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1. EU:  European Commission: Data protection proposals
2. EU-GREECE: EU sends border guards to Greece
3. UK:  New rights to protect Britons abroad
4. European Commission: Report on third country nationals and trafficking
5. European Parliament: Strengthening democratic scrutiny over EU external affairs
6. EU: Rightwing parties plan opposition to EU centralisation and immigration
7. USA: Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC): Documents Reveal Far-reaching DHS Biometrics Program
8. UK: Parliamentary  report:  Terrorist Asset-Freezing Bill
9. EU: IRR: Full list of deaths during deportations from Europe
10. GREECE: UN Special Rapporteur on Torture  report
11. EU: Directive on the mandatory retention of communications data
12. UK: INTERCEPTION MODERNISATION PROGRAMME (IMP) to be resurrected
13. EU-USA AGREEMENT ON DATA PROTECTION & EXCHANGE OF PERSONAL DATA
14. EU:  The fiction of migration control policies – Voluntary return programmes
15. UK: Coalition government: National Security Strategy
16. EU: European Commission report on internal borders
17. EU: Council of the European Union: drawing up non-legislative guidelines to extend its “returns” policy
18. UK: IDENTITY CARD BILL: Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights report

1. EU: European Commission:  New challenges – old problems: Commission proposals on revising the 1995 Data Protection Directive

This is intended to be the first step in revising the 1995 Directive in the light of shortcomings in the implementation of the 1995 Directive and to meet “new challenges” emanating from new technologies (social networking and cloud computing). Following reactions to this Communication there will be an impact assessment and legislative proposals presented in 2011.

“In the very different worlds of the 1990s and 2010s there should be an obligation to inform the data subject each and every time data not obtained from them has been added or disclosed to third parties. Not to do so renders meaningless the right of correction because the data subject has not been told and can have no idea what has happened to their data.”

2.   EU-GREECE: EU sends border guards to Greece (European Voice, link): “Rapid-response teams to help tackle flow of migrants. The European Commission has sent rapid-response teams of national border guards to help Greece deal with an influx of illegal migrants via Turkey. This is the first time that the Rapid Border Intervention Teams operated by Frontex, the EU’s border management agency, have been used since they were set up in 2007. The Greek government requested their deployment yesterday (24 October).” And: EU to deploy armed patrols at Greek-Turkish border (euobserver, link). See also: UN Special Rapporteur on Torture on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, Manfred Nowak, issued the following statement on his Mission to Greece: UN statement (pdf)

3. UK: New rights to protect Britons abroad (Justice Department, link): “New rules which make sure that Britons arrested abroad are informed of their rights in a language they understand are being negotiated in Brussels.”

4. European Commission: Report on the application of Directive 2004/81 on the residence permit issued to third-country nationals who are victims of trafficking in human beings or who have been the subject of an action to facilitate illegal immigration, who cooperate with the competent authorities (pdf) and Strategy for the effective implementation of the Charter of Fundamental Rights by the European Union (pdf)

5. European Parliament: Strengthening democratic scrutiny over EU external instruments (Press release, pdf): “Parliament approved proposals on Thursday to give MEPs a power of scrutiny over how the European Commission finances projects intended to promote stability in non-EU countries, improve cooperation with developing and other countries and promote democracy and human rights.” 6. EU: Rightist parties plan opposition to EU centralization, immigration (M&C News, link): “Right-wing parties from six European Union countries met in the Austrian capital Vienna on Friday to plan their opposition to a more centralized EU and to immigration.”

7. USA: Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC): Documents Reveal Far-reaching DHS Biometrics Program: LInk to documents (17 MB, pdf)

8. UK: Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights: Legislative Scrutiny: Terrorist Asset- Freezing etc. Bill (Preliminary Report) (pdf):20 “The Joint Committee on Human Rights (JCHR) expresses concern over some of the significant human rights issues raised by the Government’s Terrorist Asset-Freezing Etc. Bill, including the fairness of using secret evidence in the same way as it is used to make control orders.”

