The EP Frontex Scrutiny Working Group (FSWG) will meet on Thursday with the agency’s Executive Director Fabrice Leggeri and Commissioner Ylva Johansson.
The fourteen-member working group has been set up to assess the functioning of the European border agency, following media reports that it was allegedly involved in pushbacks of asylum-seekers in Aegean waters. Suspicions of mismanagement led to several inquiries, both internally and by different EU bodies, such as OLAF (the EU’s anti-fraud office) and the Ombudsman’s office.
Chaired by Roberta Metsola (EPP, MT), the FSWG will carry out a fact-finding investigation in its first four months, gathering all relevant information and evidence regarding alleged violations of fundamental rights involving Frontex.
The Covid-19 pandemic – and the measures taken to combat it – have upended many lives. For millions of people around the world, the pandemic has brought about a protracted period of uncertainty, isolation, and hardship, with an end not yet in clear view. And those already in a precarious situation before the crisis have been hit the hardest, with women particularly afflicted.
We have learned the hard way that no one is safe until everybody is safe. In Europe, the detrimental impact of the pandemic on the right to physical and mental health has been compounded by an overreliance on the institutional care of older persons and persons with disabilities. The right to education has come under threat. Unemployment has soared, dealing an additional blow to housing rights.
But the pandemic has also created an unprecedented opportunity to make things right. The recovery effort must address structural inequalities head-on as well as operational deficiencies in the enjoyment of social rights. An approach that places people and their rights at its centre – not as passive recipients of services, but as rights-holders with agency – is the only way to guarantee a sustainable recovery.
While States carry the main responsibility to respect, protect, and fulfil social rights, the role of the EU institutions and local authorities cannot be underestimated. Indeed, the upcoming Action Plan to implement the European Pillar of Social Rights has the potential to trigger a seismic shift.
The Action Plan presents a powerful opportunity for the EU to strengthen its commitment to a truly global system for human rights. This publication calls on the European Commission to situate its efforts within the broader human rights framework, building on the EU’s stated commitment to lead the way in supporting the rules-based international order. The commitment to multilateralism must start at home, with a human rightsbased approach to the Action Plan for the Social Pillar.
Dignity for All: Realizing Social Rights in the EU 2
Accountability, transparency, participation, and non-discrimination should be cornerstones of the Action Plan and its implementation. Human rights are not just normative requirements; they are practical tools that can sharpen the effectiveness of policy interventions. In addition to the EU’s own tools (such as the Social Scoreboard), the findings of international human rights mechanisms can also establish a useful baseline for where States stand with respect to protecting and promoting social rights. As States parties to international human rights treaties, EU member States are, after all, bound to implement these norms. Furthermore, the human rights indicators developed by the UN Human Rights Office, together with the global Sustainable Development indicators, can provide a useful framework for tracking and monitoring the implementation of the Social Pillar.
We have before us a chance to close serious gaps in the enjoyment of social rights across the region. If this opportunity is seized, it will lead to better and tangible outcomes in the Covid-19 recovery and – most importantly – will guarantee a life of greater dignity for all.
Birgit Van Hout Regional Representative for Europe Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights
Hungary’s prime minister, Viktor Orbán, has pulled his rightwing Fidesz party out of the main centre-right political group in the European parliament after the European People’s party (EPP) moved towards excluding it by changing its rules.
The EPP’s 180 MEPs, some of whom have campaigned for years for the expulsion of Fidesz, which they accuse of weakening the judiciary and curbing media, academic and other freedoms, backed the change by 148 votes to 28 with four abstentions.
Orbán, the party’s chairman, said in a letter posted on Twitter soon after the vote that it was “disappointing” that in the midst of a pandemic the EPP was busying itself with curtailing the rights of its own representatives.
He accused the EPP of “trying to mute and disable our democratically elected MEPs”. The vote was “a hostile move against Fidesz and our voters”, he said, as well as “anti-democratic, unjust and unacceptable … Therefore, the governing body of Fidesz has decided to leave the EPP Group immediately.”
A spokesman for the EPP parliamentary group, Pedro Lopez de Pablo, said the Hungarian prime minister’s response to the vote on Wednesday was “his own personal decision” and that the group would not comment.
Dacian Ciolos, president of the centrist Renew Europe Group in the parliament, welcomed what he described as the “long overdue departure of Fidesz and Viktor Orbán from mainstream European politics”.
