BALKAN ROUTE: Bulgaria Pressures Frontex to Ignore Abuse to Experience ‘How Border Guarding Works’ ― Hungary Will Not Pay ‘Completely Unfair’ €200m Fine ― EU Signs New Frontex-Serbia Cooperation Agreement

BALKAN ROUTE: Bulgaria Pressures Frontex to Ignore Abuse to Experience ‘How Border Guarding Works’ ― Hungary Will Not Pay ‘Completely Unfair’ €200m Fine ― EU Signs New Frontex-Serbia Cooperation Agreement

Internal documents from the European Union Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex) indicate that Bulgaria pressured Frontex officers into ignoring migrants’ rights abuses in exchange for experiencing “how border guarding works” in practice. Hungary has declared that...
UK: Rwanda Bill Approaches Finishing Line as Implementation Obstacles Continue to Grow ― Government Looking to Negotiate Migration Deals with Other Countries ― NGOs Planning ‘People’s Inquiry’ to Campaign for Closure of Accommodation Barge ― Asylum Seekers Moved Off Largest Accommodation Site Due to Safety Risks ― Dozens of Home Office Staff Under Criminal Investigation

UK: Rwanda Bill Approaches Finishing Line as Implementation Obstacles Continue to Grow ― Government Looking to Negotiate Migration Deals with Other Countries ― NGOs Planning ‘People’s Inquiry’ to Campaign for Closure of Accommodation Barge ― Asylum Seekers Moved Off Largest Accommodation Site Due to Safety Risks ― Dozens of Home Office Staff Under Criminal Investigation

After another week of ‘parliamentary ping-pong’, the final vote on the Rwanda bill is expected to take place within days but issues relating to legal challenges, airlines and housing continue to jeopardise the eventual implementation of the scheme. Despite the ongoing...
Atlantic Route and Spain: Spanish Prime Minister Praises “exemplary” Co-operation with Morocco Despite Increase in Arrivals and Ongoing Tragedies — Moroccan Smuggling Groups Operate Along Coast of Western Sahara and in Mauritania — Migration a Hot Topic in Senegal’s Presidential Election Campaigns — Spanish Judiciary Launches Investigation into Network Trafficking Migrant Corpses

Atlantic Route and Spain: Spanish Prime Minister Praises “exemplary” Co-operation with Morocco Despite Increase in Arrivals and Ongoing Tragedies — Moroccan Smuggling Groups Operate Along Coast of Western Sahara and in Mauritania — Migration a Hot Topic in Senegal’s Presidential Election Campaigns — Spanish Judiciary Launches Investigation into Network Trafficking Migrant Corpses

Nearly 12,000 migrants arrived in the Canary Islands in the first two months of 2024. The European Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex) has reported an increase in “criminal groups dedicated to human trafficking in Mauritania”. Presidential candidates in Senegal...
Mediterranean: Italy-Albania Deal Takes Another Step Forward ― Syrian Refugees Go Back and Forth Between Cyprus and Lebanon Despite Apparent Return Agreement ― More Crossings and Deaths as Italian Legislation Partly Blamed for 3000 Drownings in 2023

Mediterranean: Italy-Albania Deal Takes Another Step Forward ― Syrian Refugees Go Back and Forth Between Cyprus and Lebanon Despite Apparent Return Agreement ― More Crossings and Deaths as Italian Legislation Partly Blamed for 3000 Drownings in 2023

The Albanian parliament has voted to approve a deal for the country to house thousands of asylum seekers for Italy, despite protests from both opposition MPs and human rights groups. More than 100 Syrian refugees are stuck in limbo following a spat between Cyprus and...