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News found: 2336 of 2336
ECA Report on EU Support for the Rule of Law in the Western Balkans
A report found by the European Court of Auditors found that, while EU action has contributed to reforms in technical and operational areas (e.g. improving the efficiency of the judiciary), it has had little overall impact on fundamental rule-of-law reforms in the Western Balkans. Read more
Dr. Anna Pingen
Rule of Law
Protection of Financial Interests
EP Adopted Position on Digital Services Act
On 20 January 2022, the European Parliament adopted its position regarding the proposal for a regulation on a Single Market For Digital Services. The EP amended several dispositions of the Commission proposal. Read more
Legislation
Data Protection
Commission Proposes Declaration on European Digital Rights and Principles
The Commission proposed a declaration with a set of principles that will serve as guidance for a sustainable, human-centric, and value-based digital transformation in the European Union. Read more
Fundamental Rights
Legislation
Data Protection
Assessment of the Current State of Data Innovation
A report by the Commission's Joint Research Centre assessed the current state of utilisation of data innovation in the scientific literature identified areas in which data innovation has the most concrete potential for policy-making. The report focused on the areas of demography, mobility, and migration. Read more
Area of Freedom, Security and Justice
AG Opinion on Public Access to Information on Beneficial Owners
In his opinion of 20 January 2022, AG Giovanni Pitruzzella concluded that the fourth anti-money laundering (AML) Directive as amended by the fifth AML Directive is partly invalid. In essence, the case addresses the question of balancing transparency requirements with respect for fundamental rights. Read more
Thomas Wahl
EU
Money Laundering
Spotlight AG: PNR Directive is in Line with EU Charter
In his opinion replying to a reference for preliminary ruling by the Belgian Constitutional Court, AG Pitruzzella concluded that, in essence, the EU's PNR Directive is compatible with the Charter of Fundamental Rights. Only one point in the definition of PNR data in the Annex of the Directive is too broad and thus inapplicable. The duration of retention must however be limited to what is strictly necessary. Read more
EU
Data Protection
EP Study on Politically Motivated Interpol Red Notices
On 7 February 2022, the LIBE Committee discussed a study which analysed the EU’s possibilities to protect EU citizens from politically motivated Interpol Red Notices. Read more
EU
Police Cooperation
CJEU: Fines for Failure to Declare Assets Abroad Can Be Disproportionate
On 27 January 2022, the CJEU declared Spanish legislation, which allows the imposition of high fines if a Spanish tax resident failed to comply with mere obligations to declare or purely formal obligations regarding his/her overseas assets, not in line with the principle of free movement of capital. Read more
EU
Tax Evasion
Spotlight CJEU Dismisses Actions against Rule-of-Law Conditionality to Safeguard the EU Budget
On 16 February 2022, the CJEU dismissed the actions brought by Hungary and Poland that sought annulment of Regulation 2020/2092 “on a general regime of conditionality for the protection of the Union budget”. The CJEU mainly rejected three pleas put forward by the applicants. The CJEU confirmed the legal basis, the non-circumvention of the "Article 7 procedure", and the compatibility with the principle of legal certainty. Read more
EU
Rule of Law
Protection of Financial Interests
Updated Rules Reinforcing Governance of Schengen Area
On 14 December 2021, the Commission proposed updated rules to reinforce the governance of the Schengen area. The Commission stressed that the Schengen area is one of the biggest achievements of European integration. It has been repeatedly put to the test in recent years by … Read more
EU
Schengen
Commission Proposal for Better Protection of the Environment by Means of Criminal Law
On 15 December 2021, the Commission adopted a proposal for a new EU directive to crack down on environmental crime. In this way, the Commission intends to fulfil a key commitment of the European Green Deal.The proposal aims to make protection of the … Read more
EU
Environmental Crime
Initiative to Extend List of EU Crimes to Hate Speech and Hate Crime
On 9 December 2021, the European Commission published an initiative to extend the list of EU crimes to hate speech and hate crime. The initiative follows a set of EU actions already in place to counter illegal hate speech and violent extremist ideologies and terrorism … Read more
EU
Racism and Xenophobia
2021 Report on Application of the Charter of Fundamental Rights in the EU
On 10 December 2021, the European Commission released its 2021 report on application of the Charter of Fundamental Rights in the EU. A special focus was on the challenges of protecting fundamental rights in the digital age. The 2021 report follows last year’s strategy to … Read more
EU
Fundamental Rights
ECA Report on Regularity of Spending in EU Cohesion Policy
On 23 November 2021, the European Court of Auditors (ECA) published a report on the European Commission’s estimate of error in EU cohesion policy. The ECA pointed out that the related error rates, as disclosed by the Commission, are likely to underestimate the real level … Read more
EU
Protection of Financial Interests
Civil Society Organisations Call for Prioritisation of Fundamental Rights in AIA
On 30 November 2021, 115 civil society organisations published a collective statement calling for EU institutions to prioritise fundamental rights in the Artificial Intelligence Act (AIA). The statement outlines recommendations to guide the European Parliament and Council of the European Union in amending the European … Read more
EU
Artificial Intelligence (AI)
Legislation
Proposal for JIT Collaboration Platform
On 1 December 2021, the European Commission adopted a new initiative establishing a collaboration platform to support the functioning of Joint Investigation Teams (JITs). The Commission noted that JITs, which are set up by two or more States for specific criminal investigations with a cross-border … Read more
EU
Legislation
Eurojust