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COVID-19 has served as the pretext for widespread surveillance

By |July 29th, 2020|Tags: , , , |

Mass data collection, geo-location tracking and facial recognition have become normalised in the climate of widespread fear of contagion. Yet these threats to privacy, liberty and democracy will only deepen with the imposition of contact tracing apps.

Not just apps: privacy, personal data and COVID-19 in the western Balkans

By |May 18th, 2020|Tags: , , , |

The measures adopted by some Balkan countries to contain the pandemic have raised perplexity in associations and researchers who deal with privacy and digital rights. Emergency actions, derogating from the national rules of law, could translate into mass surveillance tools.

Focus: coronavirus and fundamental rights

By , |April 30th, 2020|Tags: , , , |

Our thematic focus this month is entirely on the legal and democratic challenges that the pandemic is posing to our societies. In particular, we look at how fundamental rights may be threatened by some emergency measures that are adopted or discussed in Europe. 

Italy: doing politics with politicians’ money

By , |December 27th, 2019|Tags: , |

After the abolition of direct public funding of politics in 2013, Italy intended to increase private donations. However, the numbers tell a different story: little funding comes from “big donors”, while a lot comes from elected representatives. Meanwhile, the absence of direct public funding in Italy remains a European anomaly.

753 people have died in terrorist attacks in the EU since 2000

By , |December 9th, 2019|Tags: , , , |

1868. This is the total number of terrorism victims during the last nineteen years, who have either lost their lives in attacks in the European Union, or as European citizens outside the EU's territory. The EU has adopted several directives to combat terrorist acts, but certain member states have yet to transpose them into national law.

Has the European Citizens’ Initiative been a democratic fiasco?

By |December 5th, 2019|Tags: , |

Eventually, European policy makers and MEPs greeted the start of the new European Commission’s term. The new president Ursula Von Der Leyen mentioned that the priority of the Commission team would be to revive Europe’s democracy. It might need to break with the past if it wants to do achieve this.