Greece: Well-run PIKPA Camp Evicted while Situation on Islands and Mainland Continue to Deteriorate
Greek police has evicted the 74 vulnerable residents of the self-run PIKPA camp on Lesvos in a “massive and unannounced operation”. Health conditions in the new tented emergency camp are raising concern. Vial camp on Chios hit by severe storm. A fire destroyed 15...
Hungary: Facing Fifth Infringement Procedure Related to Asylum Since 2015
Calling for access to the asylum procedure in line with EU law, the European Commission has, for the fifth time since 2015, opened asylum related infringement procedures against Hungary. The measure comes as a reaction to the restrictions of access, with the lodge of...
UK: Legal Interventions challenge Home Office’s Hard Line on Asylum Seekers
Unaccompanied minors cannot be housed together with adult asylum seekers in hotels, the High Court has ruled. ‘Removal Window’ ruled unlawful by the Court of Appeal. Eviction of refused asylum seekers from state provided housing amid second wave stopped through...
Belgium: ECtHR Condemns Belgium for the Unlawful Deportation of a Sudanese National
On 27 October, the ECtHR condemned Belgium for the removal of a Sudanese national in spite of a court decision that had ordered the suspension of his removal. The applicant, MA, had entered Belgium unlawfully, passing through Italy, with the goal of reaching the UK....
Alarm Phone: Ever-changing Travel Routes in the Western Med – the Move to the South and the East
In the latest issue of its Western Mediterranean Regional Analysis, the NGO hotline Alarm Phone reports on “another turbulent four months of crossings, political developments and daily struggles against the European border system in the Western Med”. The report covers...
New Spike in Mass Expulsion from Algeria to Niger
Within the past month, Algerian authorities have deported thousands of people to Niger. People, including registered asylum seekers and children, were intercepted in raids across the country and handed over to Nigerien authorities in Agadez, or abandoned in the desert...
Editorial: A COVID lockdown should not mean light is not shed on what is happening in Europe
Despite or because of the lockdown being re-imposed across Europe, including here in Belgium, ECRE will continue to publish its Weekly Bulletin. Unfortunately, the first wave of COVID19 and subsequent lockdown was used as an excuse by too many European countries to...
The Channel: From Bad to Worse for People Risking Their Lives to Reach the UK from France
Despite restrictions, evictions and deportations, people hoping to cross the Channel are returning to Calais where they face confiscation of tents and belongings. Four people, among them two young children drowned on 27 October, when a boat carrying around 20 people...