Under Orbán, Fidesz had “eroded democracy in Hungary and vandalised European values”, Ciolos said. “It is regrettable that the EPP have harboured the slide to authoritarianism in Hungary for so long. There is no space for the toxic populism of Fidesz in European politics.”
Orbán’s decision to walk away from the biggest single voting bloc in the parliament ends years of wrangling between EPP parties over whether or not to kick his rightwing, populist party out of the group or keep its MEPs onboard.
In a letter to the EPP’s leader, Manfred Weber, on Sunday, Orbán had threatened to leave the group, saying the proposed rule changes – to allow entire member parties, rather than just individual MEPs, to be expelled with a simple majority – were “tailor-made to punish Fidesz”.
The EPP suspended Fidesz’s membership in 2019 over growing concerns that the rule of law was being eroded in Hungary and that the party was engaging in anti-Brussels rhetoric and attacking the EPP leadership. The party currently has 12 MEPs.
A Hungarian government poster campaign in 2019 accused the then European commission head, Jean-Claude Juncker, and the liberal US billionaire George Soros – Orbán’s bête noire – of plotting to flood Europe with migrants.
The EPP subsequently sent a delegation to produce an internal report assessing the future membership of Fidesz – a move that drew a highly critical response from Orbán who said the party would make its own decision on its future.
More recently, the EPP suspended Tamás Deutsch, the head of the Fidesz delegation in the European parliament, stripping him of his rights to speaking time in plenary sessions and removing him from his positions in the group, after he compared comments by Weber to the slogans of the Gestapo and Hungary’s communist-era secret police.
Many of the more moderate national delegations in the EPP, which welcomed Orbán’s party in the early 2000s, have pushed for Fidesz to be expelled, arguing that it no longer represents the group’s values.
National delegations from Scandinavia, Austria, Belgium and the Netherlands have long campaigned for Orbán’s exclusion, while the Christian Democrat CDU/CSU of Germany’s chancellor, Angela Merkel, has consistently been reluctant.
Othmar Karas, an Austrian EPP member and vice president of the European parliament, said the vote was “a clear sign of our ability to act and our credibility”, as well as “a rejection of a blackmail attempt by Viktor Orbán.”
Petri Sarvamaa, a Finnish EPP MEP, called Fidesz’s departure “a great relief and a historic day”, saying that the party had “trampled on democratic values” and built a system in which “EU funds have been channelled into the leadership’s pockets”.
Orbán’s decision to take Fidesz out of his own volition represents a welcome resolution of a long-standing and increasingly damaging problem for the EPP, as tensions with Hungary and Poland over the rule of law are likely to build further in months to come.
Fidesz’s MEPs could now join either the socially conservative and Eurosceptic European Conservatives & Reformists (ECR) group dominated by Poland’s Law & Justice (PiS) party, or the far-right, nationalist Identity & Democracy group founded in 2019 by France’s Marine Le Pen and Italy’s Matteo Salvini.
Beside Merkel’s CDU, the EPP faction includes Poland’s opposition Civic Platform, Belgian Christian Democrats, France’s Les Republicains and others. It will remain the largest group in the 705-strong chamber even after the Fidesz MEPs’ departure.
The European Sunday Alliance releases statement on synchronised free time in the EU
On the occasion of the International Day for a work-free Sunday, the European Sunday Alliance urges the EU institutions to put synchronised free time as a priority on the social policy agenda, especially “in times where the Covid-19 pandemic has accelerated existing challenges of digitalisation by intensifying work and extending working hours, thus putting a healthy work-life balance at risk for more people” – reads the statement.
The Alliance encourages the European Commission to align its upcoming proposal for a directive on a right to disconnect with article 2 of the Council of Europe’s Social Charter, which firmly requires “a weekly rest period which shall, as far as possible, coincide with the day recognised by tradition or custom in the country or region concerned as a day of rest.”
“Regrettably – reads the statement – in 1996 the EU working time directivewas stripped of a provision to include Sunday as common day of rest for workers because the European Court of Justice found that the directivefailed to explain why Sunday, as a weekly rest day, is more closely connected with the health and safety of workers than any other day of the week.”
Establishing a European right to disconnect is currently debated throughout Europe. Work-life balance, as well as healthy, safe and well-adapted work environments, are at the heart of the European Pillar of Social Rights, which all EU institutions and Member States government have committed to implement.
