WORLD WORLDWIDE EUROPE UK United Kingdom - STATEWATCH - issue 25/08 23 May 2025.

 

issue 25/08 23 May welcome Dear Statewatcher, These days, for a police or immigration agency looking to sidestep data protection safeguards, working under the cover of “innovation” seems a good bet. In the world of “security AI”, examined in our most recent report, there’s the EU Innovation Lab for Internal Security, the Security Data Space for Innovation, Operational Data for Innovation, a Research and Innovation Pipeline, and more. EU member states’ “innovative solutions” range from the unlawful use of the “safe third country” concept to “return hubs” in countries outside the EU. They want the latter so badly, they’re trying to shield it from judicial scrutiny—as we revealed this week. Ever ready to shift with political winds, UK prime minister Keir Starmer has likewise declared “return hubs” a “really important innovation.”  More “solutions” may come from joint EU–UK efforts. Both recently agreed to collaborate on “innovative approaches to reduce irregular migration.” In an article for The New Republic, Evgeny Morozov once noted that, for the political right,  “innovation” often meant corporate deregulation—removing state ‘interference’ with corporate power. Now, in policing and immigration, “innovation” seems to mean deregulating state power itself—treating rights and liberties as the problem. In either case, ‘innovation’ is the last thing this sphere needs. If we must have it, let it be finding new ways to resist and dismantle the wave of repressive, rights-restricting policies heading our way. You can help us work on that by circulating our work – and if you want to see more research and investigations on these vital issues, please donate today.  Chris Jones Director, Statewatch make a donation in EUR >> make a donation in GBP >> news Deportation camps: EU member states want to “prevent judicial scrutiny” Agreements between the EU and non-EU states on so-called “return hubs” should be “framed in flexible way” to “prevent judicial scrutiny.” This is according to a document produced by the Polish Presidency of the Council in February, obtained and published by Statewatch. read more >> In the press: IOM’s digital tool aims to speed up migrant removals, but at what cost? “If a state won’t readmit its own nationals,” said Chris Jones, executive director of the migrant rights organisation Statewatch, “then you have no deportation.” read more >> Volunteer Archive We are seeking new volunteers to help catalogue, coordinate and publicise our extensive Library & Archive. If you are interested in the history of political and social struggles and movements in the UK, Europe and beyond, are well-organised, and can dedicate a minimum of four hours per week, we would love to hear from you. read more >> what we're watching This is our bi-weekly round up of all the important news, events, and resources we've come across over the last two weeks. Find this resource useful? If so, please consider making a donation to support us. borders and frontiers Towards a Euro-Rwanda policy? The proposed new EU asylum law rules on ‘safe third countries’ The flaws with the UK’s Rwanda policy were so huge, they must have been visible from outer space. But were they visible to the European Union? Read more. Why the Home Office’s ‘AI Asylum Success Story’ Was Anything But The Home Office briefed the media that their AI tool would save officials 44 years of working time. What they didn’t mention was all the mistakes that it made . Read more. IOM’s digital tool aims to speed up migrant removals, but at what cost? “Once the system is deployed, it becomes a purely state-to-state tool. IOM at no point can ensure who, on what conditions, and with what safeguards, gets deported.” Read more. Hungary: Proposed law restricting internal migration favors the ruling party’s electoral chances A proposed legislation by the ruling party is trying to restrict Hungarian citizens moving to towns with booming populations. The proposal may have implications beyond addresssing practical problems with overpopulation: Átlátszó’s data analysis shows that such demographic shifts usually benefits the opposition. Read more. Sweden announces allocate more than EUR 9 million to accelerate migrant returns to their country of origin In a communiqué of 13 May, the Swedish Government indicated its increased support for the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) in order to increase the return of migrants present in the country but also in the European Union. More than EUR 9 million will be allocated by Sweden to the UN agency. Read more. coercion and control LIBE Vote on Europol Reform Blow to the Commission, but Still Legitimises an Expanding Surveillance