Human rights

Refugees and Belgrade Waterfront

30/05/2017 -  Massimo Moratti Belgrado

On May 11th, the barracks behind the Belgrade railway station, where hundreds of refugees stayed while stranded on the Balkan route, were abruptly cleared and demolished. An overview

Serbia, political pressure on independent institutions

01/06/2017 -  Dragan Janjić Belgrade

An interview with Rodoljub Šabić, Commissioner for information of public interest and the protection of personal data – together with the Ombudsman, among the most mistreated institutions in Serbia

A plan to strengthen the social dimension of Europe

24/05/2017 -  Sara Gradilone

The European Commission's proposal to create a European Pillar of Social Rights is a step towards an integrated and coherent framework on social rights at the European level. This will also provide member states with a frame of reference for developing their own individual policies

Cold War: Peter Mibus, border jumper for love

20/04/2017 -  Marina ConstantinoiuIstvan Deak

After 46 years, Peter Mibus returned to Romania to retrace, along with his two daughters, the escape route he undertook with his beloved Uschi to realize their dream of love

Freedom of expression: the crucial role of Strasbourg

03/05/2017 -  Sofia Verza

In Strasbourg on March 24th, judges, journalists, lawyers and activists discussed the challenges facing the protection of free expression in Europe

Violence against women: the EU's potential accession to the Istanbul Convention

24/05/2017 -  Lorenzo Ferrari

Half of the EU member-states have not yet ratified the Convention on violence against women. The European Parliament and the Commission have decided that the EU as such should adhere to the Convention, which could signal a breakthrough for a genuine European policy against violence

Konstantina Kuneva: for an inclusive European society

28/04/2017 -  Gilda Lyghounis

Cleaners, care-givers, baby-sitters: 9 out of 10 are women, often exploited. MEP Konstantina Kuneva, who was personally attacked for her activism, now fights for female workers' rights in Europe

Serbia: propaganda and control on the web

28/03/2017 -  Rossella Vignola

The impact of cyber-attacks, digital surveillance and sophisticated techniques of computational propaganda is growing. The case of Serbia in an interview with Vladan Joler, director of Share Foundation

Romania: Less hate, more speech

22/03/2017 -  Francesco Martino

The project "Less hate, more speech" aims at stimulating more civilized discussion with less aggressive speech on the Romanian online media, as one of the authors explains

Humanitarian Visas, still an open question

23/03/2017 -  Francesca Spinelli

The recent verdict of the European Court of Justice comes as a blow to those who want to see safe and legal access to the EU for refugees. But the reform of the Code on Visas offers another chance for change, and the European Parliament is keen on not letting it get away

Between institutions and movements, the challenges of Moldovan feminism

08/03/2017 -  Francesco Brusa

A conversation with two women, Valentina Borug and Victoria Apostol, on their strategies to lead the way in the debate on feminism and gender issues in Moldova

Defending in Court the case of humanitarian visas for refugees

06/03/2017 -  Francesca Spinelli

The EU Court of Justice Advocate General Paolo Mengozzi demonstrated that governments are legally obliged to grant asylum to Syrian refugees. In a landmark verdict to be delivered on 7 March, the Court could decide to adopt Mengozzi’s arguments or to strike a blow to the hopes of so many Syrians

Targeting Russian TV channels

15/03/2017 -  Lorenzo Ferrari

The tensions between the European Union and Russia are changing the ways in which the EU defines and combats hate-speech. Attention is growing on the role of Russian TVs in Eastern Europe

Azerbaijan: a 21st century dynasty

01/03/2017 -  Arzu Geybullaeva

President Ilham Aliyev has recently appointed his wife to the position of vice-president of the country, confirming that Azerbaijan is, slowly but steadily, turning from a democracy into a monarchy

Novosti under attack

24/02/2017 -  Marzia Bona

A campaign launched by conservative organization “In the name of the family” threatens to shut down the magazine Novosti, example of pluralism and quality journalism in Croatia

Access to public information in Erdoğan's Turkey

10/03/2017 -  Gülseren Adaklı

A detailed and unique analysis of the right to access information in Turkey, where not only this right is not being upheld, but also the freedom of expression is heavily violated

Women are the first victims

21/02/2017 -  Sergio Cebrián

Trafficked women in EU countries most commonly end up in sexual exploitation. And Member States’ different legal processes and legislation are not helping to combat this evil

Last harvest looming for Albanian farmers along pipeline route

25/01/2017 -  Bankwatch

Numerous farmers and land owners in Albania feel they are sidelined by Europe’s dash for gas

Refugees in Europe: “Let's not make it a battle of the bottom feeders”

07/02/2017 -  Fazıla Mat

More Eu funds are needed to support reception measures for refugees as well as European citizens experiencing poverty. Interview with Brando Benifei, Italian MEP, on the management of the refugees crisis in Europe

Lost childhood: Syrian children in Turkey

24/01/2017 -  Fazıla Mat

It is estimated that in Turkey one Syrian minor in ten is working to provide for the family. A situation that threatens to cancel an entire generation. An analysis

Serbia needs to investigate asylum seekers push backs

11/01/2017 -  Marzia Bona

A refugee family forced by the police to get off a bus and abandoned in a forest at a temperature of 11 degrees below zero, near the border with Bulgaria. An attempt of illegal expulsion?

European Union: Who enforces fundamental rights?

10/01/2017 -  Alberto Tagliapietra

Setting high standards for aspiring member countries, but ineffective with Member States: European institutions have problems with fundamental rights

Armenia: Let's hope it's (not) a girl

04/01/2017 -  Emanuele Cassano

Armenia is the second country in the world for the rate of selective abortions because of an obsessive desire for male children

The defector who took the Romanian State to court

02/01/2017 -  Marina ConstantinoiuIstvan Deak

Considered as dangerous as criminals by the Romanian regime, defectors were long prosecuted and criminalized. One of them now seeks justice for all Romanian defectors

Cécile Kyenge on Europe and migrations

22/12/2016 -  Fazıla Mat

Facing the migration problem means keeping the European project alive. We spoke to the author of a recent report on the issue, Cécile Kyenge, Italian member of the European parliament

EU-Turkey Agreement: an appeal to the European Court of Justice

06/12/2016

Access Info Europe, a Madrid-based organization promoting access to information, filed a petition to the European Court of Justice asking the disclosure of the legal details of the EU-Turkey deal on migration

With the refugees in Gaziantep

24/11/2016 -  Gian Matteo Apuzzo* Gaziantep

Only 92 kilometres separate Gaziantep and Aleppo – two cities close to each other in terms of geography and history, now divided by war. A report from the south of Turkey, on the border with Syria

Cumhuriyet’s Akın Atalay Detained

11/11/2016

Cumhuriyet Newspaper Executive Board President Akın Atalay has been detained at Atatürk Airport where Atalay returned from abroad.

Ukraine, land of IDPs

21/10/2016 -  Danilo Elia

Two years after the outbreak of war in Donbas, there are many internally displaced persons in Ukraine. After the initial burst of solidarity by citizens, however, the willingness to host is wearing thin

Hungary, after the referendum

07/11/2016 -  Marzia Bona

After a controversial and divisive referendum, what is the outlook for Hungary and the region on the subject of refugees? We interviewed Gábor Gyulai, of the Hungarian Helsinki Committee