COMECE is member and founder of the European Sunday Alliance. The Alliance is a broad network of more than 100 national Sunday alliances, trade unions, employers’ organisations, civil society associations, churches and religious communities in the European Union. The Alliance is committed to raise awareness about the unique value of Sunday for our society and on the importance of a common day of rest.
In the run up to the International Day for a work-free Sunday, the Alliance carried out a video campaign on social media, raising awareness about the unique value of Sunday for our society and on the importance of a common day of rest.
The European Sunday Alliance calls on EU political leaders “to put synchronised free time as a priority on the social policy agenda”. In a statement released on Wednesday 3 March 2021, the Alliance – of which COMECE is a member – encourages the EU Commission to align its upcoming proposal for a directive on a right to disconnect with Article 2 of the Council of Europe’s Social Charter.
On the occasion of the International Day for a work-free Sunday, the European Sunday Alliance urges the EU institutions to put synchronised free time as a priority on the social policy agenda, especially “in times where the Covid-19 pandemic has accelerated existing challenges of digitalisation by intensifying work and extending working hours, thus putting a healthy work-life balance at risk for more people” – reads the statement.
The Alliance encourages the European Commission to align its upcoming proposal for a directive on a right to disconnect with article 2 of the Council of Europe’s Social Charter, which firmly requires “a weekly rest period which shall, as far as possible, coincide with the day recognised by tradition or custom in the country or region concerned as a day of rest.”
“Regrettably – reads the statement – in 1996 the EU working time directivewas stripped of a provision to include Sunday as common day of rest for workers because the European Court of Justice found that the directivefailed to explain why Sunday, as a weekly rest day, is more closely connected with the health and safety of workers than any other day of the week.”
Establishing a European right to disconnect is currently debated throughout Europe. Work-life balance, as well as healthy, safe and well-adapted work environments, are at the heart of the European Pillar of Social Rights, which all EU institutions and Member States government have committed to implement.
COMECE is member and founder of the European Sunday Alliance. The Alliance is a broad network of more than 100 national Sunday alliances, trade unions, employers’ organisations, civil society associations, churches and religious communities in the European Union. The Alliance is committed to raise awareness about the unique value of Sunday for our society and on the importance of a common day of rest.
In the run up to the International Day for a work-free Sunday, the Alliance carried out a video campaign on social media, raising awareness about the unique value of Sunday for our society and on the importance of a common day of rest.
Data exchange between the European Union and the United Kingdom: The legal situation regarding data protection could also be confusing in the future
Marc Ahlgrim recommends automated data management for companies to be on the safe side
[datensicherheit.de, 02.03.2021] After the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (UK) left the European Union, it appears that the legal situation regarding data sharing has not been resolved. As of June 2021 at the earliest There is a possibility that a judgment will be made to clarify this. But even then the last word was not uttered, “If you consider that Max Schreams, for example, through his lawsuit before the European Court of Justice (ECJ) terminated the transnational safe harbor agreement between the European Union and the United States of America and abolished the” Privacy Shield between the European Union and the United States “at the end of 2020.” In the present statement, Veritas addresses the current legal situation regarding the storage of data from The European Union in the United Kingdom indicates potential future developments in this regard and gives companies “best practices” to put their data management on a solid footing – regardless of the law currently in force.
Photo: Veritas
Mark Ahlgrim: Identify individual risks and tackle big problems first!
Redefine the legal basis for exchanging data exchanged across the English Channel
Since the UK left the European Union (BrExit), the legal basis for exchanging data across the English Channel has been debated again. There is currently one for companies in the UK Transitional periodThey are required to provide a level of data protection in accordance with Article 44 of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in addition to the applicable data protection laws. “European companies that store personal information on UK websites face heavy fines if these additional requirements are not met.”Warnt Marc Ahlgrim, “Digital Transformation, Risk Mitigation and Compliance Specialist,” GDPR bei Veritas. Currently, the European Commission has revised data protection laws in the UK after an in-depth review “appropriate” It makes clear that additional requirements are not necessary for this. According to Deputy Chairperson of the European Union Commission Vera Gorova, the established rules are sufficient Protection of personal data at the European Union level. However, EU member states have yet to agree to the draft. They have until June 2021 for this – “Then the transition phase ends.”. Only then will data exchange between the European Union and the United Kingdom be possible again without restrictions.
