The EU has taken an important step towards the protection of journalists and human rights defenders against unfounded claims or abusive court proceedings. The Spanish presidency of the Council and the European Parliament reached a political deal on a directive which would protect these individuals from strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs). The use of…
The AI Act has been a long time coming. Whilst it’s a landmark piece of legislation, unfortunately, it fails to meet the bar on human rights protections, writes Laura Lazaro Cabrera. Laura Lazaro Cabrera is the Counsel and Director of the Equity and Data Programme at the Centre for Democracy & Technology (CDT). It can’t…
Q+A: What France’s historic legislation on abortion could mean for the country and the wider EU. By Sarah Schug France’s landmark decision this week to enshrine the right to abortion in the country’s constitution has made waves throughout Europe and the world. The timing could not have been better, with the announcement coming just ahead of…
by Sofija Popović Members of the European Parliament will vote on a resolution on Serbia on February 8th. Prior to the resolution, there were debates among parliamentarians in the plenary session and in the Committee on Foreign Affairs in the European Parliament (AFET), where critical tones were expressed regarding the events that took place during the…
Transparency International has released its latest report about anti-corruption efforts in Western Europe and the EU. Corruption in Western Europe and the European Union is getting worse, according to experts’ perceptions, and this is the first time it’s got worse in over a decade. Transparency International’s latest Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) looked at 180 countries…
On 21-22 September 2023, the Council of Europe’s Economic Crime and Cooperation Division, in cooperation with the European Commission Directorate General for Structural Reform Support (DG REFORM) and the Croatian authorities, held a multi-country Conference “Ensuring an effective risk-based Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) supervision of financial institutions”, in Split, Croatia. The…
The Council of Europe Economic Crime and Cooperation Division (ECCD) is supporting Bulgarian Financial Intelligence Directorate under the State Agency for National Security (FID-SANS – Bulgarian Financial Intelligence Unit) with strengthening their anti-money laundering and countering the terrorist financing (AML/CFT) capacities in conducting operational and strategic analysis. In this regard, following a two-day training on…
In the modern world, where investments have become so accessible and diverse, it can be difficult to distinguish between legitimate and fraudulent opportunities. Unfortunately, this results in many people losing a lot of their money to scammers who promise high returns but don’t deliver on their commitments. Therefore, it is very important to know how…
Minerals are a critical part of the solution in the global shift towards a low-carbon economy. But a mining boom presents a multitude of corruption risks that could harm communities and the environment. Governments, the private sector and other stakeholders must act now to make sure the fight against climate change doesn’t have collateral damage.…
At the end of 2022, the Council of the European Union adopted its common position or ‘general approach’ to the proposed Artificial Intelligence Act (AI Act), paving the way for a vote on the legislation in the Committees of the European Parliament in April 2023. The Act stands to be the world’s most significant piece of…
