On October 4 the Italian government signed a decree establishing a list of countries designated as “safe countries of origin”. The concept was introduced for the first time in the Italian asylum procedure following the 2018 legislative reform and its implementation...
The European Court of Human Rights ruled this week that refusing a journalist access to report on living conditions in a reception centre for asylum seekers is a violation of freedom of expression. In this case, a journalist requested access to Debrecen Reception...
In a valedictory speech today, outgoing EU High Representative for Foreign Policy, Federica Mogherini, summarised the achievements of her five years in the job. It is fair to acknowledge her successes: a continuation and defence of multilateralism despite the backlash...
The French Constitutional Court ruled on 4 October 2019 that the administrative court is competent to assess the legality of a decision to maintain a person in administrative detention if, based on a motivated and written decision, the Prefect considers that the...
Six years after a shipwreck off Lampedusa cost the lives of 368 people, 2019 sees the death toll of people trying to reach Europe via the Mediterranean climb over 1000. The Malta proposal on disembarkation and relocations will be discussed among EU Member states next...
A serious incident reported by independent observers during a Frontex facilitated deportation flight from Germany to Afghanistan in August 2018 was not included in the internal report from the EU Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex). The modest number of incidents...
As of August 2019, the Spanish government started to apply the “border procedure” for asylum applications in its enclaves at the Spanish-Moroccan border. The new practice can undermine access to asylum procedures and comes amid reports of further push-backs also...
The German unit of the humanitarian organisation Doctors of the World (MDM) decided to stop providing support in the AnKER centre in Manching/Ingolstadt as of the end of October 2019 because of the poor living and reception conditions in the facility. A lack of...
The Ministry of Citizen Protection outlined on 30 September 2019 plans for another reform of asylum legislation, shortly after a fire in Moria, Lesvos killed a mother and her new born child. Moria is hosting at four times its maximum capacity. The upcoming...
In its recent report “Refugee Movements in South-East Asia 2018 – June 2019” the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) reveals a drop in refugee movements but increased risks for those fleeing violence and persecution. 18,000 people were registered as new arrivals in Bangladesh...
