30 November, 2010

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1. EU: Amnesty International: Open Secret: Mounting Evidence of Europe’s complicity in rendition and secret detention
2. EU: European Data Protection Supervisor: Data protection reform strategy
3. EU: European Commission: Taking on the Data Retention Directive – a discussion paper
4. EU: Article 29 Working Party on data protection: Data protection authorities critical on sharing passengers? data
5. UK: Joint Human Rights Committee report: Legislative Scrutiny: Terrorist Asset- Freezing
6. EU: Statewatch Analysis: First thoughts on the EU?s Internal Security Strategy
7. UK: Surveillance Society Network: Information Commissioner?s report to Parliament on the state of surveillance
8. EU: European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS): European Protection Order and the European Investigation Order
9. EU-USA: European Parliament: Hearing Data Protection in a transatlantic perspective
10. EU: European Commission: 6th report on visa requirements
12. EURODAC: Ten EU governments want law enforcement agencies to have access to the EURODAC database
13. POLAND: Data retention and population surveillance
14. FRANCE: Statewatch Analysis: France Collective expulsions of Roma people undermines EU?s founding principles
15. EU: European Court of Justice: A person can be excluded from refugee status
16. EU: European Commission: Report: 2010 progress review of the EU Drugs Action Plan (2009-2012)
17. EU: Council of the European Union: Common European Asylum System – State of Play
18. EU: Quaker Council for European Affairs: Briefing Paper: Security Co-operation between the EU and Israel
19. Italy: Extension of soldiers’ deployment in cities
20. European Commission: A comprehensive approach on personal data protection in the European Union
21. UK-FRANCE: Coalition government signs Declaration on “illegal” immigration
22. EU: European Parliament study: Readmission policy in the EU
23. EU: Council of the European Union: Proposal for a Directive on the right to information in criminal proceedings
24. EU: Marie Diop: Unaccompanied Minors? Rights within the European Union

1. EU: Amnesty International: Open Secret: Mounting Evidence of Europe’s complicity in rendition and secret detention (57 pages):
www.statewatch.org/news/2010/nov/eu-ai-renditions-report.pdf

Letter: www.statewatch.org/news/2010/nov/eu-ai-renditions-report-letter.pdf
and Executive Summary: www.statewatch.org/news/2010/nov/eu-ai-renditions-report-exec-sum.pdf

2. EU: European Data Protection Supervisor: Data protection reform strategy: EDPS urges Commission to meet the challenge of an ambitious reform for a strong and effective data protection (Press release):
www.statewatch.org/news/2010/nov/eu-edps-data-protection-reform-strategy-prel.pdf

3. EU: European Commission: Taking on the Data Retention Directive – a discussion paper:
www.statewatch.org/news/2010/nov/eu-com-data-retention-discussion-paper.pdf

4. EU: Article 29 Working Party on data protection: Data protection authorities critical on sharing passengers? data – No objective proof that PNR data are valuable when combating terrorism (Press release):
www.statewatch.org/news/2010/nov/eu-art-29-dp-wp-178-prel.pdf

and Opinion 7/2010 on European Commission’s Communication on the global approach to transfers of Passenger Name Record (PNR) data to third countries:
www.statewatch.org/news/2010/nov/eu-art-29-dp-wp-178.pdf

5. UK: Parliamentary Joint Human Rights Committee report: Legislative Scrutiny: Terrorist Asset- Freezing etc Bill (Second Report); and other Bills:
www.statewatch.org/news/2010/nov/uk-jhrc-asset-freezing.pdf

6. EU: Statewatch Analysis: First thoughts on the EU?s Internal Security Strategy by Tony Bunyan:
www.statewatch.org/analyses/n-110-eu-internal-security-strategy.pdf

“Lessons from history tell us that only a ?state? can construct and implement an Internal Security Strategy and the EU state is beginning to flex its muscles with its emerging security-industrial complex, the state-private surveillance society and a free market in the exchange of personal information, the proposed EU-PNR, EU-SWIFT and EU exit-entry system, and aggressive new agencies like FRONTEX. When it finally comes together the ISS will embrace these and other initiatives into its operational planning.”

7. UK: Surveillance Society Network: Information Commissioner?s report to Parliament on the state of surveillance:
www.statewatch.org/news/2010/nov/uk-ssn-surveillance-report-for-home-select-committee.pdf

and see: Surveillance society soon a reality, report suggests: Update to 2006 study prompts information commissioner to press parliament for new privacy safeguards (Guardian, link): www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2010/nov/11/surveillance-society-soon-reality/print

8. EU: European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS): Opinion on the European Protection Order and the European Investigation Order in criminal matters:
www.statewatch.org/news/2010/nov/eu-edps-epo-eio-opinion.pdf

