EU Watch

Veteran Socialist lawmaker: "We always knew that the EU would come under attack from guys like Putin" German MEP Udo Bullmann talks about the importance of human rights in EU's foreign policy, the EU as a player on the world stage and foreign interference in EU politics.

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...

"Do human rights matter in EU foreign policy, Mr. Bullmann?" Listen to this episode from The EU Matters Podcast on Spotify. A conversation with the chair of the Subcommittee on Human Rights and veteran Socialist MEP Udo Bullmann.

🎙️ 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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The EU Can, and Should, Designate the IRGC as a Terrorist Group The European Parliament recently voted to designate Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist group.

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-...

Terrorlistung von Irans Revolutionsgarde: Hinters Rechtsgutachten geduckt Irans Revolutionsgarde könne nicht auf die EU-Terrorliste, sagt das Außenministerium und verweist auf eine Verschlusssache. Der taz liegt sie vor: So steht es da nicht.

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

L’élargissement de l’UE à l’Ukraine et à la Moldavie, une défaite majeure pour Poutine Le rapprochement de l’Ukraine et la Moldavie avec l’Union européenne, claque magistrale pour le président russe, n’est toutefois pas sans danger : l’UE a-t-elle anticipé les possibles cons�...

Mon analyse
www.liberation.fr/internationa...

Green light for renovation of Schuman Circus After years of consultations and modifications the urban planning agency Urban.brussels has issued a permit for the renovation of the busy Schuman roundabout in Brussels' European district. The car wi...

Good news for people living and working in the EU quarter of #Brussels: Schuman roundabout will get a complete overhaul. vrtnws.be/p.kQlwRpG0Y

Friends of EU Watch Fund launched A new fundraising platform to support the mission and projects of EU Watch has been established under the auspices of the renowned King Baudouin Foundation in Belgium.

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

David McAllister: “The EU should be a global player, not just a payer" The chairman of the European Parliament's Committee on Foreign Affairs on the role of the European Parliament and the European Union in world politics.

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...

Squaring the concentric circles? Cristina Vanberghen delivers her thoughts on the Franco-German proposal for EU reform

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...

David McAllister about the European Parliament's impact on EU foreign policy Listen to this episode from The EU Matters Podcast on Spotify. David McAllister is the chairman of the European Parliament's Committee on Foreign Affairs. We sat down with him to assess the work of hi...

🎙️ 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.

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open.spotify.com/episode/11sy...