Parliament Denounces Undermining of Media Freedom by Poland

Media Freedom in Poland under threat

Adding to a long list of concerns on the state of EU values in Poland, MEPs denounce the latest attempts to silence critical voices and undermine the primacy of EU law. In a resolution adopted on Thursday with 502 votes in favour, 149 against, and 36 abstentions, Parliament condemns the continuing deterioration of media freedom…

EU Must Improve Basic Rights for LGBTIQ

LGBTIQ rights

The EU should lift all obstacles facing LGBTIQ people when exercising their basic rights, say MEPs. In a resolution on the rights of LGBTIQ persons in the EU (adopted with 387 votes in favour, 161 against and 123 abstaining), the European Parliament emphasises that these citizens should be able to fully exercise their rights, including…

Ursula von der Leyen calls on EU Member States to protect journalists

von der Leyen stressed media freedom

In her annual address on the State of the Union to Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) on 15 September the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen stressed the need to better protect journalists, media outlets’ independence and the public right to information.  President von der Leyen outlined her vision for the…

Commission Seeks Penalties against Poland for Failure to Protect Judicial Independence

Polish Judicial Independence

The European Commission has taken two separate decisions, both related to decisions of the Court of Justice and where the actions of the Polish authorities continue to undermine the functioning of the Polish justice system. First, the Commission decided to request the Court of Justice to impose financial penalties on Poland to ensure compliance with…

UK blocks Popoviciu’s extradition exposing “denial of fair trial rights”

Popoviciu extradition denied by British Courts

The High Court decision in London that Romanian businessman Gabriel Popoviciu must not be extradited to Romania highlighted concerns about that country’s legal system. Popoviciu’s  case exposed that the Romania legal system does not meet the standards expected of a country with membership of the European Union. The robust judgment from the appeal court went…

Beirut Explosion: One Year On There Are Still Scars

Beirut Blast

On the first anniversary of the catastrophic port explosion in Beirut, the Socialists and Democrats call on Lebanese authorities to ensure victims’ quest for truth and justice. More than 217 people were killed, and over 7.000 injured, as 2.750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate exploded in Beirut’s port on 4 August 2020. Around 300.000 people were displaced, whereas the…

China’s Malicious Cyber Activities Heavily Criticised by EU

malicious cyber activity

EU foreign affairs Josep Borrell has urged China to do more to combat malicious cyber activities originating from the country. The Spaniard said, “Today, the EU and its Member States, together with partners, expose malicious cyber activities that significantly affected our economy, security, democracy and society at large.” He added, “The EU and its Member…

Rule of Law in the EU

The S&D Group in the European parliament said it welcomes the latest annual assessment on the rule of law in the EU but expresses concerns that the report will fail to improve the situation in the Member States without clear and specific recommendation to EU governments. Domènec Ruiz Devesa, S&D MEP who led the Parliament’s work…

North Atlantic Council condemns malicious cyber activities

We observe with increasing concern that cyber threats to the security of the Alliance are complex, destructive, coercive, and becoming ever more frequent. This has been recently illustrated by ransomware incidents and other malicious cyber activity, targeting our critical infrastructure and democratic institutions, as well as exploiting weaknesses in hardware and software supply chains. We…