Statewatch

We are activists, researchers, lawyers and jounalists exposing state power across Europe and its borders. Our work has supported debates, movements and campaigns since 1991.

Website: statewatch.org

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npub1q724zy389lkppuvaf522wa9h2049v63zlv8tkznmmm0x9klzxr0s0yesth

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statewatch_at_mastodon.world@momostr.pink

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relay.damus.io

nos.lol

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Last Notes

2026-08-12 10:11:05 UTC

Within two years of October 2023, the number of contracts between Israeli companies and public institutions in the EU grew to 112.
The total value in that period is estimated at nearly €1.6 billion.
As the value of many contracts has been kept secret, we can't know for sure who the biggest spenders are.
European taxpayers should demand that their money not be handed to a genocidal state. Together, we must demand that public institutions uphold justice.
Read more: https://buff.ly/mfMcMfk
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2026-04-14 09:00:24 UTC

Europol is hiring a new director to replace Catherine de Bolle.
At the same time, Frontex's former director faces a French court for complicity in crimes against humanity.
Both agencies have a history of acting beyond the law to prevent people from migrating to Europe, with little to no repercussions.
If Europol's new director follows suit, the Europol regulation's recent reform may shield them from adequate oversight.
Read more in this article by Romain Lanneau: https://www.statewatch.org/news/2026/april/europol-seeks-a-new-director-to-shape-the-agency-s-future/
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2026-04-09 09:00:24 UTC

€27.1 million in hidden funds by the EU. Does that sound right to you?
Read more about IrpiMedia's investigation and find the full report, "Financing the Violence", produced in collaboration with SOS Méditerranée, here: https://www.statewatch.org/news/2026/april/the-hidden-eu-funds-behind-violence-at-sea/
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2026-04-08 09:00:23 UTC

The UK Labour Party came to power in July 2024 promising change and an end to 14 years of the right-wing rule seen under the Tories. Instead, it has since entrenched some of the Tories’ worst overreaches—and added some more of its own.
Statewatch contributor and organiser James Olufemi Anderson has now mapped the resulting decline of rights, alongside the legal action against of Palestine Action and its supporters.
Read more and view the timeline here: https://www.statewatch.org/analyses/2026/the-decline-of-rights-under-uk-s-labour-2024-2026/
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2026-04-07 09:00:23 UTC

The 15th issue of the #ExternalisationBulletin is out now.
This issue includes a document that is almost laughably horrific. In it, the Council Presidency implores the EU’s main border externalisation committee to *mention* human rights more when dealing with non-EU partner countries.
Other documents cover the future of Frontex's governance structure, the expanded use of Article 25a sanctions, and Egypt and Europol's plans for exchanging data.
Read the issue here: https://www.statewatch.org/outsourcing-borders-monitoring-eu-externalisation-policy/bulletin-15/
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2026-03-04 15:24:56 UTC

The 14th issue of the #ExternalisationBulletin is out now.
This month’s bulletin contains details about the EU's newest plan for 'degressive’ reintegration support, other means of ‘incentivising’ self-deportations, and twenty newly-obtained Council documents.
As ever, we hope this bulletin brings some clarity. If you would like to recieve the bulletin and our detailed overview straight to your inbox, sign up to our mailing list here: https://www.statewatch.org/outsourcing-borders-monitoring-eu-externalisation-policy/mailing-list/
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2026-03-02 13:10:47 UTC

Will you help us improve our work?
We've put together a survey on our work in 2025 to understand what you got out of it and how we can improve.
It should only take you a few minutes, but it will be a huge help for us!
Fill it out here: https://statewcloud.gn.apc.org/index.php/apps/forms/s/E59gc8qDcwH8Wx577RtLBS9p

2026-02-17 13:22:09 UTC

The EU must withdraw all provisions to expand and normalise immigration raids and surveillance measures under the proposed Deportation (“Return”) Regulation.
This is why we joined 87 other organisations in a statement calling on policymakers, public authorities, public service workers, civil society organisations and communities across Europe to reject detection in all its forms.
Read the statement: https://www.statewatch.org/news/2026/february/joint-statement-condemning-eu-law-enabling-home-raids-policing-of-public-services-and-racial-profiling/
Read the article by @npub1my6…44d9: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/feb/16/eu-deportations-plan-ice-style-enforcement-rights-groups-warn
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2026-02-16 15:45:50 UTC

The EU's supposedly “new and innovative solution” to migration is a re-packaged and previously rejected one.
The document we obtained shows EU policy-makers latest idea is to rely on 'place of safety arrangements'. Formerly called 'disembarkation platforms', the idea is to pay non-EU states to intercept and detain people at sea, before they can reach European shores.
Read more in the article by Frey Lindsay: https://www.statewatch.org/news/2026/january/the-eu-s-new-and-innovative-solution-to-migration-pay-other-countries-to-intercept-people/
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2026-01-27 14:04:06 UTC

Register now for the upcoming event, AI in the Field of Asylum and Immigration Law, to hear more from Statewatch researcher Romain Lanneau.
Host: ERA Academy of European Law
Dates: 9-10 March 2026
Location: Online
More details and registration info:
https://www.era.int/event/artificial-intelligence-in-the-field-of-asylum-and-immigration/
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2026-01-15 14:50:12 UTC