Not only large companies in the European Union, but also medium-sized companies and startups are sharing data with UK websites
Not only large companies, but also medium-sized companies and startups in Europe have shared data with locations on the island. Many companies in the European Union rely on British service providers, especially for cloud services as well as maintenance and customer service. You are all allowed ‘Decision of fitness’ Welcome because it guarantees legal certainty. Ahlgrim: However, you shouldn’t be too enthusiastic about the security of data exchange between the EU and the UK – the decision may not last long. As with previous agreements on this subject, the latest of which is the “EU-US Privacy Shield” and its predecessor, Safe Harbor, “there is also a risk this time that NGOs will take action before the European Court of Justice to overturn the decision.” According to data protection holders, Great Britain is not very strict about the security of personal data. Additionally, there is no test “How well is the data there is protected from access by the secret services, given that the UK is a member of the Five Eyes Alliance”. So companies sharing personal information with UK websites should contact Arm yourself to potential compliance problems. The most important measures included comprehensive data protection controls and the implementation of automated data management, by which old and new data will be automatically scanned, classified and processed according to their content. In practice, according to Ahlgrim, five best practice steps have proven effective in solving this task:
Automated Data Management: 5 Proven Steps to Best Practices
Locate: First of all, you need an overview of where the information is stored – one, so to speak Map data. This applies above all to data in the cloud. For compliance reasons, the company must therefore verify whether the data center is located in the European Union or in a suitable third country.
Search: The GDPR gives EU citizens the right to a An overview of the data that you have saved To claim – companies have to file this right away. So the corresponding software and process to quickly find the data and delete it if necessary is necessary.
Zoom out: With the necessity to achieve the General Data Protection Regulation, “That companies generally keep less personal data and store it only for a specific purpose.”. So every file must contain one Expiration date It is automatically deleted after a certain period of time (depending on the purpose).
Protect: In fact, of course: Personal data deserves special protection. Businesses will have to take measures to ward off attacks from the outside and at home. “If something happens, the data leak must be reported within 72 hours.”
Foreman: Who is the one Security breach He wants to report, he must first know that he is there. “ The second step is to clarify the missing data quickly and clearly. Because the GDPR clearly requires “That those affected by the accident, as well as the authorities, be informed of the accident within 72 hours.”. It is therefore recommended to use a professional data management solution, with which the complex storage infrastructure can be permanently and automatically scanned for violations.
Ideally, the data management tools used for each of these steps followed a centralized policy Derived measures Which will be executed automatically after that. Also recommended is a service that adapts different tools to the individual environment and conducts an initial GDPR maturity assessment. “Individual risks can be quickly identified from the results and major problems can be addressed first.”So, Ahlgrim.
Amazon.com Inc’s Prime Video streaming service on Tuesday issued a rare apology to its Indian viewers for some scenes in its original political drama series “Tandav”, which allegedly offended Hindu religious beliefs.
“Tandav”, a Hindi word meaning “fury”, stars top Bollywood actors. In several states it has faced police complaints and court cases alleging the show had depicted Hindu gods and goddesses in a derogatory manner, and offended religious beliefs. Lawmakers from India’s ruling nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party have also criticised it.
In a statement titled “Amazon Prime Video Apologizes”, the company on Tuesday said it deeply regrets viewers considered certain scenes to be objectionable.
Amazon apologizes “unconditionally to anyone who felt hurt,” it said, adding that it will continue to develop content while respecting the diversity of audiences’ culture and beliefs.
The “Tandav” controversy escalated last week when police in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh questioned one of Amazon’s top executives for hours in one case filed against the show.
Asked about the company apology, a senior state police official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said authorities would continue investigating the matter.
Shows on streaming platforms such as Netflix Inc and Amazon Prime have often faced complaints in India for obscenity or offending beliefs, but the latest controversy involving the Amazon show “Tandav” is among the highest-profile cases.
An Indian media and entertainment industry executive said Amazon’s apology was unprecedented and showed that big U.S. conglomerates can capitulate to political or cultural demands. The executive spoke on condition of anonymity.
In January 2020, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos attended a Prime Video event in Mumbai with Bollywood stars and announced it would double down on its investments. He said Prime Video was doing well globally “but nowhere it’s doing better than India”.
