Iratxe García Pérez, the leader of the Socialists and Democrats in the European Parliament, met with judges in Warsaw on Saturday who are fighting to save the rule of law in Poland, and with attorney Michal Wawrykiewicz, co-founder of the Free Courts Civic Initiative. After the meeting, García Pérez said,”What I heard today is extremely…
Members of the European Parliament have adopted a report on the use of Artificial Intelligence in Criminal Law. The file includes a paragraph that speaks out in favour of a ban on any processing of biometric data, including facial images, for law enforcement purposes that would lead to mass surveillance in publicly accessible spaces. With…
The European Commission has presented the first-ever strategy on combating antisemitism and fostering Jewish life. With antisemitism worryingly on the rise, in Europe and beyond, the Strategy sets out a series of measures articulated around three pillars: to prevent all forms of antisemitism; to protect and foster Jewish life; and to promote research, education and…
The Commission has launched a public consultation on EU action against abusive litigation targeting journalists (Strategic Lawsuits against Public Participation -SLAPP). The consultation, announced on Monday, will feed into the upcoming initiative against SLAPP, to be presented by the Commission, as announced in the EU democracy action plan. Vice-President Věra Jourová, said: “Daphne Caruana Galizia had 47 abusive…
On Tuesday, the decision on the new EU list of tax havens will be on the agenda of the meeting of the economy and finance ministers of the 27 EU member states. It has already become known that the list will be shortened: Anguila, the Seychelles and Dominica are to be removed from the list….
Issues hindering the EU Prosecutor’s investigation and prosecution of cross border crimes against the EU budget were discussed with chief prosecutor Kövesi. In a debate on Friday, EU public prosecutor Laura Kövesi informed the Budgetary Control Committee that the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) is in urgent need of additional human resources to be able…
Political reaction has been swift to the disturbing new Pandora Papers revelations on Monday about the rich and famous. “The Pandora Papers show once more that the fight against tax havens and letter box companies is only making limited progress”, said Markus Ferber MEP, EPP Group Spokesman on Economic Affairs. The deputy was commenting on…
A delegation from the Civil Liberties Committee concluded on Friday a visit to Hungary in which they met with the Government, the opposition, journalists and NGOs. The aim was to assess the respect for press and academic freedom, judicial independence, the rights of minorities and the wider rule of law context on the ground. With…
The ECR Group says it is “deeply concerned” about the imprisonment of Mikheil Saakashvili, former pro-western President of Georgia and leader of the largest opposition party in the country, after his return from exile. Saakashvili was fully entitled to return to his homeland. Allegations against him made by the ruling party in Georgia are unfounded. The…
In the margins of the Budapest Forum for Sustainable Democracies, the Mayor of Budapest, Gergely Karácsony, convened a global group of mayors united to build a value-driven city network to rebuild and reinforce democracy, stand as a bulwark against the erosion of the rule of law, and fight corruption, state capture, racism and populist nationalism….