We've just published a document that details the EU's disturbing plans to expand cross-border travel surveillance.
Here is an overview:
• Plans are being discussed to extend police data collection to sea, rail and road travel.
• Governments want to use travel data for new purposes, such as immigration control.
• Changes could bypass necessary safeguards laid down by the EU Court of Justice
• A working group to discuss plans has been set up
Read more: https://www.statewatch.org/news/2026/eu-member-states-want-to-expand-police-surveillance-of-travel/
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2026-01-08 11:07:56 UTC

Are the EU's border policy plans similar to the US?
Listen in as Statewatch journalist Frey Lindsay shares the answer on Lagos Talks radio.
Want to help change the direction? Follow our bulletin, Outsourcing borders, here: https://www.statewatch.org/outsourcing-borders-monitoring-eu-externalisation-policy/mailing-list/
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2025-12-18 16:39:11 UTC

UK: A recent court case has exposed Nick Gratwick as a private spy known as ‘Radio Nick’.
The UK police had hired him to infiltrate animal rights and environmental campaign groups for almost a decade.
Now, a new report by the Undercover Research Group's Eveline Lubbers and Donal O’Driscoll details Gratwick’s activities throughout the late 1990s and early 2000s.
Read the details of the report here: https://www.statewatch.org/news/2025/december/uk-radio-nick-a-private-spy-hired-by-the-police/
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2025-12-12 10:00:17 UTC

As state powers of repression are globalised, so too must our resistance, advocacy and collaboration.
We released our research, Networks of [in]security (NOIS), as a living resource to help us do that. We hope you consider this resource as an invitation to use these findings, ask questions, expose harms, and challenge the spread of surveillance tools.
Read more and get in contact: https://buff.ly/MbWx0na
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2025-12-05 14:01:09 UTC

Governments are increasingly engaging in transnational repression: reaching across borders to silence dissent from afar.
This can include assassinations, illegal deportations, abductions, digital threats, Interpol abuse, and family intimidation.
With more states being connected to watchlisting systems and more governments with an authoritarian bent coming to power, transnational repression seems likely to continue.
Unless we work together to oppose it.
Read more: nois.statewatch.org
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2025-12-04 10:36:52 UTC

According Info Park, an organisation in Belgrade, Serbia, people on the move along the Western Balkan route face a cycle of of detention, transfers, and endless reattempts.
The EU's new pact on migration will only worsen these brutal realities.
Info Park makes it clear: border externalisation, like the “migration management” complex it is a part of, is not a neutral administrative tool.
It is a political project of exclusion.
Read more: https://www.statewatch.org/analyses/2025/how-the-eu-migration-pact-will-increase-harms-in-serbia-and-along-the-balkan-route/
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2025-12-02 16:00:16 UTC

The 12th issue of the #ExternalisationBulletin is out now 🚨
This edition covers:
• Efforts to expand Frontex’s mandate
• Growing concerns over the EU’s digital border systems
• Dutch and Belgian governments threaten to undermine EU's new migration "solidarity" system
• The latest moves on Safe Third Country rules, deportations to Afghanistan and the EUAA’s incoming Syria update
And much more, here: https://buff.ly/GK3RMMW
Sign up to our mailing list: https://buff.ly/PqTARAJ
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2025-12-02 10:00:25 UTC

The “war on terror” might have left the headlines—but states are still using and abusing ‘counterterrorism’ powers to exert control.
Through watchlisting, surveillance and border control, they have built vast networks of [in]security. With these, they silence, oppress, and restrict the movement of people all over the world.
And for the past two years, we have been gathering evidence to show exactly how they do it.
Swipe to read some of our key findings, or go to nois.statewatch.org
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2025-11-27 14:02:31 UTC

- reply

2/ These powers, the systems used to enforce them, and the technologies that put them into action are also increasingly global and interconnected. It’s led to vast surveillance networks of international travel, border enforcement, and state ‘watchlists’.
These networks are about power and control—and reinforcing racism and discrimination on a global scale.

2025-11-27 14:02:31 UTC

- reply

3/ What needs to change:
• We need new models of safety and security.
• We need alternatives to pervasive surveillance and control.
• We need to challenge the policies that enable these systems, halt their spread, and ensure accountability.
That means we need to be campaigning from every angle.
📘 To get started, explore our new resource, Networks of (in)security: https://nois.statewatch.org

2025-11-27 14:02:31 UTC

1/ We’ve just launched a new in-depth resource that examines global counter-terrorism and security networks.
It provides an evidence base for how these security norms are implemented, their effects on human rights and how we can push for change.
Background:
From the beginning of the “war on terror”, governments introduced many policing and surveillance powers. Since then, these have been increasingly exploited to restrict dissent, movement, and critique.
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2025-11-20 08:15:11 UTC

In October 2024 the EU announced it would provide €30 million from its aid budget to Senegal.
Claims about the funding say it will go toward stepping up the fight against migrant smuggling. This means it will support:
• border surveillance and control
• maritime interception
• detention infrastructure
Ultimately, the plans can be seen as contributing to a new era of carceral EU migration “management” in West Africa.
Read more in the latest article by Leonie Jegen:
https://www.statewatch.org/analyses/2025/exporting-carceral-migration-management-30-million-from-the-eu-to-senegal-for-migration-control/
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2025-11-17 11:41:28 UTC

