MEDITERRANEAN: Rise in arrivals on Crete ― Greek Parliament votes to suspend asylum ― Increasingly hostile discourse about people on the move in Greece ― More deportations from Cyprus ― Italian authorities accused of ignoring boat in distress ― Italy’s top court backs NGO ship detention ― Italian PM and senior ministers facing more scrutiny over release of war crimes suspect ― New Council of Europe report on immigration detention facilities in Malta
There has been a rise in the number of people arriving in Greece irregularly in recent weeks. The Greek Parliament has approved a three-month asylum suspension on arrivals from North Africa. The Racist Violence Recording Network has raised concerns about the...
OP-ED: Neglect needs, manufacture crisis, rinse, repeat: The new Greek asylum ban and a textbook breach of international law
By Minos Mouzourakis The Greek government flouts basic asylum rules – again – by banning people irregularly arriving by boat from North Africa from claiming asylum. An amendment voted on 11 July has imposed a three-month ban on such people from applying for asylum and...
ECRE Policy Paper: Creating more “safe” countries and frontloading the Pact
ECRE has published a policy paper on the various amendments to the Asylum Procedures Regulation (APR) that have been put forward by the European Commission in 2025. The proposed reforms relate to the creation of an EU-wide list of safe countries of origin (SCO), the...
Appointment of new ECRE Director
Julie Lejeune has been appointed as ECRE Director. She will replace Catherine Woollard who stepped down on 30 June. Julie has been involved in ECRE for some time, most recently as director of ECRE member organisation director of NANSEN – the Belgian Refugee Council....
AIDA Country Report on Poland – Update on 2024
The updated AIDA Country Report on Poland provides a detailed overview on legislative and practice-related developments in asylum procedures, reception conditions, detention of asylum applicants and content of international protection in 2024. It is accompanied by...
CENTRAL EUROPE: Austria’s first deportation to Syria prompts Germany to follow ― Afghan family wins visa battle against German government ― Germany planning migration summit ― Polish farmers join ‘citizen patrols’ ― Czech MPs adopt draft asylum and migration law ― Hungary’s EU funds remain frozen
Austria has deported a Syrian national to Syria for the first time since the start of the civil war in 2011. Germany has announced that it will also begin deporting Syrians with criminal records. A court in Berlin has ruled that the German government must issue visas...
AIDA Country Report on Austria – Update on 2024
The updated AIDA Country Report on Austria provides a detailed overview on legislative and practice-related developments in asylum procedures, reception conditions, detention of asylum applicants and content of international protection in 2024. It is accompanied by...
NETHERLANDS: MPs approve two controversial asylum laws ― Reports reveal border police’s use of force against children during forced deportations ― IND calls for end of time delay penalties ― Organiser of vigilante border controls arrested
The lower house of parliament has approved two draft laws that will significantly tighten asylum rules in the Netherlands. An investigative platform has revealed that border police officers used force against children ten times during forced deportations in 2024. The...