Justice & Home Affairs
Czech FM: Visegrad countries will continue to promote EU enlargement
The Visegrad countries will need some time to close the ditches they have dug in recent years, Foreign Minister Tomáš Petříček told EURACTIV.cz in an interview. He also voiced doubts about the need for a reform of EU membership negotiations, demanded by France, saying the process is already reversible at any stage.
UN official ‘concerned’ about denial of access to asylum procedures in Croatia
The Croatian government must ‘urgently’ address reports suggesting it is denying access to asylum procedures in the country, a high-ranking official from the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) told EURACTIV Croatia in an interview.
‘Free Courts’ activists: Poland makes another big step towards Polexit
The Free Courts initiative is the last barricade that keeps the ruling PiS party from acquiring the absolute power in Poland, activists Sylwia Gregorczyk-Abram and Michał Wawrykiewicz said in an interview with EURACTIV Poland’s editor-in-chief Karolina Zbytniewska.
EU needs to focus on legislation in the digital sphere, MEP Angelika Niebler says
The EU has proven to be successful in legislating in the digital age but it needs to keep up the work to avoid being left behind, because "the digital revolution has been moving faster than legislation", MEP Angelika Niebler (EPP, Germany) told EURACTIV in a written interview.
Azerbaijan ‘discourages’ human traffickers
Azerbaijan is unlikely to become a transit country for illegal migration because the authorities have “discouraged” international human trafficking rings from taking this route, Vusal Huseynov, the chief of the State Migration Service of Azerbaijan, told EURACTIV.
Sea rescue activist: We hope for ‘coalition of the willing’ to support our rescue operations
In an interview with EURACTIV Germany, David Starke, the chief executive officer of SOS Méditerranée Germany, spoke about his sea rescue organisation and others resuming operations at sea after Italy's closing of ports and investigations led against sea rescuers prompted a six-month hiatus.
‘Unrealistic’ to think Libya can operate all rescues at sea, UN Special Envoy says
In spite of the drop in numbers of crossing, the death rate in the Central Mediterranean has increased over the past few months. EURACTIV talked to UNHCR Special Envoy Vincent Cochetel about the situation in the world deadliest border.
Right- and left-wing violence cannot be equated, says expert
In an interview with EURACTIV Germany, Axel Salheiser, who is conducting research on right-wing extremism at the Institute for Democracy and Civil Society, spoke about the growing incidence of acts of violence by the far-right and the potential dangers of right- and left-wing extremist groups in Germany.
Weber: There is no special treatment for Viktor Orban in EPP
For the European People's Party, it is clear that Europe must stand by its principles and defend the rule of law, Manfred Weber, the head of the EPP group in the European Parliament, told EURACTIV Poland.
EU counter-terrorism chief: Europe ‘may see something like Daesh 2.0’
The level of terrorist threat remains "pretty serious" in several EU countries, Gilles de Kerchove, the EU's counter-terrorism coordinator, told EURACTIV.com in an interview hours before the latest attack in Strasbourg on Tuesday night (12 December).
Navracsics: I am ‘deeply interested’ in keeping the CEU in Hungary
Viktor Orbán's offensive against the Central European University is at the core of the worsening relationship between Hungary and the EU institutions. But his man at the European Commission, Tibor Navracsics, insists that he is “deeply interested” in keeping the university in Budapest.
Former UN envoy: ‘More support to Libya would bring results relatively soon’
Few people have better insights into the EU migration debate than Bernardino León, a man once described as the golden boy of Spanish politics. The diplomat said that disembarkation platforms and controlled centres for migrants, currently envisaged by EU leaders, won’t stop the flow of immigrants to Europe.
Political scientist: Germans are used to V4’s strong “No” from time to time
The EU's stand on migration policy is moving towards the demands of the Visegrad group, one of the best functioning groups in the bloc, says Dr Kai-Olaf Lang, adding that in many respects, Germany and V4 are much closer to each other today than Germany and France.
MEP: We have to prevent games with multiple identities in Asylum System
Since 2016, the EU is working on the reform of the Common European Asylum System (CEAS). Particularly tricky is the creation of a new Dublin IV agreement, clarifying which country is responsible for the asylum application of a person. EURACTIV Germany reports.
Refugees at the EU borders – status update from Romania
How prepared is the EU to receive people in need of protection? How can the integration programmes be improved? – two important case files for Brussels and the member states that can decide the future of millions. EURACTIV Romania reports.
‘Kitchen of Conflict’: Through the stomach towards tolerance
Poland and Hungary are the only two EU countries that have not accepted any refugee under the EU relocation and resettlement program. In an interview with EURACTIV Poland, Jarmila Rybicka talks about how her project tries to overcome fears and stereotypes about refugees.
Ambassador: Turkey, EU should cooperate in safely returning Syrian refugees home
At the Varna summit, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan told his interlocutors that the EU should cooperate in Syria in terms of helping Syrian refugees to go back to their homes, Turkish ambassador to the EU Faruk Kaymakcı told EURACTIV in an exclusive interview.
Czech minister: Government to hold series of public debates on EU future
The Czech government has responded to the challenge laid down by French President Emmanuel Macron and is going to start a series of public discussions on what shape the EU should take in the future, Aleš Chmelař, Czech State Secretary for EU affairs, told Aktuálně.cz.
German official: There will be no discount on the rule of law
The EU is a community of shared values, the minister of state for Europe in the German Foreign Office, Michael Roth (SPD), emphasised in an interview with EURACTIV’s media partner “Der Tagesspiegel“, referring to the anti-Soros campaign in Hungary and...
Lithuania president: Europe is back but migration, security challenges remain
Europe is back - its economy is growing and political stability is improving, Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaitė told EURACTIV.com. But Europe now needs to work to preserve its set of shared values and resolve the major challenges of migration and security, she warned
Flouting rules boosts German anti-EU cause, warns analyst
If Poland and Hungary are not censured for flouting EU rules, German Euroscepticism is set to rise, weakening public commitment to EU integration, warns foreign policy expert Cornelius Adebahr.
Dzurinda: EU must seek solution for migration outside its borders
The solution to the migration crisis is beyond the European Union borders and the EU must be prepared to talk to all relevant players in troubled countries and provide financial and logistical help, the former prime minister of Slovakia told EURACTIV.
Sacked Catalan councillor: We want to pursue a negotiated independence
EXCLUSIVE / Antoni Comín is one of the four councillors of the sacked Catalan government that fled to Brussels with Carles Puigdemont following the unilateral declaration of independence on 27 October.