According to a document we obtained, EU member states seem ready to give US law enforcement authorities direct access to European police and immigration databases.
They may also be seeking access to other EU databases — a level of access that would be unprecedented for a 'third country'.
While some member states have concerns over specifics, none question the need for such an agreement.
Read more:
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2025-11-13 11:00:33 UTC

The use of personal data in the EU’s border, immigration and asylum regimes has intensified over the last decade, and the dangers of inaccurate data have worsened.
Data protection law is a crucial tool for immigration and asylum practitioners up against this increasing ‘datafication’. Its avenues for redress offer alternative paths to justice for those who might otherwise be without options.
If you'd like to understand paths, get our Data Protection Handbook, here: https://www.statewatch.org/news/2025/october/eu-new-handbook-offers-guide-to-privacy-and-data-protection-for-immigration-and-asylum-practitioners/
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2025-11-07 16:07:26 UTC

Why should you care about data protection law? Because as the EU increases its datafication, we need to equip ourselves to protect our data.
Get the handbook now: https://www.statewatch.org/news/2025/october/eu-new-handbook-offers-guide-to-privacy-and-data-protection-for-immigration-and-asylum-practitioners/
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2025-11-05 10:23:45 UTC

The 11th issue of the #ExternalisationBulletin is out now 🚨
It covers:
• EU’s plan for a global counter-smuggling alliance
• Moves to use visa policy as leverage for deportations
• More weakening of safeguards deportation regulation
• Council papers on Turkey and Uzbekistan
• And much more
Read the full issue: https://www.statewatch.org/outsourcing-borders-monitoring-eu-externalisation-policy/bulletin-11/
Sign up to our mailing list to receive the next issue directly in your inbox: https://www.statewatch.org/outsourcing-borders-monitoring-eu-externalisation-policy/
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2025-11-04 18:08:30 UTC

1/ We have a right to privacy — but the definition of privacy varies worldwide. So, how do we understand it in Europe?
The history:
It wasn’t until 1981 that the first legally binding international instrument on data protection and privacy was adopted. Then, later in 1987, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) decision in Leander v. Sweden became known as a cornerstone of Strasbourg case law on the processing of information about individuals.
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2025-11-04 18:08:30 UTC

- reply

2/ What Leander v. Sweden was about:
The case was brought against the Swedish state for a secret file on a person suspected of being a “risk to national security.”
This was found to be an inaccurate flag, but only after costing the individual their job.

2025-11-04 18:08:30 UTC

- reply

3/The ruling:
The court’s decision recognised that an interference with someone’s privacy happens when a state authority collects data about them. It ruled that the person should be able to understand how and when their data might be accessed and used.
Why it matters:
Accessing these rights remains critically important, especially in asylum and migration cases.
If you want to learn about data protection and privacy laws, read our handbook! ⚠️
🟨 Find it here:https://buff.ly/ucYYara

2025-10-31 10:45:07 UTC

NEW GUIDE: We’ve just published a new Data Protection Handbook on Asylum and Migration in Europe. ⚠️
Read it, share it with your colleagues (or tag people who may be interested!), and reach out if you need more information.
🟨 Find it here: https://www.statewatch.org/news/2025/october/eu-new-handbook-offers-guide-to-privacy-and-data-protection-for-immigration-and-asylum-practitioners/
Credits:
Written by: Romain Lanneau
Edited by: Chris Jones
With special thanks to:
Lori Roussey for the expert review of the handbook.
Derya Ozkul, Niovi Vavoula and Evelien Brouwer for the inspiring work.
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2025-10-30 17:39:39 UTC

What does the increasing relationship between Europol & private companies mean for our rights & democratic process?
That's precisely what we cover in our latest analysis.
Using documents obtained through transparency requests, open-source material and interviews, we mapped out:
• the private actors promoting intrusive tools;
• Europol’s expanding partnerships with companies;
• the limited oversight of these relationships; &
• Europol’s growing role.
Read it here: https://www.statewatch.org/analyses/2025/behind-closed-doors-europol-s-opaque-relations-with-tech-companies/
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2025-10-09 14:00:15 UTC

The 10th issue of the #ExternalisationBulletin is out now 🚨
This edition covers:
• Progress on EU plans for major migration routes
• Proposal for joint counter-trafficking work by Frontex and Egypt
• Growing EU role in migration control efforts in Côte d’Ivoire
• And much more.
Find the full issue:
https://www.statewatch.org/outsourcing-borders-monitoring-eu-externalisation-policy/bulletin-10/
Sign up to our mailing list to receive the next issue in your inbox:
https://www.statewatch.org/outsourcing-borders-monitoring-eu-externalisation-policy/
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2025-10-06 17:30:17 UTC

Last year, the EU adopted new rules against money laundering and terrorist financing—which open the door for rights violations, discrimination, and privacy infringement.
The organisation Privacy First is urging the Dutch government to promote the removal of certain elements of the the new rules and ensure the protection of fundament rights, privacy and safeguards.
Read more: https://www.statewatch.org/news/2025/september/more-profiling-and-surveillance-under-new-eu-anti-money-laundering-rules/
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2025-10-02 15:30:15 UTC

The Srebrenica massacre remains the only event on European soil since the Holocaust to be formally recognised as genocide.
In a tale all too familiar, it unfolded as Europe looked on.
Read more in the article by Eliana Nunes: https://www.statewatch.org/news/2025/september/bosnia-and-herzegovina-a-society-that-has-gone-through-a-genocide-is-more-prone-to-it-happening-again/
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2025-09-26 10:00:17 UTC

