ESMA Report on Wirecard Scandal

The European Securities Markets Authority (ESMA) has presented its long-awaited report on the role of the German financial supervisor BaFin and the German Financial Reporting Enforcement Panel (FREP) in the Wirecard accounting scandal.  In Germany, BaFin and FREP are jointly responsible for the enforcement of financial reporting. ESMA publishes guidelines aimed at harmonising enforcement throughout…

EP Calls on Ukraine to Deal with Corruption Prevention Seriously

A statement has been issued by the European Parliament on the consequences of the ruling issued by Ukraine’s Constitutional Court with regard to several provisions on the prevention of corruption and of the Ukrainian criminal code. It reads:“With great concern, we have learned about the 27 October ruling of the Ukrainian Constitutional Court, which declared…

In Praise of Female Firefighters

An increase in the number of female firefighters has been welcomed by the National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC), but more progress needs to be made in this area. The latest figures published by the Home Office – covering the period from April 1st 2019 to 31st March 2020 – focusses on a range of workforce areas across…

Italy Probes Alleged Anti-Trust Actions by Google

The European Publishers Council (EPC) has welcomed the Italian Competition Authority’s investigation against Google for an alleged abuse of dominant position.  The Authority questions the discriminatory use of the huge amount of data collected through its various applications, preventing rivals from competing effectively as well as adversely affecting consumers. In particular, the authority is focusing…

The frightening Global Empire of US Right Wing Groups

Trump’s top lawyer has spent millions on fighting women’s and LGBT rights across Europe with $270 million of ‘dark money’. This is revealed in a new report published today by the global news website openDemocracy. The report discusses how US Christian right wing groups linked to Donald Trump’s administration and peddlers of COVID-19 misinformation have spent…

Armenia Disinformation over Nagorno-Karabakh?

In the ongoing conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh, civilians have too often become casualties, easy targets in the latest bid to escalate hostilities. An Armenian missile attack on Ganja, Azerbaijan’s second largest city, flattened several homes on the early morning of Saturday, killing at least 13 civilians asleep in their beds, writes Taleh Baghiyev, Truth too has…

Poland Undermining EU

MEPs are urging the European Commission to take immediate action over the deteriorating rule of law in Poland, especially with regard to the independence of the Polish judiciary, as the PiS-led government continues to undermine and attack judges. “For many years, we have witnessed the ruling coalition undermining the whole structure of the state, including…

Rule of Law in Bulgaria

The European Parliament has adopted a resolution on the rule of law and fundamental rights in Bulgaria. Renew Europe supports the resolution, which calls for the independence of the judicial system to be upheld, measures against corruption and money-laundering as well as the protection of media freedom, the right to peaceful protests and other fundamental…

Discrimination Against Serbs in Croatia: A child’s rights case raised at the UN Human Rights Council

At the last session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, a case of discrimination based on ethnicity in Croatia was submitted to their delegation, writes Willy Fautré. Twenty-five years after the end of Croatia’s war for independence from Serbia, many Serbs living in Croatia report ongoing discriminatory treatment in court by the judiciary. …