 40 operations across Europe, Africa and Asia with 24 currently active, 13 of which are civilian, 10 of which are military and are the focus of this report, as well as one hybrid mission. The stated objectives of these missions include laudable aims, such as preventing conflict, strengthening international peace and security, supporting the rule of law, and crisis management, among others. According to the EU’s diplomatic service these missions are driven by the EU’s commitment to improving the security situation in host nations. They are described as low to middle intensity, offering EU services that are tailored to local circumstances and usually involve the provision of military training and equipment to national armies. In reality, as this report shows, these missions have little to do with ‘promoting peace, prosperity and security’, and are rather far more concerned with achieving the EU’s final stated aim of promoting ‘the interests of Europeans’ to the detriment of local populations in host states.”
UK war powers convention now devoid of content: New report
“The constitutional Convention requiring Parliament to be consulted if the UK goes to war has now been emptied of any substantive content, argues a new report published by the Ceasefire Centre for Civilian Rights.”
“On 11 April 2024, at the Administrative Court of Berlin, ECCHR filed a lawsuit against the German government for exports weapons of war to Israel for use in Gaza. This lawsuit is supported by the Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR) and the Al Mezan Center for Human Rights in Gaza, as well as the Palestinian human rights organization Al Haq in Ramallah in the West Bank.”
We need actions not words, defence industry tells EU leaders
“EU governments want to attract more investment in defence, but a lack of public funding and collaboration is holding industry back, business leaders said on Wednesday”
Policing
UK: Cops arrest four people for TERRORISM offences – for CARRYING a painting with a PEACE DOVE on it
“Cops arrested four campaigners at UCL student protests on suspicion of terrorism-related offenses – for the heinous crime of carrying a painting depicting a peace dove flying out of occupied Gaza. Apparently, clear blue sky is now antisemitic. Who knew?”
Thousands of children strip-searched by police in England and Wales last year
“More than 60 children a week are being strip-searched by police in England and Wales, with those who are black, Asian or mixed race significantly more likely to be targeted, new figures reveal.”
Prisons
“His sister says the only person he ever presented a serious threat to was himself, yet he was given an indeterminate sentence for stealing a car. The psychological torture was impossible to endure”
Privacy and data protection
Rules of Procedure on the Data Protection Framework redress mechanism for national security purposes
“Rules of Procedure on the cooperation and respective roles of national SAs and the EDPB Secretariat regarding the submission of complaints in the redress mechanism available to EU individuals in relation to alleged violations of U.S law with respect to their data collected by U.S. authorities competent for national security”
“This article embarks on a comprehensive examination of two research questions. The first question is “What are the AI-enabled applications, which are developed and deployed in Greece in the border management field?”… The second question is “To what extent are the development and deployment of these AI-enabled border management applications in compliance with the applicable data protection provisions?”.”
Racism and discrimination
Racism and the food system: from asylum hotels to overfishing in Senegal
“The serving of rotten food to people seeking asylum living in London’s refugee accommodation now appears to be endemic. But, Monish Bhatia and Roxana Cavalcanti argue, this is no aberration or accident. It needs to be viewed within today’s global food system in which hunger, malnutrition, and food-related deaths are deeply political and strategic.”
Surveillance
“New border and surveillance technologies are being lauded for their accuracy and fairness. But how ethical can forced identification be? Late nineteenth-century enthusiasts of pinning down the ‘born criminal’ enlisted scientific advances to sinister ends. Might biometric data processing that registers migrants entering the EU risk a similar transgression of human rights today?”
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