9. EU-USA: European Parliament: Hearing Data Protection in a transatlantic perspective: Future EU-US data protection agreement in the framework of police and judicial cooperation in criminal matters (Brussels, 25/10/2010):
www.statewatch.org/news/2010/nov/ep-report-on-eu-usa-data-transfer-hearing-25-10-10.pdf

10. EU: European Commission: Sixth report on certain third countries’ maintenance of visa requirements in breach of the principle of reciprocity:
www.statewatch.org/news/2010/nov/eu-com-visa-reciprocity-report-620-01.pdf

12. EURODAC: Ten EU governments want law enforcement agencies to have access to the EURODAC database (which holds the fingerprints of asylum-seekers). The Austria demand is backed by Germany, Spain, France, Lithuania, Slovenia, Portugal, Netherlands, Czech Republic and Hungary. See: CATS Outcomes/Minutes:
www.statewatch.org/news/2010/nov/eu-council-cats-eurodac-lea-access.pdf

Statewatch analysis of EU plans to give police access to central EU fingerprint database of asylum applicants and “illegal” entrants.:
www.statewatch.org/news/2007/jan/05eurodac.htm

13. POLAND: Data retention and population surveillance. Poland is leading EU country in terms of access granted to its law enforcement agencies and secret services to retained telecommunication data. Joint Statement by the Panoptykon Foundation and the Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights:
panoptykon.org/sites/default/files/EC_stanowisko_retencja_08_11_2010_0.pdf

14. FRANCE: Statewatch Analysis: France Collective expulsions of Roma people undermines EU?s founding principles by Yasha Maccanico:
www.statewatch.org/analyses/no-109-france-collective-expulsions-of-roma-people.pdf

15. EU: European Court of Justice: A person can be excluded from refugee status if he is individually responsible for acts committed by an organisation using terrorist methods (Press release,pdf): www.statewatch.org/news/2010/nov/eu-ecj-refugee-status-terrorism-nov-10-prel.pdf

“The sole fact that a person has been a member of such an organisation cannot mean that he is automatically excluded from refugee status”

and Full-text of judgment: www.statewatch.org/news/2010/nov/eu-ecj-refugee-status-terrorism-nov-10-judgment.pdf

16. EU: European Commission: Report: 2010 progress review of the EU Drugs Action Plan (2009-2012) (COM 630):
www.statewatch.org/news/2010/nov/eu-com-drugs-report-com-630-10.pdf

and Progress report on the development of the second generation of the Schengen Information System (SIS II) (COM 633):
www.statewatch.org/news/2010/nov/eu-com-sis-II-com-633-2010.pdf

17. EU: Council of the European Union: Common European Asylum System – State of Play:
www.statewatch.org/news/2010/nov/eu-com-sis-II-com-633-2010.pdf

18. EU: Quaker Council for European Affairs: Briefing Paper: Security Co-operation between the EU and Israel:
www.statewatch.org/news/2010/nov/quaker-esrc-briefing.pdf

See also: NeoConOpticon blog:
neoconopticon.wordpress.com/2010/11/05/quakers-call-for-an-end-to-particpation-of-israeli-companies-that-profit-from-the-occupation-of-palestine-in-eu-security-research-programme/

19. Italy: Extension of soldiers’ deployment in cities:
www.statewatch.org/news/2010/nov/01-italy-troops-in-communities.htm

20. European Commission: Communication: A comprehensive approach on personal data protection in the European Union (COM 609/3-10):
www.statewatch.org/news/2010/nov/eu-com-dp-com-609-3-10.pdf

and Press release: www.statewatch.org/news/2010/nov/eu-com-dp-com-609-3-10-prel.pdf

21. UK-FRANCE: Coalition government signs Declaration on “illegal” immigration: UK-France Summit 2010 Declaration on Immigration:
www.statewatch.org/news/2010/nov/uk-france-immigration-declaration.pdf

22. EU: European Parliament study: Readmission policy in the EU:
www.statewatch.org/news/2010/nov/ep-eu-readmission-policy-report.pdf

Argues that readmission policy has become part of a matrix of external policy demands and that in these cicrumstances it is “reasonable to warn the European Parliament about future guarantees, aimed at ensuring the safety of persons readmitted to a country that has no effective asylum system. Such guarantee can hardly be taken seriously.”

23. EU: Council of the European Union:
– Proposal for a Directive on the right to information in criminal proceedings: – State of play
www.statewatch.org/news/2010/nov/eu-council-right-to-info-crim-proced-15618-10.pdf

– Proposal for a Directive on the right to information in criminal proceedings (23 pages):
www.statewatch.org/news/2010/nov/eu-council-right-to-info-crim-proced-draft-14816-10.pdf

24. EU: Legal paper by Marie Diop: Unaccompanied Minors? Rights within the European Union: Is the EU Asylum and Immigration Legislation in line with the Convention on the Rights of the Child? (120 pages):
www.statewatch.org/news/2010/oct/eu-unaccompanied-minors-asylum-and-immigration-legislation-Marie-Diop.pdf

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