India is a critical growth market for Amazon, where it has committed investments of $6.5 billion, with interests in e-commerce, video streaming, cloud computing and other areas.
Amazon is currently also facing calls for a ban after Reuters last month reported the U.S. firm had for years given preferential treatment to a small group of sellers on its India website and used them to circumvent the country’s strict foreign investment regulations.
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The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is becoming a shareholder in the Czech online retailer Velka Pecka s.r.o. to support a business that has gained critical importance during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The company was established in 2014 and rapidly became the leading online grocery retailer in the Czech Republic, operating under the brand name Rohlik and offering a unique service. The pandemic has turned what was until recently seen as a convenience into what is now very often a necessity: during public health restrictions and lockdowns, online food retail has become a lifeline for many customers.
Building on the successful establishment of its business, Velka Pecka is now seeking to expand its operations in Hungary, and to enter the Romanian market and other countries where the EBRD invests.
This will not only offer customers more choice, but also benefit local suppliers as the company combines a unique product assortment with an emphasis on local, artisanal, healthy and organic food and a high level of service. In addition, the firm is championing a more sustainable food chain and supporting local food producers and artisans.
The expansion of Velka Pecka will also boost labour market opportunities. The company will introduce training for more than 600 young women and men in Hungary and Romania. Velka Pecka will also promote female talent in science, technology, engineering, mathematics and management, by targeting gender parity in these roles as well as in training.
Natalya Zhukova, EBRD Director, Agribusiness, said: “We are very proud of this investment, which addresses several pressing issues we are facing today. With the provision of equity the EBRD is making a long-term commitment to a young and dynamic company at a time when access to finance is often challenging. The expansion of online retail is a direct response to the huge disruption that the coronavirus pandemic is causing. And creating training opportunities for young people is essential at a time when labour markets are increasingly coming under strain.”
“We expect that our activities will kick-start the market and force all players in the retail industry to accelerate. We are not focused on delivering a small basket very quickly like other firms in the market, but on fulfilling the real needs of families in Europe,” added Tomáš Čupr, founder and CEO of Rohlik Group, on the expected impact of the Group’s expansion activities in the retail market.
Supporting agribusiness is a key part of the EBRD’s activities and the Bank is strengthening the sustainable and inclusive development of the sector through a combination of investment and policy engagement.
March is Women’s History Month, and we have some titles to inspire you. Our collection includes an alchemy of fiction and nonfiction, featuring women with various backgrounds, unique viewpoints, and riveting stories. So celebrate the strong, smart, defiant women in your life—including yourself!—and pick up one of these fantastic reads.
CARACAS, Venezuela — The chief European Union diplomat in Venezuela left the country on Tuesday, a week after the government of Nicolás Maduro ordered her expulsion following the EU’s decision to impose sanctions on several Venezuelan officials accused of undermining democracy or violating human rights.
Isabel Brilhante Pedrosa tweeted a photograph of Caracas showing the mountain range that flanks the Venezuelan capital to the north and the message “infinite thanks to all Venezuelans for their affection.”
“I carry you all in so many beautiful memories. My heart stays here,” she wrote without giving details.
The Venezuelan government’s action against Brilhante Pedrosa came after the European Union’s foreign ministers sanctioned 19 Venezuelan officials, freezing their assets and banning them from travelling to the bloc, citing the deteriorating situation Venezuela faces after December 2020 elections. The main opposition parties boycotted those elections.
The move marked the second time in almost eight months that Brilhante Pedrosa was declared persona non grata and ordered to leave Venezuela. Both cases were related to the European Union sanctions against officials and allies of Maduro.
Last June, Brilhante Pedrosa was able to remain in Venezuela after the European Union high representative for foreign affairs, Josep Borrell, and Venezuelan Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza agreed on the need to maintain diplomatic relations.
Arreaza last week lamented that the sanctions were imposed again, saying Maduro had been “generous” to allow European diplomats to remain after many nations formally recognized opposition leader Juan Guaidó as the country’s rightful leader.
Guaidó, former president of the National Assembly, declared himself interim president in 2019 and was recognized by 60 countries as the legitimate leader of Venezuela, arguing that Maduro’s reelection in 2018 was fraudulent. However, Maduro has held power with the support of the military and Guaidó’s movement has lost momentum.
