Tag: justice

A mechanism allowing the suspension of visa-free travel for third countries was adopted by the European Parliament last week, but controversial legal issues remain over the increasing problem of 'fake' asylum-seekers, often Roma from the Western Balkan countries.

As Washington weighs a military strike against Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad, the human fallout of two and a half years of conflict that has sent millions into flight is no longer contained to the Middle East. Hundreds of refugees are trying to get into Europe from the Western Balkans.

Danish opposition leader Lars Løkke Rasmussen has ratcheted up the pressure on Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt to launch a referendum on two of Denmark’s EU opt-outs by calling for one “at the earliest opportunity”.

Croatia, who joined the EU on 1 July, is already entangled in a major conflict with the European Commission. In late June, Zagreb changed its legislation, not allowing the European Arrest Warrant to apply for crimes committed before 2002. 

The European Commission is to send a fact-finding mission to Gibraltar to examine the legitimacy of border controls imposed by Spain in a growing dispute over the British Mediterranean enclave.

The UK has threatened to appeal to the EU Commission for a legal resolution in an escalating dispute over the contested territory of Gibraltar, as Spain refused to remove border checks affecting tourists and workers.

Tension between Spain and the UK over the disputed territory of Gibraltar looks set to increase this week following Spanish reports that it intends to lodge a complaint with the United Nations and a planned arrival on the rocky outcrop later this week of UK naval ships.

Malta’s government appeared to diffuse a growing rift with the EU over the fate of more than 100 people who were rescued from a sinking boat on the Mediterranean Sea but barred them from landing on the island.

A ruling by Italy's supreme court upholding a tax fraud conviction against former premier and centre-right leader Silvio Berlusconi has left the fate of the country's fragile ruling coalition resting in the balance.

The EU's 28 foreign ministers unanimously agreed today (22 July) to put the armed wing of Hezbollah on its list of terrorist organisations, but made it clear that it would maintain contact with all political parties in Lebanon, including the Hezbollah party, which is part of the country’s government.

The European Commission today (17 July) proposed establishing a European Prosecutor’s Office, in an attempt to improve the investigation and conviction of criminals who defraud the EU. British Conservatives immediately said they would opt out of the plan.

Spain's Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy may take a pounding from fresh corruption allegations against his centre-right People's Party but the government is strong enough to ride the storm, analysts and sources say.

EU lawmakers agreed on Thursday (4 July) to toughen criminal penalties across the European Union for cyberattacks, especially those that include harming critical national infrastructure and hijacking computers to steal sensitive data. The UK and Ireland decided to opt in.

Members of the European Parliament failed to unite behind a report calling on Budapest to remove a constitutional amendment that critics say restricts democracy and basic rights in Hungary. EurActiv reports from Strasbourg.

European institutions will be covered by the EU's new data protection regime, says Viviane Reding. The same rules must apply to everyone, the EU justice commissioner says in an interview, where she also discusses the brewing storm over alleged US snooping on European offices.

MEPs have lifted parliamentary immunity for French far-right leader Marine Le Pen, the outspoken politician who is expected to face criminal charges over racist remarks. EurActiv France reports.

The European Parliament decided to waive immunity for Polish MEP Jacek Kurski so that he could defend himself against accusations that he committed a traffic offence in his country. 

The leader of the European Parliament's largest political group, the European Peoples’ Party (EPP), said yesterday (11 June) the European Commission should “force” the resignation of the head of the EU anti-fraud office, OLAF, over his handling of the case against former commissioner John Dalli.

Judges in Bulgaria are sanctioned not when they commit a violation, but when they disobey, writes Ivanka Ivanova.

Britain asked the European Union on Tuesday (21 May) to put Hezbollah’s military arm on its list of terrorist organisations, urging Europe to respond robustly to evidence of the Islamist group’s involvement in a July 2012 bomb attack in Bulgaria.

Prime Minister David Cameron called upon Britain's overseas territories to "get their house in order" over the sharing of tax information, and told business leaders to stop using “smoke and mirrors” to avoid paying taxes. The fight against tax evasion will be the main topic of an EU summit in Brussels tomorrow (22 May).

The surviving member of a German neo-Nazi cell went on trial on Monday (6 May) for a series of racist killings that scandalised Germany and exposed the security services' inability or reluctance to recognise far-right crime.