Belgium - Belgique

Articles

• Al Qaeda Warrior Uses Internet to Rally Women

  9 June 2008, by New York Times
  The New York Time discusses the increasing use of technology, specifically the internet, in organizing terror interest. The article follows a 48-year-old Belgian woman named Malika El Aroud, who posts on the internet under the pseudonym «Oum Obeyda,» who while she does not disseminate instructions on how to make bombs nor intends to take part in violence herself, post encourages and «bullies» Muslim men to fight.

• Belgium-based Moroccan behind dismantled «terror network»

  28 May 2008, by News Agencies
  Anti-terrorism police in Morocco and Belgium have detained 11 suspects with alleged links to both Belgium and Al-Qaeda offshoots in Northern Africa. Authorities say that members of the group may have plotted attacks on a luxury hotel in Brussels and European Union facilities.

• Belliraj suspected of more terror attacks

  3 April 2008, by De Morgen
  A delegation of American CIA and FBI agents were in Morocco to examine the terrorist network of Belgian-Moroccan terrorist and informant Abdelkader Belliraj. US interest in Belliraj is based on a connection between him and al-Qaeda and Hezbollah. Meanwhile, the Belgian police delegation has returned from Morocco and convinced of Belliraj’s significance in the network, and may be responsible for more incidents of terrorism than initially presumed.

• Alleged Moroccan extremist was a spy

  3 April 2008, by News Agencies
  Abdelkader Belliraj, the alleged leader of a Moroccan extremist group and suspect of several murders in Belgium, was revealed to be a paid informant for the Belgian security services. Belliraj was revealed to be an informant for Belgian authorities, for up to eight years; Belgian authorities were apparently unaware of his other activities during his time as an informant. While a spokesman for Belgium’s justice ministry refused to confirm or deny the reports, the ministry said a statement may be released concerning the news.

• Migrants’ Experiences of Racism and Xenophobia in 12 EU Member States

  4 February 2008, by European Monitoring Centre on Racism and Xenophobia
  This pilot study on migrants’ experiences of discrimination is based on country studies conducted between 2002 and 2005 in Belgium, Germany, Greece, Spain, France, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Austria, Portugal and UK. According to the study in all these countries migrants subjectively experience discriminatory practices to a significant extent.

• The Commission regrets delay in transposition of European rules on procedures for granting asylum

  5 December 2007, by European Commission
  On 1 December 2007, the deadline for transposition of the Asylum Procedures Directive (Council Directive 2005/85/EC of 1 December 2005, on minimum standards on procedures in Member States for granting and withdrawing refugee status) expired. Until today, only 6 Member States (Bulgaria, Germany, Luxemburg, Austria, Romania and the United Kingdom) have communicated their national measures informing that they transpose fully the Directive. 4 Member States (Belgium, Estonia, France and Lithuania) have notified partial transposition.

• Cohesion policy 2007-2013: Commission approves first cross-border cooperation programmes

  25 September 2007, by European Commission
  The Commission has adopted a first batch of four cross-border programmes under the new cohesion policy 2007-2013. The programmes concern Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Austria, Italy, the United Kingdom and Ireland. The Commission expects to validate about 50 programmes on EU internal cross-border cooperation over the coming months, involving all Member States.

• Pas de liberté pour les ennemis de la liberté ? : groupements liberticides et droit

  2 août 2007, par Dumont Hugues, Mandoux Patrick, Strowel Alain
  Colloque ayant pour but l’examen critique de textes juridiques en vigueur en Europe visant à lutter contre toute forme d’activité antidémocratique. Le texte de base en la matière demeure la Convention de sauvegarde des droits de l’homme ; est–elle suffisante pour garantir efficacement la lutte contre ces activités « liberticides » ?

• Prüm Treaty will allow EU27 to exchange DNA data to fight crime

  19 June 2007, by European Parliament
  The application of the Prüm Treaty, signed on 27 May 2005 by seven EU countries, should facilitate the exchange of data from DNA and fingerprint databases to produce «a stepping up of cross-border cooperation, particularly in combating terrorism, cross-border crime and illegal migration», according to a report by Fausto CORREIA (PES, PT) and adopted by the European Parliament.

• Amélioration des échanges d’informations dans le cadre de la coopération transfrontière

  19 juin 2007, par Parlement européen
  Le Parlement a adopté un rapport portant sur le transfert automatisé de profils ADN, de fichiers d’empreintes digitales et d’immatriculations de véhicules dans le cadre de la discussion commune sur la coopération transfrontière en matière de lutte contre le terrorisme et la criminalité. L’avis du Parlement est en l’espèce consultatif, mais les députés souhaitent modifier la base juridique utilisée, afin que le Conseil ne puisse passer outre ses recommandations à la majorité qualifiée.

• Belgium: RFID passports containing sensitive information discovered to be unencrypted, and encrypted ones are easy to decipher

  13 June 2007, by Statewatch
  A team of cryptography researchers discovered that around 720,000 passports issued by Belgium between late 2004 and July 2006 are not encrypted and the sensitive material they contain, including the holder’s signature and photograph, could be read using a commercial RFID chip reader held 10 centimetres away, reported Belgian website Rue 89 on 6 June 2007.