The EU’s latest idea is to deport people to countries they have zero connection to.
EU member states are talking about changing the “safe third country” rules so they can deport more people—even if it means undermining safeguards. And the Council agrees.
Read more: https://www.statewatch.org/news/2025/september/eu-wants-to-deport-people-to-countries-with-which-they-have-no-connection/
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2025-09-24 11:00:39 UTC

We are hiring a new Executive Director! This is a chance to build on our nearly 35-year legacy of work.
Our vision is an open Europe of democracy, civil liberties, personal and political rights, free movement, freedom of information, equality and diversity.
And how are we working towards that? By always putting out mission first.
Apply by 6 October 2025 at: https://www.charityjob.co.uk/jobs/statewatch/executive-director/1036011?tsId=2
Have questions?
We recorded an information session, which you can view by emailing comms@statewatch.org.
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2025-09-18 14:31:08 UTC

Happening tomorrow: Executive Director vacancy information session!
We are hiring for an Executive Director, and this is a chance to meet with the current position holder to ask any questions you may have about the role, requirements, or application process.
Where: Zoom
When: Friday, 18 September at 11:00 AM BST / 12:00 PM CEST
Register here: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_1grW4WXGT7CQcTSccgdqIA#/registration
Can’t make it? Let us know at comms@statewatch.org and we can send you a recording. 🎥
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2025-09-12 12:00:14 UTC

Frontex pays out hundreds of millions of euros every year to EU and Schengen member states.
The money supports things like:
• a standing corps of border guards;
• operations at the EU’s external borders;
• cooperation with non-EU states;
• and more.
We have visualised the data to show the scale and scope of the funding provided by Frontex: more than €2 billion between the beginning of 2008 and the end of 2024.
Read analysis:
https://www.statewatch.org/analyses/2025/2-billion-in-15-years-how-frontex-finances-fortress-europe/
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2025-09-10 09:00:53 UTC

Are you passionate about human rights? Have experience fostering a collaborative and effective team? Have expertise in journalism, law, or policy-making?
Then you might be the next Executive Director of Statewatch!
On our team, we prioritising flexible working, clear expectations, collaborative decision-making, and a strong commitment to justice. We're looking for someone who shares these priorities, and wants to help us build on our work.
Apply by 6 October:
https://www.charityjob.co.uk/jobs/statewatch/executive-director/1036011?tsId=6
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2025-09-09 10:39:33 UTC

The 9th issue of the #ExternalisationBulletin is out now 🚨
It covers:
• The extensive border externalisation operations across Africa;
• Plans to use development aid as leverage for deportations, with “voluntary” return programmes as cover;
• Budget proposals with more external migration control and less democratic scrutiny;
And much more.
It also makes 22 documents from EU institutions public.
Find the full issue here: https://buff.ly/K5esfCb
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2025-09-08 11:00:08 UTC

We are hiring a new Executive Director!
Right now, human rights, civil liberties, and democratic freedoms are being stripped away through secretive policy making and shady agreements. At Statewatch, we work to ensure none of these go unnoticed. We expose these threats, and inform civil society, policymakers, and the public to incite action.
Now, we’re looking for someone to build on our nearly 35-year legacy.
Apply by 6 October!
https://www.charityjob.co.uk/jobs/statewatch/executive-director/1036011?tsId=6
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2025-09-01 13:37:16 UTC

Last week, members of the EU-funded Libyan ‘coast guard’ shot at a humanitarian search and rescue ship for twenty minutes.
SOS Méditerranée says bullet impacts recorded across the ship show how the so-called Libyan coast guard (scLCG) systematically targeted:
• the crew
• the ship’s control centre
• survivors from a previous rescue
• and critical rescue equipment.
And this was not an isolated incident.
Read the full analysis by @npub12s2…qhl0 Watt: https://www.statewatch.org/analyses/2025/eu-funded-aggression-how-years-of-impunity-led-to-the-attack-on-the-ocean-viking/
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2025-08-29 11:33:16 UTC

- reply

2/ The new plan would massively expand this kind of data-sharing.
At the same time, the proposal does not outline clear and detailed plans for how to keep that data safe to EU standards.
While it says it will include clauses to terminate or suspend the agreement if the US can't ensure that it upholds fundamental rights, many would argue that this is already the case.
So, why would we make such an agreement at all?
Read more: https://www.statewatch.org/news/2025/august/eu-prepares-to-give-us-direct-access-to-police-and-immigration-databases/
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2025-08-29 11:33:16 UTC

1/ A new EU plan could expand access to personal data for US immigration and law enforcement.
This proposal document (see article) was released without a press announcement or much mention at all, yet it contains alarming plans.
Under the US's Visa Waiver Program (VWP), countries whose citizens can travel to the US without a visa already have to let US agencies search their police databases to see whether travellers have been involved in terrorism or serious crime.
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2025-08-27 15:39:05 UTC

According to the Migration and Home Affairs website, "EU Member States have a shared responsibility to welcome asylum seekers in a dignified manner, ensuring that they are treated fairly and that their case is examined following uniform standards."
But the descriptions of encounters between asylum seekers and Greek authorities tell a different story.
Read more in the special report by Eliana Nunes:
https://www.statewatch.org/news/2025/august/greece-illegal-violent-deportations-the-heavy-toll-of-seeking-asylum-in-europe/
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2025-08-26 15:41:38 UTC

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added!

