EU Eastern Borders: States Deploy Troops, Dehumanise Migrants and Decry Belarus as Border Tensions Escalate – Locals Offer Humanitarian Aid
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...
ECRE Policy Note: A Seamless Link?
ECRE has published a Policy Note that demonstrates that linking asylum and return procedures generates serious human rights concerns while failing to meet the objectives stated by the European Commission. It draws on experience from national practice in Member States...
Editorial: The Pact: First Drafts on APR and RAMM
This week, the Pact moved forward a step with the presentation of the first of the draft reports prepared by the European Parliament’s rapporteurs. The shadow rapporteurs from the other political groups will now prepare their amendments to the reports and the final...
Belgium: Asylum Seekers (Once Again) Left Destitute
Another reception crisis has emerged in Belgium, with hundreds of asylum seekers denied access to the registration procedure between 19 and 22 October and subsequently left without access to reception. Vluchtelingenwerk Vlaanderen, a Belgian NGO, active near...
Greece: Criminalisation of Rescuers, Death for People on the Move, Impunity for Vigilantes, States Persist with Dublin Take-Back Requests Despite Risks and Deficiencies
While three rescuers face trial on Lesvos, deaths at sea continue and vigilantes are found to have operated with impunity in the Evros region for years. Despite significant deficiencies in the Greek reception system and the risk of refoulement, European states...
Med: Hundreds Saved at Sea, Media Claim Calabria is “the New Lampedusa”, Pope Condemns Returns to Libya, Evacuations from Libya Resume
Around 370 people from seven rescues carried out by Médecins sans frontières (MSF) were disembarked on 27 October in Palermo. After ten boat landings took place in 24 hours, Italian media claim Calabria is the “new Lampedusa”. The pope has denounced returns of people...
EU Eastern Borders: Demands for Aid Access to Border Zone, States Pursue Militarisation as Lives Hang in the Balance, EU Refuses to Fund Border Walls, Rogue Far-Right Groups Patrol German Border
A humanitarian catastrophe unfolding at the EU’s eastern border for almost three months now has provoked more protests. Poland is raising the number of troops deployed at the border to 10,000 while Lithuania continues to deny people asylum. The European Commission has...
Frontex: MEPs Freeze Part of the Budget of the Agency Under Scrutiny and Facing Legal Action
The European Parliament voted by an overwhelming majority to freeze part of the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex) 2022 budget until it makes key improvements. NGOs have filed a complaint with the European Ombudsman over Frontex and other EU...