Democracy

Who will be the EU’s new digital gatekeepers? 

Tuesday 14 February 2023 | György Folk
| EUrologus

With the new Digital Services Act and Digital Market Act, the European Union will favour its own digital sector while promoting innovation, fairness, and more equal market access. Citizens will see their data and digital rights more protected and safeguarded.

EU's support for Ukraine backed by three-quarters of Europeans 

Thursday 19 January 2023 | György Folk
| EUrologus

After almost a year of war with Russia, EU citizens still predominantly support Ukraine and the EU’s approach to the crisis. Despite the political, social, and economic costs, EU citizens stand firm behind democracy and appear willing to make sacrifices for it.

face of a woman behind bars

One in five people in EU prisons are in pretrial detention 

Tuesday 10 May 2022 | Carmen Torrecillas
Eva Belmonte
David Cabo
María Álvarez Del Vayo
Miguel Ángel Gavilanes
Adrian Burtin
Kira Schacht
Laszlo Arato
María Zuil
Beatriz Walviesse
| Civio

People waiting for a final sentence often suffer worse conditions than convicted prisoners, even if they're innocent.

The suicide rate among people in pretrial custody is double that of convicted prisoners 

Tuesday 17 May 2022 | Ángela Bernardo
Eva Belmonte
Carmen Torrecillas
David Cabo
María Álvarez Del Vayo
Miguel Ángel Gavilanes
| Civio

In Europe there were 17.5 suicides per 10,000 people in pretrial detention in 2021, while the proportion was 8.54 deaths in the rest of the prison population.

Serbia, algorithmic discrimination rehearsals 

Wednesday 14 December 2022 | Federico Caruso
| OBC Transeuropa

A new law on social services in Serbia provides for the collection of a large amount of personal data of beneficiaries, to be analysed with an algorithm that evaluates their socio-economic condition. The declared goal is to improve the distribution of resources, but over 22,000 people have already lost the subsidy, without knowing why.

How was EUTF money used? 

Wednesday 04 May 2022 | Openpolis

As 2021 drew to a close, so too did the EUTF project, a “trust fund for Africa” created by the EU in order to address the causes of illegal immigration. Analysis shows that a large proportion of this funding was dedicated to border externalisation. 

Europe fights the monkeypox outbreak with unequal defences 

Tuesday 19 July 2022 | Ángela Bernardo
| Civio

Only two European Union member states confirm that they had strategic reserves of the most effective and safe vaccine against monkeypox, a smallpox-like virus.

Digital Fortress Europe #3: Automation and surveillance in Fortress Europe 

Monday 02 May 2022 | Kostas Zafeiropoulos
Janine Louloudi
Nikos Morfonios
| MIIR

Artificial intelligence and algorithms are at the heart of the EU’s new mobility-control system. High-risk automated decisions are being taken on human lives. It is an emerging multi-billion-euro unregulated market with dystopian 'smart' applications.

Europe is spending billions to fight immigration: to what end? 

Wednesday 11 May 2022 | Francesca Spinelli
| Voxeurop

Launched in November 2015, the EU Emergency Trust Fund for Africa (EUTF) was intended to promote stability and fight against “the root causes of irregular migration and displaced persons”. Five billion euros have been approved for 250 projects in 26 African countries. But what results has the fund produced?  

Digital Fortress Europe #2: Trapped in a digital surveillance system 

Saturday 30 April 2022 | Kostas Zafeiropoulos
Janine Louloudi
Nikos Morfonios
| MIIR

The impact of surveillance systems on vulnerable populations, money for Frontex drones, and monitoring the movement of citizens within the European area.