For years, Socialists and Democrats have denounced the situation in Bulgaria for its growing corruption, and attacks on the rule of law and freedom of media. This is why the public designation of Bulgarian public officials and oligarchs for engaging in corruption by the US State Department comes as no surprise. The close connections over the years…
On 23 April, Brahim Ghali the head of the separatist movement Polisario, was welcomed by Spain to receive treatment in a hospital in Logroño, under a false Algerian identity and with forged papers. He hoped through this subterfuge to escape Spanish justice since he has pending an arrest warrant issued against him in Spain for…
The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) welcomes the proposed new package of EU cybersecurity measures but points to weaknesses in addressing Europe’s huge cyber skills gap. Critical entities also need streamlining, simplification and clearer application guidelines, in the EESC’s view. Overall, the EESC hails the new EU cybersecurity strategy as a positive step towards…
Reacting to the European Commission’s proposal for new regulations in the field of Artificial Intelligence (AI), Socialists and Democrats demand legislation that is at least as groundbreaking as the regulation on Data Protection (GDPR). While the current proposal is a good start, the S&D Group will work hard to defend fundamental rights, such as privacy…
The recent departure from China of a veteran journalist shines a light on how that nation’s regime suppresses journalism from other countries, writes Jianli Yang. Late last month, after nine years in China, BBC Beijing correspondent John Sudworth clandestinely left with his family for Taiwan. His move followed a propaganda campaign against him for his…
The European and International Federations of Journalists (EFJ-IFJ) have called for the immediate release of Vladislav Yesypenko and the withdrawal of all charges against him. Freelance journalist Vladislav Yesypenko has told a court he was tortured and forced to confess after he was arrested in March by the Federal Security Service (FSB) officers in Crimea on fabricated charges. Vladislav Yesypenko’s…
Last year lobbyists working for the separatist Polisario movement lodged documents in the New Zealand high court saying that the New Zealand Superannuation Fund (NZSF), with $45 billion under management, unlawfully invested in farms that use phosphate from the southern provinces of Morocco, and interests in companies operating in the Moroccan Sahara. Fertiliser companies Ravensdown…
The International Foundation for Better Governance (IFBG) has published an extensive investigation by award winning journalists Philip Braund and Colin Stevens on the issue of granting asylum in the UK to fugitive bankers from the former Soviet Union, who are accused of fraud and other illegal activities in their homeland. The multi-page document for the…
What started as a routine business trip to Congo (DRC) turned into a 12 day nightmare of detention by the DRC intelligence services and interrogation for 2 international businessmen. From the safety and comfort of Abu Dhabi after being released from detention, Paolo Persico and Alexander Zingman spoke to me of their ordeal. They were…
The Polish government is being taken to the European Court again over lack of independence of the judiciary. The move, announced by the commission on Wednesday, has been welcomed by the RE group. A statement read, “We welcome the European Commission’s announcement that it will launch an infringement procedure against Poland over the “muzzle law”….
