German MEP Udo Bullmann took over the chairmanship of the European Parliament Subcommittee on Human Rights in the wake of the #Qatargate affair. We spoke with him about the role of his committee in EU foreign policy-making.
Read the interview 👇
www.euwatch.be/veteran-soci...
🎙️ Tune in to the newest episode of our ‘EU Matters’ Podcast.
We talked with Udo Bullmann about the importance of human rights, the EU’s role in the world and foreign interference in the European Union.
open.spotify.com/episode/6R7n...
But will the EU governments act?
Or are they just looking for a pretext to not include the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps on the EU terror list, given that it already blacklists #Iran proxies such as #Hezbollah and #Hamas?
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Adding the #IRGC to the terror list would, however, make any support for the organisation inside the EU illegal, says Rebecca Schönenbach.
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Many observers argue that there is no political consensus (yet) among the 27 EU governments to list the IRGC.
A unanimous decision is required for such a step. The EU already has sanctions in place targeting the Revolutionary Guard and some of its commanders.
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Another expert Lukas Märtin, says the advice does not explicitly say that there is no legal basis for the blacklisting of the Revolutionary Guard by the EU.
Märtin has published on this issue himself.
papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
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International law expert Matthias Herdegen says that “legal positions taken by the Legal Service do not provide a sufficient case against the listing” of the IRGC.
Herdegen argues that discarding older cases which showed IRGC involvement in terrorist acts was “not convincing”.
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This contradicts Borrell’s claim that a decision “by a competent authority in an EU member state” is absolutely required
@mattlevitt.bsky.social & others have argued that the IRGC terror listing is already possible on the basis of existing law and evidence
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www.lawfaremedia.org/article/the-...
In such a case, the Council must ensure that “the decision was taken in compliance with the rights of the defence and the right to effective legal protection.”
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taz.de/Terrorlistun...
However, according to a report by Jean-Philipp Baeck (Die Tageszeitung), who obtained a copy of the confidential legal assessment, the Council lawyers also stated that in principle, a decision in a non-EU state may be used as a basis for listing.
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That confidential document has been used ever since by Josep Borrell to justify that there is no legal basis for any such blacklisting of the Revolutionary Guard for the time being.
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The European Parliament has repeatedly called for the listing of the #IRGC. However, in February 2022, the Council Legal Service gave its assessment on the matter.
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Can Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (#IRGC) be listed as a terrorist organisation?
Josep Borrell and the EU foreign ministers have so far shied away from this step, despite evidence that the IRGC has been involved in terrorist activities, inside and outside Iran
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🤔 Is this from Politico Europe or from Russia Today? #Ukraine
European Ombudsman Emily O'Reilly has opened an inquiry into a European Commission decision to remove contact details of lower-ranking staff members from its EU Whoiswho directory.
EU Watch signed a letter by Civil Society Europe to maintain the listing. #Transparency
Louis Arnaud, a 35-year-old French citizen detained in #Iran since September 2022, has been sentenced to 5 years in prison.
France regards Arnaud, along with three other French citizens, as state hostages of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
#FreeLouisArnaud #FreeThemAll
Good news for people living and working in the EU quarter of #Brussels: Schuman roundabout will get a complete overhaul. vrtnws.be/p.kQlwRpG0Y
We are pleased to announce the Friends of EU Watch Fund operating under the auspices of King Baudouin Foundation.
This dedicated platform allows individuals and organisations to support our work while offering a 45% tax break in Belgium for donations over €40.
www.euwatch.be/friends-of-e...
UPDATE 1: One Spanish citizen who lived in Kibbutz Kissufim near Gaza is unaccounted for, and presumed to be kidnapped.
Reportedly, the body of a young Polish woman has been found dead at the location of the music festival, previously presumed to be in Gaza.
We will update this graphic as soon as we find out more in the following period. If you have any information, feel free to message us.
EU nationals abducted by Hamas: What do we know so far?
Through our own efforts and publicly available information, we believe that at least 12 people from 5 EU countries were abducted on Israeli territory and are currently held hostage by Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
Image: Samuli Huttunen / Yle, Mapcreator, OpenStreetMap
Concerns are growing in Finland: Local newspapers report that the government and Finnish Defence Forces suspect that #Russia attacked the #Balticconnector pipeline.
A group of European lawmakers, including 12 members of the European Parliament sent a letter to the EU's 27 foreign ministers - who are meeting today to discuss the situation in #Israel - to designate #Iran's Revolutionary Guard as a terrorist organisation.
#IRGCterrorists
In our latest interview, we spoke with David McAllister, chairman of the European Parliament's Committee on Foreign Affairs.
We talked about the EU's role on the world stage, the prospect of a European army and the lessons drawn from #Qatargate.
www.euwatch.be/david-mcalli...
In mid-September, a Franco-German working group released a paper on how to reform the European Union so it will be ready for a potential enlargement in 2030.
Cristina Vanberghen delivers her analysis 👇
www.euwatch.be/opinion-squa...
🎙️ Does the European Parliament have an impact on EU foreign policy? Should the EU get its own army? What about foreign interference in the #European Union?
We spoke about it all with David McAllister, chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs.
⬇️
open.spotify.com/episode/11sy...
