On 5 July 2023, the European Commission published its fourth annual report reviewing the Rule of Law infrastructure and developments in 27 Member States in 2022.
Summer 2023: European Commission publishes Rule of Law report
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Benjamin Goodwin
Benjamin’s background is in communication, journalism, and political science. He has a BA in Politics & East European Studies from University College London and an MSc in Political Science from the Free University of Brussels. Benjamin joined ECF in September 2022 and works across all our communications – from social media to publications to our Civic Spaces podcast. He has an interest in environmentalism, human rights and international relations.
JOINT STATEMENT – EU Trilogues: The AI Act must protect people’s rights
This statement was originally published by EDRi on 12/07/2023 A civil society statement on fundamental rights in the EU Artificial Intelligence Act As European Union institutions begin trilogue negotiations, civil society calls on EU institutions to ensure the...
A missed opportunity: European Parliament upholds facial recognition ban, but fails to properly protect people’s rights in AI Act vote.
In today’s AI Act vote, MEPs failed to protect society at large, not to mention vulnerable groups like migrants and refugees, and voted against measures to introduce proper complaints and representation systems for human rights violations.
JOINT LETTER: Civil society call to restore the details of European Commission officials in the EU Whoiswho register
Over 110 representatives of civil society organisations have signed a joint letter, calling on the European Commission to restore details of its officials in the EU Whoiswho register. The letter, adressed to Commissioners Johannes Hahn and Vera Jourová, points out...
May 2023: As elections loom, civil society secures a partial victory on the foreign interference directive
With the elections looming, the institutions are eager to finalise work on the remaining major legislative files of this term.
However, the Defence of Democracy package, originally expected in June, has been delayed, following widespread alarm at its proposed foreign interference directive. The Commission has agreed to civil society’s demand for a full impact assessment.
Civil Society for EU – European CSOs launch 2024 EU election manifesto
Ahead of the 2023 EU elections, a broad coalition of civil society organisations led by Civil Society Europe and Social Platform have launched the Civil Society for EU campaign for better civic space and civil dialogue all over Europe.
People should have proper control on how AI shapes their lives.
The AI Act is intended to be a major legal framework to introduce protections for fundamental rights in a fast developing technology that is already shaping society in all aspects. In the recent votes in the Parliament’s Internal Market (IMCO) and Civil Liberties...
EDITO: As elections loom, civil society secures a partial victory on the foreign interference directive.
With the elections looming, the institutions are eager to finalise work on the remaining major legislative files.
However, the Defence of Democracy package, originally expected in June, has been delayed following widespread alarm at its proposed foreign interference directive.
April 2023: An EU foreign agents act would fatally undermine the Defence of Democracy package
The European Commission is set to publish its proposed Defence of Democracy package. In our response to the consultation, we made it clear that the package’s focus on ‘foreign interference’ risks damaging democracy, not defending it. This week, 230 civil society organisations wrote to the European Commission President, calling for the proposed directive on foreign-funded organisations to be scrapped.
ECF Annual Report 2022 – Out now!
2022 was nothing if not an eventful year. As we began to emerge from the Covid-19 pandemic, we were met immediately by another crisis: war came once again to our continent. At the time, we condemned the invasion of Ukraine and expressed our solidarity with the...