1. EU: EUROPOL: TE-SAT 2010: EU Terrorism Situation and Trend Report
2. UK: Home Office: Police powers and procedures 2008/9 report. Including stop and search figures
3. EU countries trading in tools of torture: Amnesty International and Omega Research Foundation
4. EDPS: E-waste and data protection: warns against security risks and calls for “privacy by design”
5. EIPA: Seminar: Transparency and Data Protection: Cooperating or Conflicting Elements of Good Governance?
6. Statewatch Briefing: Protection of Personal Data in Transatlantic Security Cooperation SWIFT, PNR & Co – which way forward?
7. European Commission: EU-US International agreement on personal data protection
8. European Commission: on establishing an Agency for the operational management of large-scale IT systems for JHA
9. EU Council of the European Union: Report on the Development of EU Military Capabilities for the First Semester of 2010
10. USA: General Accountability Office: Intellectual property: Efforts to Quantify the Economic Effects of Counterfeit and Pirated Goods:
11. European Commission: Proposal on preventing and combating trafficking in human beings, and protecting victims
12. European Commission: Commission Work Programme 2010 (COM 135)
13. EU-USA-PNR: European Commission: Report on the joint review of the implementation
14. EU-READMISSION AGREEMENT: PAKISTAN
15. EU-USA-SWIFT: European Parliament: Civil Liberties Committee (LIBE)
16. EU-USA-PNR Agreement: Letter from the Article 29 Working Party
17. EU: European Commission: Staff Working Document: Roma in Europe
18. Italy-Turkey: AI calls on Italy not to forcibly return Avri Er
19. EU Roma Policy Coalition: Second EU Roma Summit – ERPC Joint Statement
20. UK: Series of government reports on Intelligence and Security and National Security Strategy

1. EU: EUROPOL: TE-SAT 2010: EU Terrorism Situation and Trend Report:
www.statewatch.org/news/2010/apr/eu-europol-terr-report-2010.pdf

2. UK: Home Office: Police powers and procedures 2008/9 report (pdf). Including stop and search figures which show:
www.statewatch.org/news/2010/apr/uk-police-powers-ann-rep-inc-s-and-s.pdf

– 1,153,572 searches under PACE: a 10% increase over the previous year (112,603 people were arrested)
– 210,013 stop and searches under section 44 of the Terrorism Act 2000: an increase of 66% over the previous year: just 9 people were arrested for terrorism charges and 1,236 people arrested for other reasons)
– 150,174 stops and searches under the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994, anticipation of violence: an increase of 184% partly due to knife crime initiatives. (544 people were arrested for this offence and 3,729 arrested for other reasons)

3. EU countries trading in tools of torture: Last month Amnesty International and the Omega Research Foundation published a report showing how European companies are participating in the global trade in types of equipment widely used in torture or other ill-treatment:
www.statewatch.org/news/2010/apr/02eu-torture-trade.htm

4. European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS): E-waste and data protection: EDPS warns against security risks and calls for “privacy by design” (Press release):
www.statewatch.org/news/2010/apr/eu-edps-waste-prel.pdf

and Opinion: www.statewatch.org/news/2010/apr/eu-edps-waste-opinion.pdf

5. European Institute of Public Administration: Seminar: Transparency and Data Protection: Cooperating or Conflicting Elements of Good Governance? Maastricht (NL), 3 – 4 June 2010: www.statewatch.org/news/2010/apr/eipa-seminar-access-dp.pdf

“This seminar is recommended for anyone whose work relies on public access to documents or relates to the treatment of sensitive information. It is aimed at, among others, information officers, information managers, data protection officers, European, national and sub-national officials, data protection and information lawyers, legal advisors, staff of civil liberties associations, consultants, lobbyists, journalists and researchers.”

6. Statewatch Briefing: Hearing: Protection of Personal Data in Transatlantic Security Cooperation SWIFT, PNR & Co – which way forward?
www.statewatch.org/news/2010/apr/eu-usa-pnr-hearing-8-april-10-briefing.pdf

7. European Commission: Summary report: EU-US International agreement on personal data protection and information sharing for law enforcement purposes: Informal consultation with data protection stakeholders:
www.statewatch.org/news/2010/apr/eu-us-dp-principles-consultation.pdf

8. European Commission: Proposal for a Regulation on establishing an Agency for the operational management of large-scale IT systems in the area of freedom, security and justice: www.statewatch.org/news/2010/apr/eu-com-proposal-large-scale-it-agency-8151-10.pdf

9. EU Council of the European Union: Single Progress Report on the Development of EU Military Capabilities for the First Semester of 2010:
www.statewatch.org/news/2010/apr/eu-military-report-on-the-development-of-capabilities-8234-10.pdf

10. USA: General Accountability Office: Intellectual property: Observations on Efforts to Quantify the Economic Effects of Counterfeit and Pirated Goods:
www.statewatch.org/news/2010/apr/usa-gao-intellectual-property-report.pdf

11. European Commission: Proposal for a Directive on preventing and combating trafficking in human beings, and protecting victims, repealing Framework Decision 2002/629/JHA: www.statewatch.org/news/2010/apr/eu-com-95-10-trafficking-proposal.pdf

12. European Commission: Commission Work Programme 2010 (COM 135):
www.statewatch.org/news/2010/apr/eu-com-2010-work-programme.pdf

13. EU-USA-PNR: European Commission: Report on the joint review of the implementation of the Agreement between the European Union and the United States of America on the processing and transfer of Passenger Name Record (PNR) data by air carriers to the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS):
www.statewatch.org/news/2010/apr/eu-usa-pnr-joint-review-com.pdf

Viewed as whole the US use of PNR data is geared to: 1) Tracking everyone’s travel in and out of the USA; 2) creating a “life-time” history of an individual’s movements and more recently 3) starting to operate an invisible “permission” to travel regime for very passenger.

