France: Council of State upholds suspension of registration of asylum applications in French Guiana

18th November 2016 | News

The French Council of State delivered a ruling at the beginning of the month on allowing the Prefecture of Guiana to temporarily suspend the registration of asylum applications. Following the Prefecture’s decision earlier in the summer, access to the asylum procedure...

Cyprus transposes asylum Directives fifteen months after deadline

18th November 2016 | News

In October 2016, fifteen months after the deadline for transposition of the recast Asylum Procedures Directive and recast Reception Conditions Directive, Cyprus passed the necessary legislation amending two national laws, the Refugee Law and the Legal Aid Law for this...

Joint Comments on European Commission proposal for a Regulation establishing a Union Resettlement Framework

16th November 2016 | News

ECRE together with ICMC, CCME, IRC, Red Cross and Caritas have published Joint Comments to the European Commission proposal for a Regulation establishing a Union Resettlement Framework and amending Regulation (EU) No 516/2014 of the European Parliament and the Council...

Calais: the dismantlement of the camp should not be an end in itself – OP- ed by Pierre Henry, Director of France Terre d’Asile

4th November 2016 | News

Last week, the biggest unofficial migrant camp in France was evacuated and dismantled. It was a necessary action in light of the appalling living conditions of those men, women and children seeking protection or a better life, even if some elements could have been...

ECRE Comments on the proposal for a Qualification Regulation

4th November 2016 | News

ECRE has published its Comments on the European Commission’s proposal for a Qualification Regulation. This proposal defines the criteria for obtaining refugee status or subsidiary protection in the EU and the content of international protection. ECRE is concerned that...

Report of Libyan Coast Guards attacking migrants raises concerns over continued cooperation within Operation Sophia

4th November 2016 | News

The allegation that the Libyan Coast Guard violently assaulted a vessel transporting asylum seekers raises strong concerns about the EU’s collaboration with the Libyan navy, which commenced last week as part of the EU’s Operation Sophia. German NGO Sea Watch reported ...

Asylum seekers transferred from northern Italy to Taranto hotspot

4th November 2016 | News

Last week, approximately 100 persons staying in the Via Corelli reception centre in Milan were transferred by  bus to the Taranto hotspot (approximately 1,000km south of Milan), where migrants and asylum seekers are being unlawfully detained. Similar incidents have...

Unravelling Travelling: AIDA legal briefing on travel documents for beneficiaries of international protection

4th November 2016 | News

A legal briefing published last week by the Asylum Information Database (AIDA) documents the various legal frameworks and practices of issuing travel documents to beneficiaries of international protection in 20 European countries. The briefing highlights the...

Serbia: Access to protection is a rarity as the bottleneck intensifies*

4th November 2016 | News

The Belgrade Centre for Human Rights has published its Periodic Report on the Right to Asylum in the Republic of Serbia, covering the period of July-September 2016. The report investigates developments regarding the reception situation, regular border crossings to...

UN Special Rapporteur finds no evidence of risk between migration and terrorism

4th November 2016 | News

In its latest Report on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism, the UN Special Rapporteur on counter-terrorism and human rights finds that there is “no evidence of risk” that migration leads to an increase in...