2025-08-26 11:12:02 UTC

1/ As the EU pushes its borders further outside its territory, they call it "innovative". It's not.
By examining EU border externalisation through a post- and decolonial lens, we can see clearly how externalisation is:
• an upcycling of colonial logics;
• rooted in historical practices of exclusion;
• influenced not just by European interests, but shaped with African partners and by colonial legacies; and
• a contributor to continued racialisation and anti-Black racism in North Africa.
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2025-08-26 11:12:02 UTC

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2/ This investigation challenges the assumptions that many externalisation researchers and journalists may hold about externalisation.
Thanks to Sebastian Cobarrubias and Martin Lemberg-Pedersen for their original work, "Beyond Presentism in Border Externalization Studies: Upcycled Spatio-Cultural Geographies of Imperial Times."
Read our summary of their article: https://www.statewatch.org/analyses/2025/moving-borders-with-history-new-ways-of-thinking-about-border-externalisation/
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2025-08-21 13:46:00 UTC

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2/ Last year, together with Informationsstelle Militarisierung, we revealed that EU research funds were directly contributing to the manufacture of drone technology being deployed in Gaza. We helped circulate a letter signed by hundreds of academics calling for the EU to cease these ties—but no action was taken.
Recently, even the idea of just partially suspending Israel from this funding was turned down.
https://www.statewatch.org/analyses/2025/will-the-eu-finally-stop-financing-israel-s-genocide-in-gaza/

2025-08-21 13:46:00 UTC

- reply

3/ In the face of the EU’s continued complicity, we are joining in solidarity with Palestinians, organisations and individuals around the world, in this global economic strike.
We encourage our community to do the same.
Find more information by following @globalstrikegaza: https://www.instagram.com/p/DNdC5PrNhHA/?igsh=MTBucGVudTlsYjJnbA%3D%3D

2025-08-21 13:46:00 UTC

We’re joining the global economic strike for Palestine.
What does this mean?
Every Thursday, including today, we will:
1. Avoid all financial transactions.
2. Avoid all forms of paid transport.
3. Continue our work to expose state power and injustice.
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2025-08-15 15:43:53 UTC

While UK police arrested 532 people for opposing genocide, the justice secretary decided it was also an appropriate time to announce new measures against migrants.
Here's what changed:
• Foreign nationals handed down prison sentences will be deported immediately, rather than part-way into or after serving their sentence.
• the “deport first, appeal later” system is expanding.
Read more on our website: https://www.statewatch.org/news/2025/july/uk-peaceful-protesters-treated-as-terrorists-as-politicians-fuel-far-right-activity/
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2025-08-01 13:42:32 UTC

The EU’s Horizon programme gave more than €1.2 billion to Israeli institutions between 2014 and 2020 — including companies involved in surveillance, drone tech, and military research.
Now, the EU Commission is proposing a partial suspension of funding — but many say it’s too little, too late.
In our latest article, Romain Lanneau traces the roots of this system, from the rise of the EU’s security-industrial complex to the next budget cycle.
Read the full article:
https://www.statewatch.org/analyses/2025/will-the-eu-finally-stop-financing-israel-s-genocide-in-gaza/
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2025-07-31 11:22:58 UTC

EU governments are embedding artificial intelligence into migration, policing and criminal justice systems — claiming it will improve “efficiency” and “fairness”.
But AI trained on injustice only replicates injustice.
These aren’t future risks — these systems are already in use.
Read the full report: https://www.statewatch.org/publications/reports-and-books/automating-authority-artificial-intelligence-in-european-police-and-border-regimes/
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2025-07-29 10:01:22 UTC

We’ve just updated the charts in our Frontex deportations analysis to include new data from 2024.
When EU states deport people, it is not about justice or safety — it's about upholding a violent system that punishes individuals for crossing borders. Largely coordinated by Frontex, the EU’s deportation system enables systemic rights abuses under the guise of 'migration management.'
That’s why we maintain ongoing oversight.
Explore the updated charts by Ida Flik 📊: https://www.statewatch.org/analyses/2025/frontex-and-deportations-2006-2024/
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2025-07-28 09:01:04 UTC

Austria’s parliament has passed a law to legalise spyware for state use — despite strong opposition.
The new law would allow police to install malware on people’s phones or computers.
Officials say it will only be used to read encrypted messages, but experts are clear: there is no way to stop this malware from accessing other private data.
Civil society organisations and opposition parties have promised to challenge the law in court.
Read more: https://www.statewatch.org/news/2025/july/austria-legalises-state-spyware-amidst-strong-opposition/
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2025-07-22 09:00:23 UTC

From American tech giants to Israeli surveillance firms, corporations are building—and profiting from—systems that criminalise communities.
Our latest report outlines:
• Palantir’s €2.87 billion empire built on predictive policing tools
• Briefcam’s video AI systems, exported from Israel to EU law enforcement
• Eurocop’s 100+ contracts with Spanish authorities
📄 Learn more in our report, New Technologies, Old Injustice: https://www.statewatch.org/publications/reports-and-books/new-technology-old-injustice-data-driven-discrimination-and-profiling-in-police-and-prisons-in-europe/
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2025-07-18 13:31:25 UTC

