Tuesday
4th Oct 2022
EU commissioner Ylva Johansson's words on refugee protection were welcome. But, worryingly, the commitments made by EU leaders at the forum have not translated into action. There is still time for them to save face — but it's running out.
Asylum proceedings are one of the biggest issues with the EU's migration policy, and digital identification through blockchain to register and track refugees would be an instrumental step towards the level of necessary reform.
Italy lurched closer to electing a far-right government in September after a centre-left coalition broke down on Sunday.
Russians fleeing a military draft won't get into Estonia or Latvia, posing questions what Finland, Lithuania, and Poland would do if there is a large exodus.
The EU wants to finalise the overhaul of the migration and asylum laws before the end of the current mandate in 2024. But big issues on solidarity remain unsolved, including in the European Parliament.
Baltic states are to ban all Russian tourists in some 10 days' time, but Nordic countries are not joining the move amid uncertainty over its legality.
Italy's new prime minster-in-waiting, Giorgia Meloni, wants to set up a naval blockade to prevent migrants and asylum seekers fleeing Libya. The idea is unlikely to see the light of day.
Finland says there has not yet been a dramatic increase in Russian nationals trying to enter Finland from Russia, noting just over 4,800 Russian nationals crossed the land border on the day of Vladimir Putin's announcement of the draft.
Authorities in northern Yemen have been accused of 'Talibanisation' by a senior UN refugee agency official — following repressive restrictions on Yemeni female aid workers.
The EU is exploring ways to further crack down on irregular migration at its overseas missions, including the use of "specialised teams". Such missions are found in places like Niger, Libya, Mali, Somali, Iraq and elsewhere.
Belarus and Russia could once again use migrants to try to "destabilise" EU countries, Prague has warned, amid preparations to curb people's asylum rights in future emergencies.
The Czech EU presidency wants to start negotiations with the European Parliament on fingerprint rules known as Eurodac and a bill on screening that could lead to detention centres.
As Europe re-opens for business, the tragic death of a three-month old infant at the squalid and over-crowded Ter Apel refugee centre in the Netherlands has sparked shock, horror and recrimination.
A three-month baby died at an emergency shelter for asylum seekers in the Netherlands. The death has highlighted deplorable and overcrowded conditions at its main reception facility in Ter Apel, where NGO Doctors without Borders will now intervene.
Ports in Italy cannot impound NGO migrant-rescue ships on grounds they take on board too many people to be safe, the EU court has ruled.
The agency is suspending border surveillance operations in Lithuania. It also wants to reverse a rule which requires it to suspend operations in EU states where violations take place — and instead send in more agents.
Last weekend, Italy's Lampedusa island was again making headlines for being overrun with migrants. But, paradoxically, the crisis was more visible from TV news bulletins and social media than from the ground.
UN human rights council says push backs in Greece have become de facto general policy. Reporters without Borders says press freedoms in Greece are among the worst in Europe. Greece's PM refutes both to MEPs in Strasbourg.
Fabrice Leggeri, the former head of the EU's border police Frontex, sought to attend a European Parliament committee meeting in mid-July. He was told not to come.
By only screening, fingerprinting or relocating (some) refugees, or by outsourcing our border control to Turkey and giving Erdogan our keys, we will not solve the current problems.
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.
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 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.
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 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.
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.
Compassion fatigue coupled with complex Belgian bureaucracy is affecting Ukrainians in Brussels — some of whom are being told to leave by their hosts.
This World Refugee Day, EU policymakers must build on their current efforts towards protecting and welcoming people fleeing Ukraine.
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."
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.
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.
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.
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.
