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  Just leaked: New agreement between EU naval mission and Libya’s eastern forces (link below) In short, this proves the EU is beginning formal cooperation with Haftar and his military. It builds on existing cooperation with forces in the West to increase the surveillance and interception of people attempting to leave for Europe. Use whatever platform you have to speak out against this cooperation. You can read and share the document, here: https://www.statewatch.org/news/2026/may/revealed-eu-a...

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  The 17th issue of the #ExternalisationBulletin is out now. This bulletin includes details on: • The EU Border Mission in Libya; • The Frontex RECAPP app; • Disinformation campaigns around West Africa and more. It also makes 22 documents public. Read the issue: https://statewatch.org/research/outsourcing-borders-bulletin-17/ Access the latest documents: https://statewatch.org/documents/ Sign up to the mailing list: https://buff.ly/ksJlq3o

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  Police in England and Wales are already using live facial recognition (LFR) to scan millions of faces. But they are planning for more. This is despite the fact that there is currently no legislation governing the use of LFR. Right now, a law is said to be on the way, but it likely won't be enough. Read more about the government's plans: https://statewatch.org/news/2026/june/england-police-use-of-facial-recognition-technology-growing-rapidly/ Take action: https://you.38degree...

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  Public institutions in the EU hold hundreds of contracts with Israeli companies worth almost €2.7 billion. Meaningful EU trade sanctions or widespread boycotts in the public sector could have a substantial negative impact on Israel’s economy and its ability to wage war. Yet, the EU has taken no meaningful action. 1/3

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  The border has not disappeared—it has been transformed. Politicians talk about the need for "legal migration pathways" (while at the same time pushing deportations) and development agencies apparently have the answer: Circular Labour Mobility Schemes. These schemes are usually presented as neutral, evidence-based responses to both labour shortages and the need for migration pathways. And yet, the reality is they are putting more people into precarious and exploitative pos...

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  A recent academic project, Probable Futures, mapped 70 uses of AI in the criminal justice system. These range from emergency call handling and evidence assessment to crime ‘prediction’ and automated analysis of video footage. A report published by the project in June warns of “an increasing gap between technological capability and the conditions required for its legitimate, reliable, and responsible use.”

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  Within two years of October 2023, the number of contracts between Israeli companies and public institutions in the EU grew to 112. The total value in that period is estimated at nearly €1.6 billion. As the value of many contracts has been kept secret, we can't know for sure who the biggest spenders are. European taxpayers should demand that their money not be handed to a genocidal state. Together, we must demand that public institutions uphold justice. Read more: https://buff.ly/mfM...

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  In 2023 Spanish agents went undercover to join political and social movements as “intelligence agents”. The Catalan newspaper La Directa exposed them—and made their identities public. Now, the Spanish Data Protection Agency has demanded La Directa remove this information and pay a fine of up to €7,000. Together, we must support the efforts to expose unjust police behaviour. That's why we have signed a statement in support of La Directa. Read more: https://statewatch.org/news/2026/...

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  We’ve obtained and published an “action file” on Syria, which shows that the EU is planning to deport more people there. This isn’t just a document. It reveals the EU’s attempts to exert its influence while the country’s political situation is still precarious. Find out what's in the file: https://statewatch.org/news/2026/september/new-files-reveal-eu-plans-to-accelerate-deportations-to-syria/

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  The head of the UK’s College of Policing said the police need AI injected into their daily work “like heroin into the bloodstream.” He also thinks the National Centre for AI in Policing should spread AI tools “like wildfire through policing.” According to Probable Futures research project, police forces are experimenting with 70 AI technologies in total. This is without any laws, regulations, oversight or transparency to govern the use of this tech. Read more: https://statewatch.org/news/2026/...

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  The EU has blocked the release of files which may outline plans to pressure countries into migration deals by withholding aid. Last summer, the Commission proposed new ways to divide funding for non-EU countries. Among these were plans to make access to development funding conditional: countries could either go along with the EU's migration agenda or lose access to aid.

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  Europol could have your data without you even knowing it. And the newly proposed Europol regulation would mean even fewer restrictions on what they can do with it. The EU police agency is set to receive unprecedented access to personal data related to current and potential cross-border investigations. It’s part of a wider plan to expand the use of AI in policing.

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  Join us on 13 October in Brussels for #PrivacyCamp26! Romain Lanneau (representing Statewatch and Front-LEX) will be on the panel: “Resisting Europol and the new age of digital policing in Europe.” This panel will discuss how the proposed new Europol regulation illustrates the trend towards a new age of digital policing in Europe. Register by Tuesday, 5 October at 23:59 https://crm.edri.org/civicrm/event/register?reset=1&id=19

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  Two human rights activists, Panayote Dimitras and Tommy Olsen, face up to 20 years in prison for their work reporting on distress cases and arrivals of migrants and refugees to Greece. The case also targets two Cameroonian asylum seekers after they arrived by boat on the island of Kos. One for steering, the other for allegedly organising the transportation. If that doesn't sound right to you—good. It shouldn't. Read more in the article by Melissa Pawson: https://statewatch....

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  The latest issue of the Institute of Race Relation's publication "Race & Class" reviews a supposedly “green” and “pro-women’s safety” UNHCR project. The project is a part of their Refugee Environmental Protection (REP) Fund and uses refugee labour in the Global South to generate carbon credits to be traded on global markets. The Race & Class issue argues that what the project is really doing is abusing refugee labour to generate carbon credits.