A new public archive, Spycop Research, is shining a light on decades of undercover policing in the UK—and the depth of state secrecy behind it.
This isn’t just history — it’s a resource to challenge ongoing political policing, state secrecy, and lack of accountability.
📄 Read more: https://buff.ly/BRhEMuG
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2025-07-16 11:02:17 UTC

Predictive policing is predictably biased.
These systems claim to be neutral. But they rely on data shaped by decades of over-policing, racial profiling, and discrimination.
The result? Tools that reinforce the very injustices they claim to prevent.
That’s why we’re calling for a ban on predictive and profiling systems across policing and criminal legal systems in Europe.
📄 Read our latest report: https://www.statewatch.org/publications/reports-and-books/new-technology-old-injustice-data-driven-discrimination-and-profiling-in-police-and-prisons-in-europe/
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2025-07-15 09:03:42 UTC

The UK government is expanding its use of electronic tagging to track and restrict people outside of prison—including asylum seekers and migrants.
Back in 1989, the Prison Officers’ Association criticised tagging as “humiliating and oppressive,” warning it would expand surveillance, undermine rehabilitation, and empower private companies.
Read more about the history, normalisation, and consequences of electronic tagging: https://www.statewatch.org/news/2025/june/uk-electronic-tagging-the-normalisation-of-a-fascist-or-totalitarian-technology/
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2025-07-04 12:02:58 UTC

1/ This direct quote from a Belgian police officer reflects what’s long been known by communities on the ground—and is now being automated by predictive policing tools.
What you need to know:
• These systems use biased data to label racialised & low-income neighbourhoods as “hotspots”.
• They produce individual profiles that lead to monitoring, stops, searches, raids—even arrest.
• Discrimination isn’t a glitch. It’s built into the system.
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2025-07-04 12:02:58 UTC

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2/ The use of this tech is growing—but so is the resistance to it. Read our report for a deep understanding of what we face, and then join in the call for a ban.
📄 Read the full report: https://www.statewatch.org/publications/reports-and-books/new-technology-old-injustice-data-driven-discrimination-and-profiling-in-police-and-prisons-in-europe/
Image descriptions:
• 1: A Black man holding a protest sign that reads “Stop Police Racism,” overlaid with the quote from the Belgian police officer.
• 2: Text on a red-orange background explains how location-based and person-based predictions reinforce systemic discrimination.

2025-07-02 09:01:46 UTC

New report out now: New Technologies, Old Injustice 🚨
Across Europe, authorities are using so-called ‘predictive’ technologies to profile and criminalise marginalised communities.
Our latest report brings together research from Belgium, France, Germany and Spain to show how AI, data-driven and algorithmic systems are embedding racism and discrimination deeper into policing and legal systems.
📄 Read the full report:
https://www.statewatch.org/news/2025/june/police-racism-and-criminalisation-across-europe-increasingly-fuelled-by-digital-prediction-and-profiling-systems/
@npub15lj…v3xn
@npub1d2a…gtj2
@npub1rq7…2kth
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2025-07-01 11:01:58 UTC

The 8th issue of the #ExternalisationBulletin is out now 🚨
This edition covers:
• EU security missions given a stronger migration control role
• New push to label categories of countries as “safe”
• Frontex failing to prevent pushbacks in the Balkans
• Member states demanding more money for migration control in new EU budget
Find the full issue here:
https://www.statewatch.org/outsourcing-borders-monitoring-eu-externalisation-policy/bulletin-8/
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2025-06-25 11:01:56 UTC

Frank van der Linde is a long-time activist for racial justice, the environment, and a free Palestine.
In 2018, he discovered that the Dutch police had listed him as a terrorist — and since then, van der Linde has endured legal battles, delays, and cover-ups. Now, he’s demanding accountability.
📄 Read the full article: https://www.statewatch.org/news/2025/june/activist-demands-compensation-from-europol-for-illegal-surveillance/
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2025-06-12 14:51:41 UTC

Our recent investigations have revealed that key safeguards in EU police databases are already being ignored—with serious consequences for data protection rights.
Yet instead of fixing these longstanding failures, the EU plans to expand the use of these systems through its proposed deportation law.
The result? More wrongful entries, more unchecked surveillance, and even fewer avenues for justice.
Read more: https://www.statewatch.org/news/2025/june/longstanding-failings-in-police-databases-likely-to-worsen-under-new-deportation-law/
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2025-06-09 14:58:59 UTC

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2/ The muted response so far, such as France’s feeble call for its nationals to “be allowed to return to France as soon as possible,” is unacceptable.
But the EU and its member states have a long history of enabling illegality at sea and criminalising humanitarian action.

2025-06-09 14:58:59 UTC

1/EU governments should firmly condemn Israel's illegal maritime kidnapping of the Madleen crew and demand their citizens are freed immediately.
This morning, the Israeli military boarded and seized the Madleen—a civilian vessel delivering a symbolic amount of aid to Gaza—and kidnapped its crew.
Many of those on board are citizens of EU member states. Those governments—along with all others—should unequivocally condemn Israel's illegal actions and demand the immediate release of their citizens
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2025-06-05 14:20:16 UTC

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EU laws require strong data safeguards—but many states are ignoring them. And a new official report confirms it.
• Some countries never implemented key protections
• Others block people from accessing their own data
Yet, instead of acting—the EU is pushing forward with plans to expand deportations.
📄 Read the investigation: https://www.statewatch.org/analyses/2025/eu-states-failing-to-uphold-immigration-data-safeguards-amidst-renewed-push-for-deportations/