9. EU: Full list of deaths during deportations from Europe (IRR News Service, link)

10. GREECE: UN Special Rapporteur on Torture on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, Manfred Nowak, issued the following statement on his Mission to Greece: UN statement (pdf). See also: Greek gateway to EU is ‘inhuman and degrading’ (euobserver, link)

11. EU: Directive on the mandatory retention of communications data is being reviewed see: Full documentation (link). For full background on its introduction see Statewatch Observatory: Surveillance of telecommunications in the EU

12. UK: INTERCEPTION MODERNISATION PROGRAMME (IMP) to be resurrected: Alarm bells started to ring when the Securing Britain in an Age of Uncertainty: The Strategic Defence and Security Review (pdf, published 19 October) contained the following government commitment to:

“introduce a programme to preserve the ability of the security, intelligence and law enforcement agencies to obtain communication data and to intercept communications within the appropriate legal framework… We will legislate to put in place the necessary regulations and safeguards to ensure that our response to this technology challenge is compatible with the Government92s approach to information storage and civil liberties.”

Note 1: The ability to “intercept” communications as they happen in “real-time” (which only GCHQ can do) is quite distinct from the existing powers under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (RIPA) which only covers obtaining access to communication data: See Interception figures: 1937-2009 (pdf).20 Note 2: the Interception Modernisation Programme will also have the ability to collect and store records covering e-mails, faxes, phone-calls, mobile-phone calls (including location), Internet usage (including content) plus IP based communications used by Facebook, Skype etc.20 Note 3: Background: LSE: Briefing on the Interception Modernisation Programme (pdf) and Database state (pdf)

13. EU-USA AGREEMENT ON DATA PROTECTION & EXCHANGE OF PERSONAL DATA: European Parliament: Working document no 1 (pdf) and Working document no 2 (pdf): Public Hearing: Data Protection in a transatlantic perspective, 25 October 2010 (link)

Background: Commission mandate: a) Explanatory Memorandum and proposed Recommendation (COM 252-10): Proposal for a Council Recommendation to authorise the opening of negotiations for an agreement between the European Union and the United States of America on protection of personal data when transferred and processed for the purpose of preventing, investigating, detecting or prosecuting criminal offences, including terrorism, in the framework of police cooperation and judicial cooperation in criminal matters20 b) Mandate: Negotiating Directives (pdf)20 And see: Reports by the High Level Contact Group (HLCG) on information sharing and privacy and personal data protection (EU doc no: 15851/09, pdf) with EU-US High Level Contact Group on data protection and data sharing (HLCG) (EU doc no: 14574/09, pdf)

14. EU: The fiction of migration control policies – Voluntary return programmes (pdf) by Peio M. Aerbe – Mugak/Sos Racismo

15. UK: Coalition government presents National Security Strategy: A Strong Britain in an Age of Uncertainty (October 2010, pdf).

See also Previous: National Security Strategy of the United Kingdom: Security in an interdependent world (adopted March 2008, pdf) and National Security Strategy: Report on Progress (March 2010, pdf) plus to the Joint National Security Committee: Memorandum from the Cabinet Office (March 2010, pdf) and Supplementary memorandum from Lord West of Spithead (April 2010, link)

16. EU: European Commission report on internal borders: On the application of Title III (Internal Borders) of Regulation (EC) No 562/2006 establishing a Community Code on the rules governing the movement of persons across borders (Schengen Borders Code) (COM 554-10, pdf). Includes use of police powers at internal borders:

“The Commission is of the opinion that in order to assess whether or not police checks have an effect equivalent to border checks, it needs more information from Member States on the reasons and frequency of checks carried out in internal border zones…The Commission is concerned by the difficulties reported by travellers in connection with alleged regular and systematic checks carried out in certain internal order zones.”

17. EU: Council of the European Union: Council seeking to draw up non-legislative guidelines to extend its “returns” policy to removals by land (generally under the Returns Directive these are by air): Transit by land of returnees (EU doc no: 14541/10, pdf). The Council is seeking: “to find effective solutions to implement voluntary departures in full compliance with legal instruments, such as the Return Directive and without causing excessive administrative burdens.”

The Council’s Contact Committee on the Return Directive proposed drawing up Recommendations for the transit by land of returnees and “A technical working group of interested Member States (CZ, HU, LV, PL, SI), together with the Commission have elaborated such recommendations. These are based on voluntary involvement of Member States and do not imply any legal obligations.”

18. UK: IDENTITY CARD BILL: Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights report: Legislative Scrutiny: Identity Documents Bill (pdf). The Committee says: “Joint Committee on Human Rights welcomes Identity Documents Bill but says more clarification needed”