CJEU limits the scope for asylum applicants to challenge their transfer to a Member State that takes charge of the application on the basis of Article 10(1) of the Dublin II Regulation

13th December 2013 | News

The Grand Chamber of the Court of Justice of the EU (CJEU) issued a judgment on 10 December 2013 in Case C 394/12 Abdullahi limiting the opportunities for an asylum seeker to challenge a decision to transfer him/her under the Dublin II Regulation once a Member State...

ELENA Weekly Legal Update summarising recent developments in asylum law available on ECRE website

13th December 2013 | News

The European Legal Network on Asylum (ELENA) now publishes a Weekly Legal Update on the ECRE website every Friday. It is also possible to read it through ECRE’s Twitter and Facebook pages or subscribe to the Weekly Legal Update and receive it via email. The purpose of...

ECRE Interview with Azzam, 23-year old Syrian refugee living in Belgium

13th December 2013 | News

Azzam’s younger brother transited Greece when fleeing Syria. The Belgian authorities examined his application and granted him asylum. Azzam’s older brother arrived in Belgium after traveling through Italy. They still don’t know if they will be allowed to stay together...

UNHCR: Bulgaria’s draft law foresees widespread detention of asylum seekers, contrary to international and EU norms and standards

12th December 2013 | News

UNHCR has shared with Bulgaria’s Parliament its provisional comments on a draft bill amending the Law on Asylum and Refugees. According to the UN Refugee Agency, under the guise of transposing the 2013 recast of the EU Reception Conditions Directive, the draft bill...

DRC: Migrants and refugees remain unprotected, marginalized and vulnerable to abuse in Libya  

9th December 2013 | News

A new report by the Danish Refugee Council (DRC) on mixed migration in Libya highlights that the lack of effective protection measures leaves migrants, refugees and asylum seekers exposed to abuse, violence, exploitation, arrests and detention. The report recommends...

NGOs sceptical about plans of Germany’s coalition government on migration and asylum

9th December 2013 | News

The recently agreed coalition agreement between Germany’s conservative Christian parties (Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and Christian Socialist Union (CSU)) and the centre-left Social Democratic Party (SPD) was described by ECRE Member Organisation Pro Asyl as a...

French NGOs call for legislative reform to stop abusive use of administrative detention

9th December 2013 | News

43,746 persons were detained in 2012 in France for the purpose of return. The five NGOs seeking to ensure respect for detainee’s fundamental rights in the 25 French administrative detention centres for third country nationals have published a joint report this week...

ECtHR condemns Turkey for summary detention and deportation of Uzbek refugees to Iran

9th December 2013 | News

In Ghorbanov and Others v. Turkey (no. 28127/09), handed down on 2 December 2013, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) held that the rights to liberty and protection from ill-treatment of 19 Uzbek nationals were violated by their repeated summary detention and...

Commission-led ‘Task Force Mediterranean’ presents measures on border controls and legal channels for refugees and migrants to reach Europe

9th December 2013 | News

Two months after two tragedies off the Italian and Maltese coasts where hundreds of migrants died trying to reach European shores, Commissioner Cecilia Malmström has presented a communication identifying actions in five main areas: reinforced border surveillance;...

Germany to take in 5,000 more Syrian refugees

6th December 2013 | News

Germany announced today its intention to offer shelter to 5,000 additional Syrian refugees. Earlier this year Germany committed to accept an initial 5,000 refugees under the humanitarian admission programme bringing the new total to 10,000.  Lower Saxony’s interior...