The EU’s Police Policy Machinery after Amsterdam
by Heiner Busch
Within the European Union the machinery of justice and home affairs policies continues to operate completely devoid of any parliamentary control. The fixing of acquis‘ guarantees that all the decisions and institutions which have been created in the past can now only be further developed. There appears to be no democratic reverse gear.

European Charter of Fundamental Rights
by Wolfgang Kaleck
At the end of June, the „European Democratic Lawyers“ conducted a seminar on the European Charter of Fundamental Rights. Topics discussed were e.g. social rights, rights of the suspected and accused and the relationship between the charter and the European convention on Human Rights.

Europol and Eurojust
by Ben Hayes and Heiner Busch
In the Convention, Europol was conceived of as an intelligence unit. Based on the Amsterdam Treaty and the conclusions of the European Council in Tampere, the agency is supposed to receive operational powers. The basic issue of judicial control appears to be irrelevant. The creation of Eurojust will hardly contribute anything in the area, in as much as it has always been envisioned to be a support and not a control body.

The State of Criminal Defence on European Terrain
by Wolfgang Bendler
Over the past decades police and judicial co-operation within the European Union has undergone rapid and considerable development. The intention behind this process was not to secure the rights of defendants and their counsel, but to make police crime fighting more efficient. Defence lawyers appear to have ignored this development for too long.

Interception of Telecommunication
by Tony Bunyan
For several years now a conflict has been raging within the EU Law Enforcement Agencies and data protection commissioners. At its centre is the Law Enforcement Agencies‘ claim that EU laws on privacy hinder their need to have access to all telecommunications traffic data. Traffic data, they argue, should be retained by service providers for one to seven years and the agencies should have access to it.

Legal Regulation in Cross Border Policing
by Heiner Busch
The regulations contained in the Schengen Agreement concerning cross border police operations are not as extensive as the German government would desire. Its alternative model is reflected most accurately in the German-Swiss Police Agreement of 1999.

The Internationalisation of European Police Operations
by Mark Holzberger
In the future police operations pursuing common goals of the European Union will no longer be solely performed by the individual member states. Currently three models are being discussed and planed: the creation of a European Border Police Force, a network of police liaison officers in third states and the deployment of police units for „civilian crisis management“.

Spain’s Electronic Wall
by Gerhard Piper
Spain is planning a radar surveillance system for its entire Mediterranean coastline, particularly for the Strait of Gibraltar aimed at staving off illegal immigrants. Spain’s immigration policies fluctuates between sealing off borders and securing cheap immigrant labour.

No Freedom of Movement and No Right to Demonstrate within the EU?
by Olaf Griebenow and Heiner Busch
Currently, not only the brutal police attacks such as at the Genoa Summit in confronting multinational demonstrations have become standard fare. Such activities also include the international exchange of data on individuals, tightened border controls and, most recently, detaining individuals attempting to leave their countries.

Pepper Spray „can damage your health“
by Steve Wright
The effects of Oleoresin Capsicum (or pepper spray as it is popularly termed) are far more severe than all other so-called tear gases. These include temporary blindness which lasts from 15-30 minutes, a burning sensation of the skin, upper-body spasms and uncontrollable coughing making it difficult to breathe or speak for between 3 and 15 minutes.

Observing Demonstrations
by Elke Steven
Since 1981 the Committee for Fundamental Rights and Democracy has been conducting observations of demonstrations. Based on experiences from three demonstration during the current year, it can be asserted that further restrictions to the freedom of association have been introduced, among these: outlawing of protests, intensified police controls prior to demonstrations and persons being taken into preventive custody.

Video Surveillance: The Back-Door of Not Knowing
by Gabriele Klocke and Study Group
For a year now, police in the city of Regensburg are using video cameras for the surveillance of public places in the inner city. Members of the local population who were interviewed about these cameras apparently know little about where and how such surveillance is actually taking place, the majority were in favour of such activity nevertheless.