14. EU-READMISSION AGREEMENT: PAKISTAN: For the first time, the Members of the European Parliament will have the opportunity to veto the conclusion of such agreements: Green/ALE and GUE/NGL groups in the European Parliament: Briefing (pdf) and Commission proposal:

“After years of opacity on the conclusion of readmission agreements with third countries, the European Commission agreed – for the first time – to answer some of the questions put forward by Members of the European Parliament … Thus, in the name of transparency and information sharing, the Greens/ALE and the GUE/NGL groups would like to present the issues which dominated the debates”

See also: Briefing Note: Readmission agreements: www.statewatch.org/news/2010/jan/eu-readmission-agreements.pdf

Open letter about readmission agreements – sent to the Union Council and European Commission (migreurop, link):
www.migreurop.org/article1350.html

15. EU-USA-SWIFT: European Parliament: Civil Liberties Committee (LIBE): SWIFT: MEPs want to limit data transfers to USA (Press release)
www.statewatch.org/news/2010/apr/ep-swift-libe-prel.pdf

and Report from LIBE meeting:
www.statewatch.org/news/2010/apr/ep-swift-libe-report.pdf

EU-USA-SWIFT: European Commission proposals for new SWIFT negotiations with the USA for access to all financial transactions in the EU: SEC(2010)315 final: Full-text: www.statewatch.org/news/2010/apr/eu-usa-swift-II-proposals-2.pdf

Background: SWIFT Agreement Terminated: Agreement of 30 November 2009 between the European Union and the United States of America on the processing and the transfer of Financial Messaging Data from the European Union to the United States for purposes of the Terrorist Finance Tracking Programme -Termination of the provisional application: www.statewatch.org/news/2010/feb/eu-council-swift-terminated-6443-10.pdf

“In the absence of the required consent of the European Parliament, the Council cannot adopt a decision approving the conclusion of the Agreement. Consequently the European Union cannot become a Party to this Agreement and the provisional application thereof is to be terminated forthwith” and European Parliament votes down SWIFT agreement with the USA (Press release):
www.statewatch.org/news/2010/feb/eu-usa-swift-vote-ep.pdf

16. EU-USA-PNR Agreement: Letter from the Article 29 Working Party on data protection to the European Parliament’s Civil Liberties Committee: Letter:
www.statewatch.org/news/2010/apr/eu-art-29-wp-letter-us-pnr-agreements.pdf

“This collection of a great number of passenger data and their retention by a foreign nation constitutes a great intrusion into the privacy of individuals and raises, of course, doubts about the proportionality of such a scheme…

the US has put in place a border control system which obliges all passengers to provide much more personal information than just API and PNR data if they want to enter the US. The data collected can be and are cross-referenced and matched against watch lists and other relevant information. When putting the PNR scheme in this context it clearly emerges that the data provided by each traveller before boarding a plane render him highly transparent and allow for extensive profiling in particular if passengers travel regularly to the US…

the current US PNR agreement, not only has the number of data elements been increased, but DHS can now get information of third persons others than those travelling, and in exceptional cases it may even get sensitive information”

17. EU: European Commission: Staff Working Document: Roma in Europe: The Implementation of European Union Instruments and Policies for Roma Inclusion – Progress Report 2008-2010 (SEC 400/10): www.statewatch.org/news/2010/apr/eu-com-roma-inclusion-sec-400-10.pdf

18. Italy-Turkey: AI calls on Italy not to forcibly return Avri Er
www.statewatch.org/news/2010/apr/01avri-er.htm

Following the rejection on 24 March 2010 of Avri Er’s asylum or international protection application by the Territorial Commission for the Recognition of International Protection in Bari, a number of organisations including Amnesty International have called on the Italian government not to deport the 38-year-old due to the risk that he may be subjected to torture upon his return.

19. EU Roma Policy Coalition: Second EU Roma Summit – ERPC Joint Statement:
www.statewatch.org/news/2010/apr/eu-roma-coaltion-joint-statement.pdf

20. UK: Series of government reports on Intelligence and Security and National Security Strategy:

– Intelligence and Security Committee: Annual Report 2009–2010:
www.statewatch.org/news/2010/apr/uk-isc-annual-report-09-10.pdf

– Intelligence and Security Committee: Annual Report 2008–2009 (also only just issued):
www.statewatch.org/news/2010/apr/uk-isc-annual-report-08-09.pdf

– CONTEST: Pursue Prevent Protect Prepare The United Kingdom’s Strategy for Countering International Terrorism: Annual report:
www.statewatch.org/news/2010/apr/uk-nss-contest-annual-report-2010.pdf

– National Risk Register of Civil Emergencies 2010 edition:
www.statewatch.org/news/2010/apr/uk-national-risk-register-2010.pdf

– Statement on National Security strategy:
www.statewatch.org/news/2010/apr/uk-nss-statement-2010.pdf

– National Security Strategy: Memorandum from the Cabinet Office:
www.statewatch.org/news/2010/apr/uk-jt-nat-security-cttee-note.pdf

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