MEDITERRANEAN: Greece under renewed pressure to end pushbacks ― Cyprus accused of failing to protect vulnerable groups from exploitation ― First deportation from controversial Italian centre in Albania ― IOM reports almost 25,000 deaths in Central Mediterranean since 2014
The Council of Europe (CoE) Commissioner for Human Rights has demanded that Greece adopts a zero-tolerance approach to pushbacks and strengthens border safeguards. A report by the CoE Group of Experts on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings (GRETA) has...
EDITORIAL: “But who will pick our olives?” – Demographic decline and refugee inclusion
By Catherine Woollard Week after week, newspaper articles and research publications sound the alarm on the impact of Europe’s demographic crisis. Last week, a piece put the spotlight on Poland, arguing that this is not just an economic question but one of security....
ECRE Policy Note: Reception Conditions: Protecting Women and Girls in EU Asylum Systems
ECRE has published a policy note which examines how the 2024 recast Reception Conditions Directive can support more effective and harmonised implementation of gender-sensitive reception across the EU. It draws on a wide range of sources, including the Asylum...
GERMANY: New government takes office; immediately orders police to turn away most undocumented people at border ― Far right party labelled ‘extremist’ by intelligence agency ― Proposal to let Syrian refugees visit home ― Rise in attacks against people seeking asylum in Berlin ― Court approves deportations to Greece
Friedrich Merz has become chancellor after securing a majority in the Bundestag after an unprecedented two rounds of voting. The new government has announced that it will refuse entry to most people seeking asylum with immediate effect. The domestic intelligence...
AIDA Country Report on Spain – Update on 2024
The updated AIDA Country Report on Spain 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 an...
Open Letter: Call for donors to support civil society to prevent a crisis of asylum, reception and inclusion in Europe
More than 100 civil society organisations working on asylum and migration have signed an open letter calling on institutional and private donors to increase their support to civil society in order to prevent a crisis of asylum, reception and inclusion in Europe....
OP-ED: Germany’s dangerous shift to the right: The new coalition agreement is a blow to refugee protection
By Karl Kopp and Wiebke Judith Germany is facing a watershed moment in refugee policy. The negotiated coalition agreement between the conservative parties (CDU/CSU) and the Social Democrats (SPD) signals not only a dramatic tightening of asylum law but a dangerous...
EU EXTERNAL PARTNERS: EU deepens police co-operation with Egypt ― Libyan authorities escalate crackdown on humanitarian organisations ― NGO accuses Moroccan authorities of ‘forced disappearances’ ― EU announces financial support for Palestinian Authority ― Tunisian government intensifies repression of opponents and people on the move
The European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation (Europol) has signed a working agreement with Egypt. Libyan authorities have suspended the operation of ten humanitarian NGOs after accusing them of facilitating the “resettlement” of people on the move in the...