The growth of hatred, expressed both online and offline across Europe, confirms the need to address hate speech and hate crime at EU level, an EESC hearing was told. On 30 March, the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) held a public hearing to discuss the European Commission’s proposal to broaden the list of EU crimes…
In the city of Mariupol, which the Russian army is literally razing to the ground, hundreds of thousands of people remain without food and basic necessities. Mariupol residents have been under siege for weeks. The invaders have cordoned off all the exits from the city and fire at civilians who try to leave for a…
The number of cyberattacks on EU bodies is increasing sharply. The level of cybersecurity preparedness within EU bodies varies and is overall not commensurate with the growing threats. Since EU bodies are strongly interconnected, a weakness in one can expose others to security threats. This is the conclusion of a special report by the European…
The president of the European Parliament’s committee on civil liberties, justice and home affairs, Juan Fernando López Aguilar, this week met with the Bulgarian Minister of Justice, Nadezhda Yordanova. They discussed together the rule of law crisis in Bulgaria over the last years. According to them, there are too many questions that need answers, especially…
Effectively fighting homelessness requires the availability of clear, reliable and comparable data. For the second consecutive year, the King Baudouin Foundation has supported research teams (from (LUCAS KU Leuven and UCLouvain CIRTES) in organising point-in-time counts of homeless people at the end of 2021 in four cities and regions: Charleroi, Namur, the southern part of…
Large companies will soon need to publicly disclose detailed information on the way they operate and manage social and environmental risks. On Tuesday, the Legal Affairs Committee adopted its position on the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) with 22 votes in favour and one against. If agreed with EU governments, the bill will make businesses…
The European Parliament has voted to set up an inquiry committee to investigate the use of surveillance spyware against citizens, activists and journalists. This follows revelations from a group of journalists that many governments, including from EU Member States, have been using the NSO group’s Pegasus spyware against citizens. The Greens/EFA Group strongly condemns the…
The last time Europe witnessed atrocities on this scale was under the Nazi Wehrmacht blitz led by Adolf Hitler 80 years ago. The Nazi crimes against humanity are being emulated today by the Russian butchers of Putin’s invading forces in his unprovoked war against Ukraine. The barbaric treachery of Russia’s troops will remain as a…
Access Now, together with Digital Security Lab Ukraine, has called on the international community to take swift action in support of civil society in Ukraine, as well as the broader public whose human rights are being undermined by cyberattacks on Ukraine’s critical infrastructure. Following the most recent cyberattacks targeting Ukraine’s essential public service infrastructure, and the ongoing…
The European Union-African Union Summit opens on Thursday 17th February, and a thorny question is whether or not an invitation will be extended to the Western Sahara to attend. After today’s Foreign Affairs Committee, the European Union stressed in the clearest way, that its position has not changed regarding the Western Sahara saying that none…