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  Just leaked: New draft of the deportations regulation now live (link below!) We've obtained and published one of the latest working documents of the deportation regulation (a.k.a. "returns regulation”), by the EU Parliament, the EU Council, and the EU Commission. From what we can tell so far, no improvements have been made, despite relentless campaigning by civil society.

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  We've just published the Commission's proposal for EU-US data exchange. What they suggest would violate EU law. Anyone’s data exchanged under this proposed agreement could be used for a wide range of purposes. This includes preventing or arresting people travelling to the USA who have voiced opposition to US policies in Europe, or for automated discriminatory profiling of travellers. Access the document and read the full analysis by Romain Lanneau: https://www.statewatch.org/a...

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  Europol is hiring a new director to replace Catherine de Bolle. At the same time, Frontex's former director faces a French court for complicity in crimes against humanity. Both agencies have a history of acting beyond the law to prevent people from migrating to Europe, with little to no repercussions. If Europol's new director follows suit, the Europol regulation's recent reform may shield them from adequate oversight. Read more in this article by Romain Lanneau: htt...

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  The 15th issue of the #ExternalisationBulletin is out now. This issue includes a document that is almost laughably horrific. In it, the Council Presidency implores the EU’s main border externalisation committee to *mention* human rights more when dealing with non-EU partner countries. Other documents cover the future of Frontex's governance structure, the expanded use of Article 25a sanctions, and Egypt and Europol's plans for exchanging data. Read the issue here: https://www...

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  The UK Labour Party came to power in July 2024 promising change and an end to 14 years of the right-wing rule seen under the Tories. Instead, it has since entrenched some of the Tories’ worst overreaches—and added some more of its own. Statewatch contributor and organiser James Olufemi Anderson has now mapped the resulting decline of rights, alongside the legal action against of Palestine Action and its supporters. Read more and view the timeline here: https://www.statewatch.org/analyses/2026/...

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  €27.1 million in hidden funds by the EU. Does that sound right to you? Read more about IrpiMedia's investigation and find the full report, "Financing the Violence", produced in collaboration with SOS Méditerranée, here: https://www.statewatch.org/news/2026/april/the-hidden-eu-funds-behind-violence-at-sea/

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  Why should you care about data protection law? Because as the EU increases its datafication, we need to equip ourselves to protect our data. Get the handbook now: https://www.statewatch.org/news/2025/october/eu-new-handbook-offers-guide-to-privacy-and-data-protection-for-immigration-and-asylum-practitioners/

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  The use of personal data in the EU’s border, immigration and asylum regimes has intensified over the last decade, and the dangers of inaccurate data have worsened. Data protection law is a crucial tool for immigration and asylum practitioners up against this increasing ‘datafication’. Its avenues for redress offer alternative paths to justice for those who might otherwise be without options. If you'd like to understand paths, get our Data Protection Handbook, here: https://www.statewat...

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  According to a document we obtained, EU member states seem ready to give US law enforcement authorities direct access to European police and immigration databases. They may also be seeking access to other EU databases — a level of access that would be unprecedented for a 'third country'. While some member states have concerns over specifics, none question the need for such an agreement. Read more:

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  In October 2024 the EU announced it would provide €30 million from its aid budget to Senegal. Claims about the funding say it will go toward stepping up the fight against migrant smuggling. This means it will support: • border surveillance and control • maritime interception • detention infrastructure Ultimately, the plans can be seen as contributing to a new era of carceral EU migration “management” in West Africa. Read more in the latest article by Leonie Jegen: https://www.statewatch.or...

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  1/ We’ve just launched a new in-depth resource that examines global counter-terrorism and security networks. It provides an evidence base for how these security norms are implemented, their effects on human rights and how we can push for change. Background: From the beginning of the “war on terror”, governments introduced many policing and surveillance powers. Since then, these have been increasingly exploited to restrict dissent, movement, and critique.

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  The “war on terror” might have left the headlines—but states are still using and abusing ‘counterterrorism’ powers to exert control. Through watchlisting, surveillance and border control, they have built vast networks of [in]security. With these, they silence, oppress, and restrict the movement of people all over the world. And for the past two years, we have been gathering evidence to show exactly how they do it. Swipe to read some of our key findings, or go to nois.statewatch.org

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  The 12th issue of the #ExternalisationBulletin is out now 🚨 This edition covers: • Efforts to expand Frontex’s mandate • Growing concerns over the EU’s digital border systems • Dutch and Belgian governments threaten to undermine EU's new migration "solidarity" system • The latest moves on Safe Third Country rules, deportations to Afghanistan and the EUAA’s incoming Syria update And much more, here: https://buff.ly/GK3RMMW Sign up to our mailing list: https://b...

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  According Info Park, an organisation in Belgrade, Serbia, people on the move along the Western Balkan route face a cycle of of detention, transfers, and endless reattempts. The EU's new pact on migration will only worsen these brutal realities. Info Park makes it clear: border externalisation, like the “migration management” complex it is a part of, is not a neutral administrative tool. It is a political project of exclusion. Read more: https://www.statewatch.org/analyses/2025/how...

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  Governments are increasingly engaging in transnational repression: reaching across borders to silence dissent from afar. This can include assassinations, illegal deportations, abductions, digital threats, Interpol abuse, and family intimidation. With more states being connected to watchlisting systems and more governments with an authoritarian bent coming to power, transnational repression seems likely to continue. Unless we work together to oppose it. Read more: nois.statewatch.org