Periodice

In 2021, 28 million people found themselves in forced labour all over the world. The long lasting EP call for a ban on forced labour was re-echoed in its Resolution of 9 June 2022, followed by a proposal for a regulation, prohibiting products made with forced labour, says Bernd LANGE, Chair of the Committee on International Trade. To address this, the Committee commissioned a study on “Trade-related policy options of a forced labour ban”, which will feed into MEPs legislative work.

Oversight mechanisms of the use of investigative techniques like intrusive surveillance are often weak or ineffective, says Jeroen Lenaers, Chair of the Committee of Inquiry to investigate the use of Pegasus and equivalent surveillance spyware. To address that, PEGA has commissioned a study “The use of Pegasus and equivalent surveillance spyware”. The study examines the legal framework (including oversight and redress) governing the use of Pegasus and equivalent spyware in some Member States.

One in three women will experience sexual or physical violence in their lifetime, says Robert Biedroń, Chair of the Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality. To combat and prevent gender-based violence, FEMM has commissioned a study “The legislative frameworks for victims of gender-based violence (including children) in the 27 Member States”. The study assesses how the proposed directive on combatting violence against women and domestic violence addresses current gaps in legislation.

Although the European Schools System (ESS) in general functions well, it faces challenges in pedagogical quality assurance and language learning, says Sabine Verheyen, Chair of the CULT Committee. CULT has commissioned an in-depth study examining the progress that the ESS has made during the past decade and to overview its state of affairs as of 2022, both in its educational and operational dimension. The study also provides recommendations on how to overcome the challenges that the ESS faces.

A list of tax scandals, with the Pandora Papers as a recent low point, show that our tax systems are open to abuse. To respond to the challenge, evidence is key, says Paul Tang, Chair of FISC Subcommittee, in the latest edition of the MH newsletter. Two recent studies commissioned by FISC deal with the issues of regulation of tax intermediaries by conducting a comparative analysis of five countries, and the removal of taxation-based obstacles to cross border business activity in the EU.

European Parliament has dealt with disturbing reports about modern slavery practices and has diverse instruments to respond, says Maria Arena, Chair of DROI committee, in the latest edition of the MH newsletter. To assess the efficiency of the instruments at hand DROI commissioned studies that present external policy measures and look at the problem from the human rights perspective.