Regime While the Parliament does not touch on the structural issues at the heart of Europol’s power grabbing strategy, the result is a blow to the Commission, with MEPs sending a strong message that not every politically-driven and unsubstantiated piece of legislation will be rubber-stamped by co-legislators as substantial modifications were included. Read more. France planning Supermax-style prison near notorious Devil’s Island penal colony site France is planning to build a brand new high-security prison in the Amazon rainforest, near the site of the notorious Devil’s Island penal colony that inspired the 1973 movie “Papillon,” starring Steve McQueen. Read more. France, Spain and Greece urge EU to curb child access to social media Spain, Greece and France are pushing the European Commission to swiftly introduce an EU-wide age verification system and set a minimum age for social media access. Read more. Hungary: Foreign funding bill poses most serious threat to independent media in years A newly introduced bill which would allow for the blacklisting, financial restriction and potential closure of media outlets and civil society organisations receiving foreign funds poses a severe threat to independent journalism and press freedom and should be immediately challenged under EU law, the International Press Institute (IPI) and undersigned partners said today. Read more. New bill gives superpowers to the Sovereignty Protection Office to silence independent media and NGOs in Hungary A recently submitted bill threatens to eradicate the last traces of freedom of the press, giving the so-called Sovereignty Protection Office a blank check to brand any media, NGO a threat to Hungary’s sovereignty, and destroy it financially. If the bill becomes a law, financing terrorism in Hungary would become easier than supporting independent media. Read more. Berlin police ban Soviet symbols on liberation anniversary Exactly 80 years after Nazi Germany’s unconditional surrender, Berlin police banned Soviet symbols during Victory Day commemorations. Read more. crime and collusion Alexander Dalli: The ex-Frontex and 'factory of evil' prison chief now combating migration to Malta from Libya Malta's special envoy to Libya, heavily involved in trying to halt migration from Libya across the Mediterranean, has been accused of running a "factory of evil" when he was head of Malta's prison. Read more. CPDP must resist pressure to muzzle discussions on Palestine We, the undersigned human rights organisations and academics, condemn the attempts to muzzle discussions on the unfolding genocide in Gaza at the 2025 edition of the Computers, Privacy and Data Protection (CPDP) conference in Brussels, Belgium, on 21-23 May. Read more. Criminal Court: Microsoft's email block a wake-up call for digital sovereignty Microsoft is coming under fire for blocking the email account of the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), Karim Khan. US President Donald Trump sanctioned the court in The Hague in February after a panel of ICC judges issued arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant. Read more. Balkan crime syndicates exploited Bosnia’s fragile institutions to forge identities and acquire passports Criminal actors relied not merely on forgery or counterfeit documents, but on an alarming level of insider support. With the help of corrupt police officers and civil servants, they accessed legitimate government databases and manipulated state records to obtain real identity documents based on stolen personal data from unsuspecting Bosnian citizens. Read more. Eurojust Annual Report 2024 In 2024, Eurojust expanded its global partnerships by launching the European Judicial Organised Crime Network (EJOCN) and deepening its cooperation with Latin American and other third countries. Read more. British government lose Hooded Men court challenge A Government attempt to halt legal actions brought by the so-called Hooded Men over their treatment under interrogation at the height of the Troubles is to be denied, the High Court has ruled. Read more. discrimination and racism EU Law and Life of Us the Black Migrants What makes a person worthy of rescue? What kind of law recognizes suffering only when it carries the right skin, right language and right passport, right origin? If the idea of Europe is built on human rights, why are so many of us dying just outside its gates, or worse, inside its funded camps? Read more. resistance and solidarity Support for Palestinian journalists as war in Gaza intensifies Solidarity initiatives over the war in Gaza are being organised by affiliate members of the International Federation of Journalists. Read more. Germany: Criminal conviction for wearing plastic visor during demonstration