Social Fabric and Equal Footing

Does the EU still need a Common Immigration Policy?

The area of Justice, Liberty and Security — commonly known within governments as Justice and Home Affairs policy — is a broad grouping of policies including fundamental rights, citizenship, security and counter terrorism policies, criminal and civil law and police cooperation, as well as (…)

Thursday 9 June 2011

Scale back Schengen ? Yes, Not, Maybe ?

The Commissioner Malmstrom’s announcement given on May 4th about possible changes to Schengen treaty has provoked different reaction within the EU. Some hailed the Commission’s position as a step forward an improvement of the treaty, others blamed the EU caving in to the pressure of Italy and (…)

Monday 16 May 2011

Lampedusa, the stone in Europe’s shoes

Since the beginning of the year more than 20,000 illegal immigrants have arrived on the Italian island of Lampedusa, mostly from Tunisia, but also from other revolutionized countries overcrowding the island and causing “desperate” living conditions for both the islanders and the immigrants. (…)

Monday 25 April 2011

The Greek wall and Fortress Europe: security prioritized in the Area of Freedom, Security and Justice

United States – Mexico; Israel – West Bank; South Africa – Mozambique. Each of these barriers of separation has already been labelled a “wall of shame”, including by the European Union and its member states. However, it is on the EU’s border, in Greece, that the construction of a new wall is (…)

Monday 14 March 2011

Immigration from Africa, what response from Europe?

« There is a political and institutional earthquake that risks having a devastating impact on Europe through Italy », Italian interior minister Roberto Maroni recently said referring to thousands of migrants arrived on the Italian island of Lampedusa over the last weeks. Thousands of (…)

Friday 4 March 2011

Romania and Bulgaria out of Schengen...never been in

Romania and Bulgaria into Schengen? No way. France and Germany gave their red light to the entrance of the two Eastern countries into the EU border-free area made up of 25 European countries - the 27 EU members minus the UK, Ireland, Bulgaria, Romania and Cyprus. Three non-EU countries are also (…)

Wednesday 16 February 2011

European Youth Forum fights for youth rights in Belarus

For many years, the Belarusian government has been known to be repressive and undemocratic. Issues of human rights violations, including the right to freedom of association, have been repeatedly raised by the international community. For just as many years the European Youth Forum has been keen (…)

Thursday 18 March 2010

From Freedom to Death: A Narrative of Human Rights in Belarus

Having been a USSR constituent republic for seven decades, Belarus declared its sovereignty in July 1990 and its independence in August 1991. In January 1994 the country’s Parliament ousted the reform-oriented President Stanislav Shushkevich to protest against his support for market economics. (…)

Wednesday 17 March 2010

JEF Europe: In 2010 we fight for Freedom in Belarus - The Belarus Action 2010

In 1994, as a result of the first “democratic” elections after the Soviet Union’s collapse, Alexander Lukashenko was elected as the first president of the Republic of Belarus. Since 1994 the century of “Lukashenko regime” continues to lead that part of Europe. As in all democratic countries, (…)

Monday 15 March 2010

Milestone role for the EU regarding the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities

The possible EU accession to the European Convention on Human Rights has widely attracted media attention: another important instrument of international law, however, is already on the way and might entail important consequences for the protection of human rights in Europe. By ratifying the (…)

Tuesday 2 February 2010

The EU human rights’ voice not heard in China - Charter 08 signatory Liu Xiaobo sentenced to 11 years of jail despite EU lobbying

Exactly 33 years ago, Czechoslovakian civil liberties defenders, artists, human rights activists and intellectuals put down their ideals and ideas for a just society in Charter 77. Little did they know their protest would still inspire protest in the 21st century. On December 10th 2008 – (…)

Thursday 21 January 2010

Freedom of press in the European Union

At the European Parliament you can talk about Europe but you cannot talk individually about the member states. In the same way, a member state is allowed to address the European Union or to ask Brussels for help, but the EU must keep out of the member states’ domestic business. This is the (…)

Tuesday 3 November 2009
Pages :