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On 30 April 2020, OLAF informed the public that it had successfully concluded two internal investigations against MEPs and their staff. The investigations were launched in 2017/2018 after allegations that money from salaries was being transferred to the national political parties. This is not allowed under the rules of the EP.

Italy’s Guardia di Finanza successfully broke up a tobacco smuggling ring in May 2020. After OLAF’s tip-off, the Italian authorities raided the port of Salerno and led an investigation against 69 persons. They uncovered two consignments of smuggled tobacco that were being shipped from the …

On 5 May 2020, OLAF reported the successful discovery of a fraud scheme set up by a Greek researcher. The researcher pretended to involve over 40 international researchers in a research project funded by the European Research Council Executive Agency (ERCEA) with a grant …

OLAF investigations dismantled a fraud scheme by a consortium that had received EU money to carry out environmental research. Apparently, the beneficiaries had neither the capacity nor the intention to carry out the environmental research project. Instead, the major share of the EU grant (€400,000) was pumped into a casino/hotel in Cyprus.

On 7 April 2020, OLAF informed the public that it is still fully operational and committed to fighting fraud during the Coronavirus crisis.

In April 2020, OLAF and the World Customs Organization (WCO) improved the sharing of information. Both anti-fraud bodies interconnected their databases with regard to tobacco smuggling.

The Commission has undertaken steps to fight disinformation related to the outbreak of COVID-19 . On 30 March 2020, the Commission launched a new website that provides material and information on fact checks.

On 17 April 2020, the EP adopted a resolution that deals with a wide range of topics on how the EU can overcome the current COVID-19 pandemic and what the follow-up could look like.

On 17 March 2020, the European Commission on Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) published a report on Germany. The report focuses on (1) effective equality and access to rights; (2) hate speech and hate-motivated violence; (3) integration and inclusion.

The online seminar will provide legal practitioners with an update on the case law developed by the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) with relevance for asylum law. It will focus primarily on developments in 2018 and 2019.