2025-06-05 14:20:16 UTC

In the beginning, there were open borders.
That’s the story Europe likes to tell. But behind open borders came new controls—massive databases, surveillance systems, and tools to restrict movement in more hidden ways.
Today, the Schengen Information System (SIS) is the largest police and immigration database in the EU. It’s used to flag people for deportation, ban them from re-entry, and exchange alerts across borders.
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2025-05-29 13:42:58 UTC

The EU’s Artificial Intelligence Act is meant to regulate AI. But our research shows that when it comes to security uses, the law is riddled with:
• Loopholes
• Exemptions
• And exceptions
And for who? Law enforcement and migration control.
This creates a two-tier system:
• Rights and protections for some
• Secrecy and impunity for others
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2025-05-14 10:18:46 UTC

European Parliament LIBE committee votes on the #Europol report next week.
MEPs must vote against!
🐎 It is a Trojan horse for surveillance disguised as „anti-smuggling“
💰 It would expand the budget for a problematic agency
The EU must take responsibility for forcing migrants into life-threatening situations, change its hostile border & migration policies, and reject the expansion of Europol’s digital surveillance powers.
Share the #ProtectNotSurveil paper now:
https://protectnotsurveil.eu/
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2025-05-08 10:00:36 UTC

‘Predictive’ policing tools in France are flawed, opaque, and dangerous.
A new report from @npub1d2a…gtj2, now available in English as part of a Statewatch-coordinated project, lays out the risks in detail.
The report finds that these systems reinforce discrimination, evade accountability, and threaten fundamental rights. La Quadrature is calling for a full ban—and we support them.
📄 Read more and access the full report: https://www.statewatch.org/news/2025/may/france-flaws-and-injustices-of-predictive-policing-laid-bare-in-new-report/
#PredictivePolicing #France
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2025-05-06 10:39:35 UTC

1/ Away from public scrutiny, the EU has been building a Security AI Complex. And here’s how.
First, it already has the foundation.
The EU has spent years digitalising its policing, border and immigration systems – a long, expensive and ongoing process. Introducing “artificial intelligence” into these systems is the next step.
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2025-05-02 10:01:24 UTC

Security AI is not neutral. It’s reinforcing the systems we already have — and who they exclude.
Facial recognition, risk scoring, behaviour prediction — EU governments are building AI tools into policing and migration systems already marked by racism, over-surveillance and discrimination.
Policymakers talk about “debiasing” these tools, but sidestep the real issue: AI is being deployed to reinforce structures of exclusion, not to dismantle them.
📓 Read our report: https://buff.ly/5QD3kXD
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2025-04-29 09:02:47 UTC

1/ Artificial intelligence is no longer just a tech trend — it’s being embedded into Europe’s security systems, with far-reaching consequences for rights, democracy, and accountability.
Our new report, Automating Authority: Artificial intelligence in EU police and border regimes, maps out how AI is being introduced into immigration, asylum, policing, and criminal justice systems. It is often in secret, with minimal oversight.
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2025-04-29 09:02:47 UTC

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2/ What we found:
• EU agencies are developing AI tools to profile travellers, assess asylum claims, and conduct biometric surveillance.
• These systems are disproportionately aimed at migrants, racialised communities, and people on the move.
• The EU’s AI Act provides sweeping exemptions for security use, sidestepping fundamental rights protections.
• A powerful new “security AI complex” is emerging, shaped by public-private partnerships, opaque decision-making, and massive public funding

2025-04-16 13:27:50 UTC

France’s new “war on drugs” law won’t stop drug trafficking. But it will expand invasive surveillance—especially targeting migrants, activists, and political dissent.
These powers include:
• remote activation of phones by police
• mass surveillance via black boxes sucking up internet and telecoms metadata
🔗 Read more: https://www.statewatch.org/analyses/2025/france-how-the-war-on-drugs-is-turbo-charging-surveillance-powers/
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2025-04-10 10:30:08 UTC

1/ No, this is not Minority Report. It’s worse.
After reading headline after headline comparing the findings from our investigation to the film #MinorityReport, we thought we'd set the record straight.
The UK Ministry of Justice is piloting a ‘Homicide Prediction’ tool—not in a sci-fi future, but right now. And no, it’s not powered by some psychic soup in a “Precrime” department. It’s a very real project, misusing people’s personal data to make biased assumptions and threatening our rights.
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2025-04-02 14:05:04 UTC

The continued & unwavering support of Libyan authorities shows the EU is willing to sideline law, justice, and human rights to maintain its migration strategy.
Since 2013, the EU Border Assistance Mission in Libya (EUBAM) has worked to strengthen Libyan authorities. Now, the leaked documents reveal the mission is entering a “consolidation phase,” expanding ties with Frontex and embedding EU-backed migration control deeper into Libya’s security structures.
🔗 Read more: https://www.statewatch.org/analyses/2025/impunity-for-war-criminals-and-the-european-migration-strategy-in-libya/
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2025-03-25 15:28:26 UTC

The Serbian government is cracking down on mass protests sparked by the deadly collapse of a train station in Novi Sad. Nearly 140 organisations, including Statewatch, have signed an open letter condemning the repression and joining in solidarity with protesters demanding accountability.
📖 Read more: https://www.statewatch.org/news/2025/march/serbia-mass-protests-continue-despite-government-repression/
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2025-03-21 14:32:23 UTC

