Democracy Impacts

Yahoo: Branch of AfD Placed Under State Surveillance

January 27, 2021

A regional branch of Alternative for Germany (AfD) party is being actively monitered by Germany's domestic intelligence agency as a possible prelude to placing the party under surveillance nationally as a « suspicious entity », which would give agents increased powers of surveillance.
Poland plans to make Censoring of Social Media Accounts Illegal

January 18, 2021

The Guardian reports that Polish government officials have denounced the deactivation of Donald Trump’s social media accounts and will draft a law that will make it illegal for tech companies to take similar actions in Poland.
EU to Investigate Hungary for Ignoring Asylum Ruling

January 14, 2021

According to reports by a Budapest-based NGO, the Hungarian Helsinki Committee, Hungary is continuing to force would-be asylum seekers back into Serbia and will be receiving a formal European Commission notice for ignoring a recent EU court ruling on asylum.
EU Court of Justice to Consider EU’s Rule of Law Mechanism Battle

December 21, 2020

The Court of Justice of the European Union is set to consider whether the EU can adopt a rule of law mechanism that would impose financial penalties on member states that it considers are not meeting bloc-wide rule of law standards, the uncertain content of which raises concerns on the part of Hungary and Poland.
Norwegian Eurosceptics Call for Distance from the EU Ahead of Elections

December 21, 2020

As Norway heads toward an election, Eurosceptics from The Center Party are taking a lead with a message that the Nordic country, which is not a European Union member, needs to distance itself from Brussels after a 1994 deal created a close legal and financial relationship.
New EU Proposals May Limit Big Tech Expansion

December 16, 2020

New Proposals from the European Union aimed at boosting digital competition known as the Digital Markets Act and Digital Services Act may place new limits on the expansion of Tech giants like Google, Amazon and Facebook, who will face fines of up to 10 percent of their global revenue for unfairly crippling smaller rivals.
EU Announces $7.5 Billion Digital Europe Program

December 16, 2020

The European Commission has announced a new €7.5 billion Digital Europe Program to accelerate the digital transformation of Europe and will provide funding for five areas including supercomputing, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, advanced digital skills, and ensuring the wide use of digital technologies across the economy and society.
Polish PM to Challenge EU Rule of Law Budget Mechanism in the EU Court of Justice

December 14, 2020

Speaking at a joint press conference with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, Poland's Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki announced that he plans to take the European Union's rule of law budgetary conditionality mechanism to the European Court of Justice.
Venice Commission Issues Opinion on Ukrainian Constitutional Court Decision Relating to Anti-Corruption Measures

December 11, 2020

The European Commission for Democracy through Law, known as the Venice Commission, has published an urgent opinion concerning the effects of the controversial recent decision by the Ukrainian Constitutional Court on anti-corruption modalities in Ukraine.
Reuters: Norway Outlaws Hate Speech Against Transgender Individuals

December 11, 2020

In an expansion of Norway’s 1981 penal code protecting gay and lesbian individuals, the nordic country's parliament outlawed hate speech against transgender people.