The EU economy will experience a deep recession this year due to the coronavirus pandemic, despite the swift and comprehensive policy response at both EU and national levels. Because the lifting of lockdown measures is proceeding at a more gradual pace than assumed in our Spring Forecast, the impact on economic activity in 2020 will be more significant than anticipated.
This component is one of the six components of the project on “Promoting transparency and action against economic crime” (CA TAEC), which is part of the Joint Council of Europe – EU “Central Asia – Rule of Law Programme”. The project’s overall objectives are to: (1) Enhance business integrity and compliance in the private sector, reducing administrative barriers and ensuring the protection of rights of entrepreneurs; and (2) Enhance the effectiveness of anti-corruption, anti-money laundering and asset recovery systems in Turkmenistan.
Five years ago, beginning on 9 July 2015, the Chinese government arrested and detained more than 300 human rights lawyers and human rights defenders, in what is known as the "709 crackdown". In many of the resulting trials, the accused were denied a proper defence and a fair trial. There are extensive and credible reports of mistreatment and torture during their detention, while the lawyers who were detained have been disbarred and those released continue to be monitored.