The Polish government has proposed new EU rules to ban the anonymous purchase of SIM cards.
This is yet another attempt to eliminate any form of anonymous communication in the name of combatting crime—despite extensive research showing no evidence that it will have any effect.
What it will do is make it more difficult for those who rely on anonymity for safety, including whistleblowers, journalists, and people seeking to escape abuse.
Read more: https://www.statewatch.org/news/2025/march/eu-officials-discuss-banning-anonymous-use-of-mobile-phones/
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2025-03-04 10:00:08 UTC

Last year, activists tried to stop a deportation flight from Milan. After their arrest, police seized their phones — and evidence later showed the devices were secretly accessed and tampered with using spyware made by the Israeli firm Cellebrite.
NoCPR Torino shares this case as a warning of the EU's use of repressive technology to target those resisting violent border regimes.
Read more: https://buff.ly/wwk4PB0
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2025-02-18 10:28:34 UTC

The Polish government is pushing for a lifelong EU entry ban for people who have been deported—raising serious concerns about legality and proportionality. 📢
We've obtained and published a document circulated among EU states that outlines Poland’s position on return policy reforms.
🔗 Read more: https://buff.ly/430xO7f
💡 Donate to Statewatch: https://buff.ly/48VZgT0
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2025-02-13 14:47:55 UTC

We've just listed a new date for our Data Protection in Immigration & Asylum workshop! Sign up now.
When it is:
Thursday, 27 February 2025, from 15:00-17:00 GMT
Where to sign up:
https://buff.ly/3DOLmZd
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2025-02-11 10:00:09 UTC

Despite mounting evidence of abuses and calls against it by civil society, MEPs and more, EU member states are continuing the same harmful practice of outsourcing of border and migration controls to non-EU countries.
What's more, EU Member States want to make externalisation more “flexible and responsive”, which means more funding for violent and authoritarian regimes with no democratic oversight.
🖇️ Read more: https://www.statewatch.org/news/2025/january/eu-outsourcing-borders-and-migration-control-no-parliamentary-scrutiny-in-sight/
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2025-01-31 16:05:20 UTC

EU member states want to “improve” the outsourcing of border and migration controls to non-EU countries. A new document we obtained reveals how they plan to expand these efforts—while avoiding oversight.
Read more in our latest article: https://buff.ly/3EdCwUQ
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2024-12-13 10:19:01 UTC

The Italian senate is discussing a bill that could be "the most serious attack to the freedom of protest ever waged in recent decades." So we signed a joint statement with 26 organisations from across Europe to condemn it.
The bill would criminalise protest roadblocks–particularly targeting climate and environmental movements. It would also increase punishments for resistance to major infrastructure projects.

2024-12-10 20:37:03 UTC

A case has been filed at the ICC to prosecute Israeli officials for incitement to genocide 🚨
Dr. Omer Shatz, a Franco-Israeli lawyer has filed a case with the International Criminal Court (ICC), calling for the prosecution of eight individuals for the crime of incitement to genocide.
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2024-12-10 20:37:03 UTC

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These individuals are:
• Yoav Gallant, former defence minister
• Isaac Herzog, president
• Israel Katz, defence minister
• Benjamin Netanyahu, prime minister
• Bezalel Smotrich, finance minister
• Itamar Ben-Gvir, national security minister
• Zvi Yehezkeli, a television journalist
• Giora Eiland, former major general in the Israeli Defence Forces.
🖇️ We obtained & published the submission along with an overview of the contents, here: https://buff.ly/4fe2Yuu
#HumanRightsDay

2024-11-08 11:00:10 UTC

This week, the proposed new EU Commissioners are being interviewed by the EU Parliament.
Four nominees would have migration, asylum, and border policy responsibilities – and we've put together a jargon-free translation of what these duties would really involve.
Read it here: https://www.statewatch.org/analyses/2024/migration-policy-priorities-of-the-next-european-commission-a-jargon-free-translation/

2024-10-14 11:01:55 UTC

🚨 The 3rd issue of the Externalisation Bulletin by Statewatch and Migration Control is out now!
This issue covers the EU’s priorities for Sudan and its support for violent and authoritarian regimes in North Africa. It also makes 50 internal documents from EU institutions public.
One of these documents is a Presidency Paper to the Working Party on the External Aspects of Asylum and Migration (EMWP) on the situation in Sudan. In this paper, the EU makes its self-serving priorities clear. 🧵
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2024-10-03 08:27:01 UTC

EU member states can now collect and share information on so-called “potential terrorists”.
But who is classified as a "potential terrorist?
A "shared understanding" was reached this year without democratic scrutiny. This left broad criteria for deciding who is a "potential terrorist or violent extremist threat".
The definition includes individuals categorised as:
• refugees and asylum seekers
• climate and environmental activists

2024-10-03 08:27:01 UTC

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These diverse groups are recognised as having a "limited" number involved in terrorism and violence, yet they are all subject to surveillance under this broad "shared understanding".
The UN Special Rapporteur on Environmental Defenders under the Aarhus Convention issued a warning that this could "increase polarisation by wrongly labelling activists as radicals and trivialising terrorism.”
https://www.statewatch.org/news/2024/october/eu-definition-of-potential-terrorists-opens-door-to-broad-information-sharing/