EU presidency still looking for asylum relocation pledges
The French EU presidency is set to announce next week how many asylum seekers will be relocated under a temporary solidarity proposal, billed as a major breakthrough.
Opinion
EU must not retreat from refugee resettlement
This World Refugee Day, EU policymakers must build on their current efforts towards protecting and welcoming people fleeing Ukraine.
Roma refugees from Ukraine face Czech xenophobia
Facing with war at home and xenophobia in the Czech Republic, Ukraine's Roma refugees are falling between the cracks of Europe's great humanitarian effort.
News in Brief
- EU Parliament 'photographs protesting interpreters'
- Poland still failing to meet EU judicial criteria
- Report: Polish president fishing for UN job
- Auditors raise alarm on EU Commission use of consultants
- Kaliningrad talks needed with Russia, says Polish PM
- Report: EU to curb state-backed foreign takeovers
- EU announces trade deal with New Zealand
- Russia threatens Norway over goods transit
UN envoy: Greece breaking international rights law
Mary Lawlor, UN' special rapporteur on human rights defenders, said a Greek registration system for NGOs working with migrants is in breach of international law.
'No progress in years' in Libya, says UN migration body
Fewer people may be crossing the Mediterranean Sea from Libya compared to recent years, but the International Organization for Migration (IOM) says underlying problems remain entrenched.
French EU presidency struggling on asylum reforms
The French EU presidency is pressing to make some last-minute headway on the EU's migration and asylum reform but is still meeting resistance from a handful of member states.
Kiwis are my slavery — the hellish life of a Sikh labourer in Italy
Thousands of Asian workers are picking fruit in slave-like conditions under Italy's agro-mafia "masters", who send the produce all over Europe.
Greek minister denies pushbacks despite evidence
Greek migration minister Notis Mitarachi defended his border forces despite evidence of illegal pushbacks, including a new testimony from a 26-year old asylum seeker from Gaza.
Death toll rising after thousands storm Spain's wall in Africa
Almost a dozen NGOs have demanded an investigation into the reported deaths of some 29 people who had attempted to enter the Spanish enclave of Melilla last week.
Frontex keeps return operations in Hungary secret
Frontex won't reveal how it complies with rights when it returns rejected asylum seekers from Hungary. The Warsaw-based agency had suspended other operations in Hungary after the EU court in 2020 told Budapest to stop abusing migrants.
Ukrainian refugees 'told to vacate Brussels homes'
Compassion fatigue coupled with complex Belgian bureaucracy is affecting Ukrainians in Brussels — some of whom are being told to leave by their hosts.
Exclusive
Egypt coast guard to get EU cash to stop fleeing Egyptians
Egyptian authorities are set to get an €80m cash injection from the European Commission for "maritime border surveillance equipment" and "for further equipment to be identified."
Record number of people fleeing violence, says UN
The least developed countries account for less than 1.3 percent of global GDP yet host 27 percent of the world's displaced populations. High-income countries, by comparison, host 16 percent.
EU migrant relocation: around 7,000 pledges made so far
A handful of EU states have so far pledged to relocate around 7,000 people seeking protection and arriving on European Mediterranean shores. The French EU presidency is hoping for 10,000.
Ukraine war complicates Mediterranean 'solidarity' plan
The French EU presidency proposal seeks to relocate 10,000 asylum seekers, arriving from the Mediterranean, over one year. But with refugees from Ukraine stretching national reception systems, it remains unclear how many EU states will commit to relocations.
EU presidency drafts 'solidarity' declaration on migrants
The French EU presidency has circulated a draft declaration, ahead of a meeting among EU interior ministers, on getting EU states to relocate migrants and asylum seekers.
Frontex caretaker leader could face EU court
Lawyers at front-LEX, a Dutch-based civil society organisation, are threatening legal action against EU border agency Frontex unless it suspends operations in Greece.
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Frontex left 'traumatised' says caretaking leadership
Aija Kalnaja took over Frontex as a caretaker after its executive director Fabrice Leggeri resigned last month. On Monday, she promised more transparency and better management of the Warsaw-based agency.
Rescue crew face 20 years jail for saving migrants
Four defendants in a larger case by Italian prosecutors face 20 years in prison for having helped rescue hundreds of people from drowning in the Mediterranean Sea.
EU: Ukrainians hesitating to register for protection
Some 2.7 million Ukrainians have registered for protection in the EU. But many others are hesitating to do the same.
Syria donor conference shuns Russia
Russia was not invited to an international donor conference on Syria in Brussels given its war in Ukraine. Moscow had also recently threatened to veto a humanitarian corridor from Turkey to Syria.
Feature
Hungary sets dogs on non-Ukrainian refugees
Orbán's government is still beating up and pushing back non-Ukrainian migrants, including one Lebanese man who fled the Ukrainian war zone to Europe.
EU 'foot dragging' on Poland border wall with Belarus
NGOs and academics say Poland's wall with Belarus violates EU environmental laws. The EU commission says "public safety" exemptions exist — in a possible endorsement of the 186km-long wall.
Frontex chief tenders resignation
Fabrice Leggeri took on the role of the executive director of #Frontex in 2015. He posted a resignation letter earlier this week. Another senior official, Thibauld de la Haye Jousselin, may also have resigned.
Transparency lawsuit filed against Frontex
German sea rescue organisation Sea-Watch is suing Frontex for refusing to disclose some 73 documents on its possible role in helping the Libyan coast guard intercept migrants in Malta's rescue zone.
EU eyes job deal with Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia
The European Commission wants to set up so-called "talent partnerships" with foreign states to help fill the labour gaps in the EU — on the condition they help prevent irregular migration.
EU makes bogus claims on Libya coast guard safety
The European Commission continues to claim its actions supporting the Libyan coast guard are designed to save lives at sea. But those intercepted are often sent to detention centres where they face torture, rape and murder.
Opinion
EU welcome for Ukraine refugees — a new gold standard?
The way the EU has helped Ukrainian refugees should be a gold standard for how Europe responds to all people in need — regardless of the colour of their skin.
Magazine
Experts: climate change will not mean mass migration
Reality or alarmist?: EUobserver talks to two leading experts who question the conventional assumption that climate change will drive millions of people to migrate to Europe.
Local Poles near Belarus risk trouble for helping refugees
Three locals near the Polish exclusion zone with Belarus say they cannot leave refugees and migrants to die or freeze in their woods. But by leaving bags of food in the woods, they risk possible fines or worse.
Ukraine will prevail, says defiant Kharkiv leader
Tetiana Yehorova-Lutsenko is Kharkiv's regional council leader. Along with her two boys, they hid in a basement for two weeks amid Russian aerial bombardment. On Wednesday, she met Ukrainian refugees at a Polish train station.
Opinion
How east Europe's social services cope with Ukraine refugees
More than 50 percent of the 300,000 refugees that arrived in the Czech Republic are children, and 80 percent of all adult refugees are women. More is needed for employment for women and access to nurseries for children.
Open border with Ukraine is crime threat, France warns
Hardened criminals could use the Ukraine war to sneak into the EU bringing with them more firearms and drugs, European police fear.