Editorial: Be Careful What You Wish For: EU and SAR in the Med

22nd September 2023 | News

Since Ursula von der Leyen’s visit to Lampedusa last week, rumours have circulated that the EU is considering a new naval mission in the Mediterranean. Even before the recent arrivals, Italy had requested EU action, faced with a challenging situation and the perennial...

EU External Partners: Europe Remains Focused on Deterrence Amid Ongoing Controversy over Tunisia Deal, Floods Add Risk for Migrants in Libya as So-called Coast Guard Continues Pullback Operations

22nd September 2023 | News

The focus of the EU remains deterrence rather than development and human rights amid new heated debate over EU Tunisia deal. As hundreds of migrants have lost their lives in floods, the EU supported so-called Libyan Coast Guard continues abuse and pullbacks of...

Mediterranean: Arrivals to Lampedusa Spark New Crack-down from Italy, Commission 10-Point Plan Denounced by NGOs, Germany Gives Up Suspension of Relocation

22nd September 2023 | News

Italian government increases detention after thousands of people arrive to Lampedusa. Commission 10-point plan with focus on prevention and return sparks critique by civil society. In light of Lampedusa arrivals, Germany ends suspension of relocation from Italy....

EU Eastern Borders: Poland’s Conservative Party Shaken by Visa-for-Cash Scandal, Polish Doctor Treating Refugees Say Patients Asked for Longer Hospitalisation Fearing Pushback, Commission Wants to Admit Bulgaria to Schengen Zone Amid Reports of “Endemic” in Corruption in Asylum & Migration and Rise of Violent Pushbacks Along its Border with Turkiye

22nd September 2023 | News

In Poland complicity of the far-right ruling party in visa-for-cash scandal damages its ambitions in governance ahead of planned national elections. An investigation by Info Migrants reveals that border officers or government officials in Bulgaria ask for money from...

UK: New Labour Migration Policies, “Toxic culture” and Breaches of Human Rights Found at Immigration Detention Centres, Home Offices Dismisses “Excessively Critical” Immigration Watchdog Amid Ongoing Plans to Detain and Remove Children to Rwanda, Alarming Circumstances in Migrant Hotels as Home Office Determines Age on Time of Shaving

22nd September 2023 | News

Labour’s new migration policies include a closer cooperation with EU, ending the use of hotels and treating smugglers as terrorists. An investigation reveals Home Office’s “complete failure” to identify and protect vulnerable migrant detainees while a public inquiry...

ECRE and PICUM Policy Note: Revision of the Multiannual Financial Framework – Key Recommendations on Migration and Asylum

19th September 2023 | News

This week, ECRE and PICUM have published a joint policy note on the proposed revision of the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) for the period 2021 – 2027, with key recommendations on migration and asylum and an overview table. In June 2023, the European Commission...