Rights and freedoms

Face surveillance vs Facial Authentication: What is it and why should biometric mass surveillance be banned in the public space?

26.01.2021

Live Webinar - Register here!

Often when people think of facial recognition, they think about unlocking their phones with their face. Facial authentication is used to verify that someone is who they say they are, when for example gaining secured access to a building or traveling through a passport gate. This is a one-to-one comp...

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strasbourg building ep — © European Union 2015 - Source EP

Greens/EFA debriefing of the plenary session

18-22 January

Greens/EFA priorities for the plenary week included: presentation of the Portuguese Presidency, EU global Strategy for COVID-19 vaccination, Inauguration of the new President of the United States and the current political situation, report on decent and affordable housing, the EU Strategy for Gender Equality, debate on the situation in the EU external borders, debate and resolution on human rights situation in Turkey, and the reform of the EU’s list of tax havens.

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EFA MEPs welcome self-determination caucus

Press release from the EFA MEPs

EFA MEPs have welcomed the establishment of a self-determination caucus within the European Parliament. This new initiative brings together MEPs from different political groups in support of the right to self-determination for the peoples and communities of the EU's stateless nations and nati...

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Prisoners of conscience in Turkey

Quotes from Ska Keller and Sergey Lagodinsky

Thursday, 21 January, MEPs will debate and vote on an urgency resolution on the human rights situation in Turkey, notably the case of Selahattin Demirtaş and other prisoners of conscience, and urge for their immediate release. One of the less known prisoners of conscience is Cihan Erdal, a member of the youth wing of Turkey’s Green Left Party.

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European Arrest Warrant must not be exploited for political reasons

Press release from EFA MEPs Jordi Solé and Diana Riba

EFA MEPs Diana Riba and Jordi Solé have spoken out against attempts to politicise the operation of the European Arrest Warrant. The European Parliament has been reviewing the implementation of the European Arrest Warrant, which allows those accused of serious crimes to be extradited from o...

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migrants greece — Christopher Jahn/IFRC (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

Humanitarian situation of refugees and migrants at the EU's external borders

Quote from Tineke Strik MEP

Members of the European Parliament will debate the situation facing refugees and migrants on the EU's external borders, following reports of the dire situation in Greece, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Canary islands and elsewhere.

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Hemicycle Brussels — Photo European Parliament - Architecte : Association des architectes du CIC : Vanden Bossche sprl, C.R.V. s.a., CDG sprl, Studiegroep D. Bontinck

Flash - Plenary session 18-22 January 2021

Greens/EFA priorities for the session

During this week plenary session, the European Parliament will debate and/or vote on Portuguese Council Presidency, vaccine strategy, new President of the US and the current situation, access to decent and affordable housing for all, EU gender strategy, TEN-T regulation, technical support instrument, more fish in the seas ...

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For an independent EU ethics body common to all EU institutions

13.01.2021

Online conference - Register here!

The EU institutions have some of the best ethics rules for lobby transparency, for Commissioners and staff to cool-off before taking the revolving door into a lobby job and against other conflicts of interest. Yet, the implementation of these rules can be improved. The new EU Commission said it i...

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The EU ethics body

A new institution fighting intransparent lobbying and conflicts of interest

The EU institutions have some of the best ethics rules for lobby transparency and against conflicts of interest including revolving doors. Yet, the implementation of these rules is fragmented and politicised.

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Greens/EFA debriefing of the plenary session

14-18 December

Greens/EFA priorities for the plenary week included the Council Conclusions on the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF), Rule of Law and Climate Law, the presentation of the Digital Service Act (DSA), the Drinking Water Directive, transitional provisions for Agricultural Funds, the European Year of Rail 2021, a new Strategy for European SMEs, and the future relations between the EU and the UK following Brexit negotiations.

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China: Forced labour and the situation of the Uyghurs in the Xinjiang

Quote from Reinhard Bütikofer MEP

The atrocities against the Uyghur ethnic minority in Xinjiang and rampant state-imposed forced labour are crimes against humanity. The European Parliament is calling on European companies to break off business relations with Chinese partners if they abet human rights violations.

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Parliamentary unity in negotiations on long-term budget paid-off

MFF

Members of the European Parliament are voting on a resolution on the outcome of last week's European Council summit on the Multiannual Financial Framework 2021-2027 (MFF), the InterInstitutional Agreement, the EU Recovery Instrument and the Rule of Law Regulation.

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