In view of the serious international situation and the escalation of conflicts in different areas of Europe, the EU Foreign Affairs Ministers have held a series of meetings since May 18 in order to address the various current situations and reach consensus agreements: Main results EU Foreign Ministers exchanged views on the recent serious escalation […]
Read MoreHigh-level Military Mobility Symposium discussed way ahead
More than 350 participants from Member States, EU institutions, industry, academia and think tanks joined the high-level online symposium on ‘Military Mobility – Transforming Ambition into Reality’, co-organised by the Portuguese Presidency of the Council of the European Union and EDA. After 2018, it was the second European conference specifically devoted to Military Mobility. In […]
Read MoreFeasibility of a future European army
While there is no EU army and defence remains exclusively a matter for member states, the EU has recently taken big steps to boost defence cooperation. Since 2016, there has been significant progress in the area of EU security and defence with several concrete EU initiatives to encourage cooperation and reinforce Europe’s capacity to defend […]
Read MoreFighting trafficking in human beings
The Commission is presenting today a new Strategy on Combatting Trafficking in Human Beings (2021-2025), focusing on preventing the crime, bringing traffickers to justice and protecting and empowering victims. Between 2017 and 2018, there were more than 14,000 registered victims within the European Union. Globally, traffickers make estimated profits of €29.4 billion in a single year. With […]
Read MoreSmuggling Network Connected to four deaths at sea dismantled in Spain
The suspects are linked to the smuggling of an important amount of people through the Strait of Gibraltar On 29 March 2021 Europol supported the Spanish National Police (Policía Nacional) in dismantling an organised crime group involved in migrant smuggling from Morocco to Spain through the Strait of Gibraltar. More than 150 police officers were […]
Read MoreEurope’s imprisonment rate continues to fall
The overall European imprisonment rate – the number of persons in prison per 100,000 inhabitants – fell again slightly in 2020, consolidating a trend that started in 2013, according to the Council of Europe’s Annual Penal Statistics on Prison Populations for 2020. On 31 January 2020, there were 1,528,343 inmates in 51 prison administrations (out […]
Read MoreMyanmar: EU imposes sanctions over recent military coup
The Council today imposed restrictive measures on eleven individuals responsible for the military coup staged in Myanmar/Burma on 1 February 2021, and the subsequent military and police repression against peaceful demonstrators. Ten of the eleven persons targeted belong to the highest ranks of the Myanmar Armed Forces (Tatmadaw), including the Tatmadaw’s Commander-in-Chief, Min Aung Hlaing, […]
Read MoreEU imposes further sanctions over serious violations of human rights around the world
The Council decided to impose restrictive measures on eleven individuals and four entities responsible for serious human rights violations and abuses in various countries around the world. Together with the listing of four Russian individuals earlier this month, these 15 designations are part of the first broader package of listings under the EU Global Human Rights Sanctions Regime. […]
Read MoreSuccessful hit against drug trafficking in the EU
Seven suspects linked to an international criminal network trafficking drugs arrested in Poland The Polish Police Central Bureau of Investigation (Policja) arrested seven suspects allegedly linked to a high-risk poly-criminal organised network operating in different EU countries. Supported by Europol and Eurojust, the arrests follow a two-year-long investigation into an organised criminal group producing, smuggling and […]
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