Please write an essay that answers the question: “To what extent does the expansion of Europol amid data abuse scandals stress the need for accountability measures to protect human rights?”
I have been given an article that I have attached. The task is to read the article and then explore what can be said about the development of the EU as an area of Freedom, Security, and Justice.
The exact instructions are: “Write a 3000-word research essay offering your understanding and interpretation of this news article. In other words, you will have to answer the following question: what does this contemporary develpment reveal on AFSJ (Area of Freedom, Security, and Justice) policies?”
This is the article I must refer to: https://euobserver.com/migration/156410
The main idea of this essay is to explore why the lack of accountability measures for Europol makes it a threat to human rights. And thus, why this stresses the need for such measures.
For structure, I need an introduction, 2-3 subsections, and a conclusion.
I was planning my 2-3 main points to be:
Without accountability measures:
1: Europol can be a threat to citizen privacy given the amount and way in which they handle data. This can lead them to affect migrants and asylum seekers negatively. Can this also lead to discrimination/racism?
The question to answer is, In what ways is Europol and its access to data a threat to privacy and human rights?
2: Collaboration with other agencies. What risks/threats does this entail? If agencies can collaborate with each other while unchecked, what does this mean for the EU? There is the risk of these organizations doing whatever they want without State control. How will this be managed? How can it affect the way the EU works currently?
3. Final threat to human rights is how it allows nations to “harass political opponents and dissidents.” E.g. last part of the article mentions “Turkey’s long history of such abuse: Over the years, it has used Interpol, an international law enforcement agency based in Lyon, to issue arrest warrants against government opponents and critics.”
Once again, the point is to stress how this independent agency, unchecked, is not being held accountable and thus how it poses a risk to human rights.