Balkan Route: ECtHR Finds Croatia in Violation of Convention, Pushbacks Continue Across the Region, Deaths, Injuries and Detentions in Serbia

19th November 2021 | News

The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) finds numerous violations of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) by Croatia over the deadly pushback and detention of an Afghan family. Border Violence Monitoring Network (BVMN) has documented pushbacks affecting...

Med: Cyprus Seeks Commission Approval of Asylum Procedure Suspension, Arrivals to Italy Continue, Deaths and Interceptions by Libya

19th November 2021 | News

On 10 November the Republic of Cyprus announced that it will request European Commission approval to suspend asylum procedures on the island for people entering the country “illegally”. According to Italian authorities, almost 60,000 people have disembarked in 2021 so...

Hungary vs EU: CJEU Confirms Stop Soros Amendments Violate EU Law, Commission Seeks to Impose Non-Compliance Fines, Minister of Justice Challenges Supremacy of EU Law

19th November 2021 | News

On 16 November the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) confirmed that the so-called Stop Soros law from 2018 infringes EU law. The European Commission has announced that it will refer Hungary to the CJEU to impose fines over non-compliance with a CJEU ruling...

France: Strikers Demands Go Unmet as 1,500 People are Evicted, Darmanin Blames British NGOs for Channel Crossings, Reception Failure at French-Italian Border

19th November 2021 | News

At the end of a 37-day hunger strike calling for a moratorium on evictions over the winter, mass clearances of makeshift camps in Calais continue. In response to ever-increasing pressure from the UK to take draconian measures to block Channel journeys, the French...

UK: Most Channel Arrivals are Entitled to Protection, Only Five People Returned to the EU in 2021, Patel Blames Lawyers and the Church for Asylum System Dysfunction

19th November 2021 | News

The home secretary’s claim that 70% of people arriving in Britain via the Channel are “economic migrants” has been disproven by the Refugee Council, who find that nearly two-thirds are granted protection. Channel crossings may be increasing due to little risk of...

Greece: International Outcry Over Farce Trial of Rescuers, Drop in Asylum Seekers in State-Run Facilities, Unaccompanied Children Denied Family Reunification by EU States

19th November 2021 | News

MEPs, UN experts and NGOs express support for 24 people facing severe charges and up to 25 years of imprisonment for their efforts to save lives while working and volunteering for the Emergency Response Centre International (ERCI). The number of asylum seekers...

Greece: PM Declares Pushbacks Legal, Migration Minister Says Border Monitoring May Breach International Law, Large Scale Expulsion Attempted

12th November 2021 | News

In a heated exchange with a Dutch journalist over mounting evidence of pushbacks, the Greek prime minister stated authorities were “intercepting” boats at sea in accordance with EU regulations. According to the minister of immigration and asylum, extra...

Med: Sea-Eye 4 Allowed to Disembark, 250 Survivors Wait Onboard the Ocean Viking, More Returns to Unsafe Libya, Italy Provides Safety for Syrians and Afghans

12th November 2021 | News

More than 800 survivors onboard the German search and rescue vessel Sea-Eye 4 have finally been allowed disembarked in Trabiani in Sicily. 306 people onboard the Ocean Viking were given permission to dock in Sicily but 250 people remain on the boat due to...

Channel: Lack of Regular Routes Drives Dangerous Journeys, Deaths at Sea Generate Resistance to Pushbacks from Border Force, Hunger Strike in Calais Continues

12th November 2021 | News

An uptick in Channel crossings illustrates that people are increasingly forced to reach the UK via small boats due to a lack of safe and legal avenues to protection. Two people have died making the journey in the past week, while another is missing. UK border...

EU Eastern Borders: States Deploy Troops, Dehumanise Migrants and Decry Belarus as Border Tensions Escalate – Locals Offer Humanitarian Aid

12th November 2021 | News

Poland has deployed 20,000 border guards and soldiers at the border with Belarus, where large groups of people on the move have amassed. The European response has been “security-focused and politically charged”, with the UN accusing EU states of failing to treat the...