• Prüm: an effective weapon against terrorism and crime?

  21 May 2007, by House of Lords Select Committee on European Union
  The Committee’s main criticism centres on the perception that the German Presidency is circumventing established EU procedures in its attempt to incorporate the Treaty into EU law. In particular, there has been a failure to allow other Member States and the European Parliament proper opportunity to consider the proposal. It is also noted that the Treaty contains provisions on data protection which are intended to supplement a general Data Protection Framework Decision. The problems lie in the fact that the EU Framework Decision has yet to be agreed.

• La gestion locale de l’islam à Bruxelles

  2 avril 2007, par Torrekens Corinne
  La Belgique n’ayant pas complètement reconnu la religion musulmane, les communes doivent gérer toute une série de pratiques concrètes de la manifestation du culte musulman. Elles s’organisent entre elles pour trouver des solutions communes aux problèmes qu’elles rencontrent.

• Accord sur la mise en réseau des banques de données policières en Europe en vue d’une répression efficace des crimes

  21 février 2007, par European Presidency
  Le Conseil des ministres de la Justice et des Affaires intérieures de l’Union européenne qui s’est tenu le jeudi 15 février à Bruxelles a permis de parvenir à un accord politique sur la transposition des dispositions essentielles du Traité de Prüm (Eifel/Allemagne) dans le cadre juridique de l’UE. Le projet de décision y afférent devra être transmis sans délai au Parlement européen pour avis. Ainsi, la procédure de transposition du Traité dans le cadre juridique de l’UE pourrait encore aboutir sous présidence allemande.

• Agreement on a pan-European network of police databases for more effective crime control

  21 February 2007, by European Presidency
  At their meeting in Brussels on Thursday, 15 February, the council of European Union justice and home affairs ministers agreed on incorporating the main provisions of the Prüm Treaty into the EU’s legal framework. The resulting draft decision is to be forwarded without delay to the European Parliament for its comments, meaning that the process of incorporating the treaty into EU legislation could be completed before the German Presidency ends on June 30.

• Implementing Agreement of the Treaty of Prüm

  13 February 2007, by European Council
  Implementing Agreement of the Treaty between the Kingdom of Belgium, the Federal Republic of Germany, the Kingdom of Spain, the French Republic, the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, the Kingdom of the Netherlands and the Republic of Austria on the stepping up of cross-border cooperation, particularly in combating terrorism, cross-border crime and illegal migration, signed in Prüm, Germany, on 27 May 2005.

• Informal Meeting of Ministers for Justice and Home Affairs: Home affairs ministers back initiative to create a pan-European network of police databases for more effective crime control

  17 January 2007, by European Presidency
  At the informal meeting of EU home affairs ministers in Dresden today, the Federal Minister of the Interior, Dr Wolfgang Schäuble, presented an initiative to transpose the Prüm Treaty into the legal framework of the EU by drafting EU legislation using the exact wording of the Prüm Treaty.

• Les ministres de l’Intérieur soutiennent l’initiative de mise en réseau des bases de données policières à l’échelle européenne en vue d’une poursuite efficace des crimes

  17 janvier 2007, par European Presidency
  A l’occasion de la réunion informelle des ministres de l’Intérieur de l’Union européenne à Dresde, le ministre fédéral de l’Intérieur, Dr. Wolfgang Schäuble, a présenté, aujourd’hui, l’initiative visant à transposer le Traité de Prüm dans le cadre juridique de l’UE.

• A Typology of Different Integration Programmes in the EU

  4 December 2006, by Carrera Sergio
  This Briefing Paper presents a typology of integration programmes for immigrants in selected Member States of the European Union. It first looks at the concept of ‘integration of immigrants’ and its inherent vulnerabilities. It then provides a typology of integration strategies and policies in Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany and the Netherlands. The cases of Spain, Poland and the UK are also taken into consideration. The main tendencies and common elements are assessed and broadly compared. As the paper shows, there appears to be a move towards a restrictive integration policy for immigrants in the EU. Mandatory participation in integration programmes has become a constituent element of immigration and national citizenship legislation, as well as precondition to having access to a secure status. A nexus between immigration, integration and citizenship is also becoming the norm in a majority of the national legal systems assessed in this paper. The link between the social inclusion of immigrants and the juridical framework on immigration, integration and citizenship may raise human rights considerations, and endanger the inter-culturalism and diversity that are inherent to the character of the EU.

• Legal Migration Law and Policy Trends in a Selection of EU Member States

  4 December 2006, by Carrera Sergio
  This briefing paper offers an overview of the current trends in ‘legal migration’ law and policy in a selection of EU member states. The main tendencies are ascertained through a comparative analysis of their strategies and priorities in the specific areas of labour migration, family reunification and immigration for the purpose of studies. In particular, this paper looks at the legal and political experiences of and responses pursued by Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Poland, Spain and The Netherlands. The following issues will be addressed: what are the latest developments in the legal and policy framework covering the admission of third country nationals for the purposes of employment, family reunification and studies? What is the underlying approach taken by EU countries? What are the conditions being applied in each of the cases? Are there any migration policy and legal trends that are common to all the member states of the EU?

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