French police kill Mali man with Taser
French police have tasered an African immigrant to death in the Paris suburb of Colombes after he allegedly resisted police who tried to check his identification papers. Police were apparently responding to an argument that broke out between the 38-year-old Malian man and his friend at whose house he was staying. The African immigrant was […]
Justice and Home Affairs Council: 2-3 December 2010, Brussels
European Union Justice and Home Affairs ministers will meet in Brussels on 2 and 3 December 2010. The European Commission will be represented by Vice-President Viviane Reding, the EU’s Justice, Fundamental Rights and Citizenship Commissioner, and Cecilia Malmström, the EU’s Home Affairs Commissioner. Main agenda items: (Commissioner Cecilia Malmström) Negotiating directives for Passenger Name Record […]
The EU action plan on air cargo security
Vice-President Siim Kallas, meeting with the high-level group on air cargo security, today set out a series of recommentations on the EU’s response to the 30 October security alert, when viable explosive devices were found in cargo shipments originating from Yemen and transferring to US-bound flights at airports in Germany and the UK. The recommendations […]
Romanian police in corruption scandals
Two corruption scandals that rocked the Romanian police may deepen the European partners‘ mistrust amid the the country’s efforts to join Schengen By Paul Ciocoiu The head of the Romanian police and the deputy minister of interior were sacked last week after a series of corruption scandals that has damaged its image as the institution […]
‘Joint Operation RABIT 2010’ – FRONTEX Assistance to Greece’s Border with Turkey: Revealing the Deficiencies of Europe’s Dublin Asylum System
By Sergio Carrera and Elspeth Guild This paper examines the first deployment of the Rapid Border Intervention Teams (RABITs) to Greece’s external land border with Turkey on 2 November 2010. It argues that the sending of the RABITs to Greece reveals some of the core challenges inherent in Europe’s external border and asylum policies. Most […]
Police seek powers to shut websites Police tape. BBC
The police are seeking powers to shut down websites deemed to be engaged in „criminal“ activity. The Serious and Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) has tabled a plan for Nominet, which oversees .uk web addresses, to be given the domain closing power. Nominet said the idea was only a proposal and invited people to join the […]
Galileo and GMES: a priority for Space Ministers
7th Space Council resolution: „Global challenges: taking full benefit of European space systems“. On 25th November, the Council of the European Union and the Council of the European Space Agency at Ministerial level issued a press release on the 7th Space Council Resolution. The main headings touched upon are strategy and investment, the successful deployment […]
EU Asylum Office to hold first meeting in Malta
The board of the European Asylum Support Office will be meeting in Malta tomorrow and on Friday, the first time it will meet here since the EU decided that the Office will be based in Malta. Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi will open the proceedings. The candidates for the seat of the Office, along with Malta, […]
EU/US agreement on cooperation in the field of security research
The European Commission and the Government of the United States have agreed to enhance cooperation in science and technology research to improve the shared capabilities to protect against acts of terrorism and other threats to domestic and external security. Subsequent to the EU-US Vienna Summit Conclusions of June 2006, there was mutual understanding that greater […]
EU crisis mechanism needed for disasters or terrorist attacks
A special European Crisis Reaction Mechanism should be set up to help cope with any chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear disaster caused by an accident or terrorist attack, believes the EP Civil Liberties Committee. This would enable the EU to deploy civilian and military resources more swiftly. A European Civil Protection Force – a longstanding […]
Fortress Europe
“A spectre is haunting Europe – the spectre of movement?” Movement and migration have again become the topic of parliamentary debates, pub conversations and street protests. They have become the challenge to the social, democratic and liberal veneer of European reality. That is, the continuous movement of migrants making a mockery of the idea of […]
EU prepares plans to fight crime, terrorism
The European Commission wants to improve the EU’s tracking of illegal assets, including new powers to seize assets and freeze the bank accounts of criminals and terrorists, according to plans to be unveiled today (22 November). Home Affairs Commissioner Cecilia Malmström will put forward a series of proposals in the course of next year „to […]
Anti-nuclear demo highlights Europe’s border-free policing policies
The recent attempt to stop a train carrying nuclear waste to a German storage site prompted a huge police response. And it wasn’t just German officers on hand. European police can sometimes cross borders – and they do. Police launched a massive operation earlier this month to bring a train transporting nuclear waste safely to […]
More than 150 international anti-NATO peace activists deprived from democratic right to protest against Lisbon NATO-summit.
The coalition of nonviolent activists based in Lisbon denounce the blocking of more than 150 European activists at the Portuguese border during these last days. According to the Portuguese Foreigners and Borders Service, more than 168 foreign peace activists from France, Sweden, Finland and Spain are at this moment forbidden to enter Portuguese territory. They […]
Euro-Drones update: more funding from FP7, FRONTEX and EDA
Europe’s leading drone manufacturers have joined forces in yet another EU-funded R&D project on the development of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) or ‘drones’. The OPARUS project brings together Sagem, BAE Systems, Finmeccanica, Thales, EADS, Dassault Aviation, ISDEFE, Israel Aircraft Industries and others to “elaborate an open architecture for the operation of unmanned air-to-ground wide area […]
Toronto police want to keep most G20 security cameras
Toronto’s Police Chief Bill Blair wants to keep some of the equipment bought expressly for the G20 Summit, particularly security cameras and so-called long range acoustic devices. „We have some requirement for CCTV cameras in certain neighbourhoods that are experiencing some violence and difficulty,“ Blair said Monday outside a Toronto Police Services Board meeting. The […]
Greek town becomes flash point in war against Muslim immigrants
By Edward Cody NEA VISSA, GREECE – This little farming town on the edge of Europe, where the crosses of Greek Orthodox churches face Turkey’s minarets scarcely a mile away, has become the latest battleground in the continent’s war against a flood of unwanted immigrants from the strife-torn Muslim world. The European Union’s joint border […]
Police officer who decided student protests wouldn’t turn nasty
Superintendent Roger Gomm, the officer in charge of policing the anti-fees march by students, has a reputation for being an expert in handling demonstrations. He was gold commander for yesterday’s protest march through central London, and set the overall strategy. (more on guardian.co.uk)
Information exchange mechanisms between the GSC/civilian ESDP missions and Europol
Subject: Joint evaluation of the implementation of the information exchange mechanisms between the GSC/civilian ESDP missions and Europol Europol – General Secretariat of the Council (CPCC) The aim of this joint evaluation is to report on the progress made in the implementation of the information exchange mechanisms between civilian ESDP police missions and Europol and […]
Review of security measures in the Research Framework Programme
DIRECTORATE GENERAL FOR INTERNAL POLICIES POLICY DEPARTMENT C: CITIZENS‘ RIGHTS AND CONSTITUTIONAL AFFAIRS CIVIL LIBERTIES, JUSTICE AND HOME AFFAIRS STUDY This study provides an assessment of the EU “public-private dialogue” in security research and of the projects currently funded under the 7th Research Framework Programme (FP7), from the point of view of their contribution to […]