EU ASYLUM LAW: EU granted 500,000 people asylum protection in 2017

EU member states as well as Norway, Iceland and Switzerland granted protection status to 538,000 asylum seekers in 2017, according to new data released by Eurostat recently.

Another 24,000 refugees were resettled in the region last year.

Last year's asylum seeker figures represent a 25% drop from 2016, when 710,000 asylum seekers qualified for international protection in the bloc.

Two forms of protection are offered under EU law: refugee status — for people fleeing persecution, and subsidiary protection — for those who face serious harm if they return to their country of origin, and who don’t qualify as refugees. But protection may also be given for humanitarian reasons, such as on grounds of ill health or if the person is an unaccompanied minor.

Around a third of such asylum seekers in Europe came from Syria last year, followed by Afghan citizens (19%) and Iraqis (12%).

Note EU-Digest:The Eurostat figures in this report are not very clear. 

According to the data listed in this re, a third (33.%) of asylum seekers come from Syria, followed by Afghanistan with 19% and Iraq with 12%. Added together 64%. 

Where do the rest of the asylum seekers (36%) come from? 

Probably a large number of them from Africa, who come to Libya by illegal means to make the crossing to Europe. In our  opinion, these are mainly "economic migrants" and not asylum seekers, just as most of them from Afghanistan and Iraq. It is also striking that many of the asylum seekers are young and able men . The EU and the governments of the Member States must, as far as their migrants and asylum policies are concerned do a far better job, Right now it can only be qualified as being barely functional.

READ MORE: EU granted 500,000 people asylum protection in 2017 | Euronews

Electronic communications: go European and benefit from stricter personal privacy laws

Have you ever wondered  what happens to your e-mail data on servers owned by popular e-mail servers like Gmail, Yahoo, Outlook Earthlink, or other non-European based communication companies.

But here is the good news. It is called the European mode, and you don't have to be a European to benefit from the far stricter European personal privacy laws, and other regulations imposed on how companies make use of your personal data.

Here are two companies you might want to look intom if you want a secure European based e-mail account.

ECLIPSO

PROTON MAIL

In this context  FREENET  and  TOR , are also recommended networks, specially if you live in, or visiting a country where there is censorship, interception of electronic communications, and control over what you are allowed to see or not over the Internet.

It certainly is worth to look into, and best of all, they come for free, if you don't require their "premium" services.

EU-Digest 

Internet - Privacy advocates take Big Data to task

When it comes to the Internet, if you're not paying for a product, you probably are the product.

As data collection has become the currency of the digital economy, consumers are the ones generating the value. But many people are often oblivious to the access they grant some companies when they blindly accept their terms and conditions.

Privacy advocates at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona have been taking big Internet firms to task this week for what they regard as gross privacy violations and the exploitation of users' tendency to click "accept" without first reading a contract.

Experts say companies often hide seemingly nefarious permissions in the fine print, from reading text messages to modifying contacts and automatically turning off wireless devices' airplane mode.

"Make no mistake, there are no free apps," Mikko Hyppönen, chief research officer at Finnish anti-virus company F-Secure, said during a panel discussion on Monday. "All of these free offerings are monetizing themselves one way or another."

Read more: Privacy advocates take Big Data to task | Business | DW.DE | 04.03.2015