unjustified, says European court In the case against Mr Russ for wearing a plastic visor at a demonstration in Germany, the Court found that, while the national courts had taken into account the applicant’s freedom of expression, they had not weighed up his right to freedom of assembly against the intended aim of preventing disorder and violence; nor had they assessed the characteristics of the demonstration. Read more. secrecy and transparency Europol's deepening aversion to transparency In democracies, more powers granted to law enforcement bodies, whose day-to-day activities impinge upon the rights and freedoms of ordinary citizens, should be matched by more transparency and oversight. Our recent experience suggests the very opposite, however. As its mandate extends, Europol’s aversion to transparency and its evasion of uncomfortable questions should be of concern to all. Read more. Media coverage of forthcoming EU-US summit "cancelled" The EU-US Justice and Home Affairs Ministerial Meeting is due to take place on 2 and 3 June. "Accreditation for this meeting has been cancelled. There will be no media coverage," says the website of the Polish Presidency of the Council of the EU. No reasons are given. Read more. surveillance and snooping UK: 100% of undercover agent criminal conduct authorisations granted in 2023 Every single "covert human intelligence source criminal conduct authorisation" sought by UK authorities was approved in 2023, according to an official report. The Commissioner's report for 2023 shows that warrants issued for communications surveillance by law enforcement agencies increased by around 10%, from 310,592 in 2022 to 341,554 in 2023. Read more. Europol will have more and more power in Europe The European Parliament is discussing a new reform of the police agency to extend its powers in the fight against migrant smuggling. For activists, this is a pick to expand digital surveillance in the continent. Read more. EU: First Interoperability Milestone Achieved: sBMS and VIS4EES Go Live On 20 May 2025, eu-LISA successfully launched the shared Biometric Matching Service (sBMS), the EU’s central biometric matching system, and upgraded the Visa Information System (VIS4EES). These two systems mark the completion of the first milestone of the Interoperability Roadmap. Read more. England: Huge volume of legal aid applicants’ data stolen in cyber attack The Ministry of Justice today announced that hackers had “accessed and downloaded a significant amount of personal data from those who applied for legal aid through our digital service since 2010”. Read more. Police could search homes and phones after pregnancy loss Police have been issued guidance on how to search women’s homes for abortion drugs and check their phones for menstrual cycle tracking apps after unexpected pregnancy loss. Read more. Spyware victim not allowed to testify at MEP event The victims of mercenary spyware were not allowed to give testimony in the European Parliament's civil liberties committee this week, due to wider objections from centre-right lawmakers. Read more. war and peace EU to launch Israel trade review as Gaza crisis worsens The EU will review its political and economic agreement between Israel and the European Union over the "catastrophic" situation in Gaza, Kaja Kallas said Tuesday. Read more. EU and UK ink post-Brexit deal on security, fisheries and energy Britain and the European Union agreed a new defense and security pact Monday, as part of a wide-ranging “reset” of relations between London and Brussels after years of Brexit bad blood. Read more. Pressure grows for review of EU science cooperation with Israel Academia is growing increasingly vocal in its calls for scientific ties between the EU and Israel to be suspended, given the continuing military offensive and humanitarian crisis in Gaza. The latest to call for action, and criticism of the EU institutions, comes from 10 Belgian universities in the country’s French-speaking and Flemish rectors’ councils. Read more. Kurdish group PKK says it is laying down arms and disbanding Outlawed Kurdish group the PKK, which has waged a 40-year insurgency against Turkey, has announced it is laying down its arms and disbanding. The move followed a call in February by the group's jailed leader, Abdullah Ocalan, for the organisation to disband. The group is banned as a terrorist group in Turkey, the EU, UK and US. Read more. Ex-UK Special Forces break silence on 'war crimes' by colleagues Former members of UK Special Forces have broken years of silence to give BBC Panorama eyewitness accounts of alleged war crimes committed by colleagues in Iraq and Afghanistan. Read more. ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ Statewatch 88 Fleet St, EC4Y 1DH, London