The military threat posed by Islamic State may have receded but the threat posed by terrorist groups of all colours has not gone away. That was one of the key messages to emerge from a high-level conference in Brussels which focused on the fight against terrorism. Last week’s terrorist atrocity in Christchurch which…
Multiple challenges in strengthening EU cybersecurity remain despite the progress made, according to a new Briefing Paper from the European Court of Auditors. As the risk of falling victim to cybercrime or a cyberattack increases, it is essential to build resilience through strengthening governance, raising skills and awareness, and improving coordination, say the auditors. They…
The Council of Europe’s Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) has published its report on its visit to Romania carried out from 7 to 19 February 2018. The report highlighted abuse of Romanian prisoners by staff, inter-prisoner violence and allegations of police ill-treatment. The report states…
A new fund that will support Member States’ efforts to boost security within and between their countries has been endorsed during a vote at this week’s plenary meeting of the European Parliament in Strasbourg. As currently proposed, the Internal Security Fund will have a budget of just under €5 billion to support objectives such as…
“Abolish Golden Visa schemes, step up the fight against money laundering, collaborate more closely to fight tax avoidance and tax fraud and update tax regimes to the age of digitalisation. These are the main conclusions the EPP Group draws from the work of the Special Committee on Financial Crimes, Tax Evasion and Tax Avoidance”, according…
The European Union and the United Nations are announcing today a €50 million investment to tackle domestic violence in the Pacific region, as part of the EU-UN Spotlight Initiative. The €50 million contribution will fund new programmes to support concrete measures to end domestic and gender-based violence. It will do so by supporting preventive measures,…
Georgia is ranked number 41 alongside Spain and Latvia, writes James Wilson. This is according to the Transparency International (TI) Corruption Perceptions Index 2018 published last month, – a slight improvement in the country’s ranking compared with 2017. The biggest improvements in tackling corruption were made by former President Mikhail Saakashvili, whose reforms helped…
Zimbabwe must release political prisoners and return to the path of democratic change, Conservative Security and Defence spokesman Geoffrey Van Orden told the European Parliament this week. Van Orden contrasted the current crisis with the feelings of optimism and change when Robert Mugabe was ousted in November 2017. However, the clampdown and suppression of free…
Yesterday, (10 February) European Parliament President Antonio Tajani participated in the commemoration of the Day of Remembrance of the Victims of the Foibe Massacres. He laid a wreath at the edge of the Basovizza Foiba in Trieste, Italy, as part of the solemn commemoration established by Italian state law in 2004. The President issued the…
After weeks of alleged police “brutality” against protesters across several EU countries, a request by GUE/NGL for a debate and resolution on the use of excessive force by the police against peacefully protesting citizens’ is on the Strasbourg plenary agenda for next week. Alleged police violence and use of weapons – including the so-called flashballs or…
