CYPRUS (Philenews) Gay Iranian asylum seeker wins landmark case in Cyprus top court – The Supreme Constitutional Court has unanimously overturned a decision by the Administrative Court to reject an asylum application based on fears of persecution due to sexual orientation, according to a ruling dated October 16, 2024.
GERMANY (ANSA) German parliament backs tougher rules for asylum seekers – The German parliament on Friday [18 October] voted to tighten rules for asylum seekers as Berlin takes a tougher line on immigration after recent electoral gains for the far right. The package of measures will withdraw benefits from asylum seekers who have already been registered in other EU countries and are slated for deportation.
GREECE (Cyprus Mail) Greece recovers two dead migrants off Samos Island – Greece has recovered the bodies of two people, a man and a woman, who had been missing after a boat sank off the island of Samos in the Aegean Sea, the country’s coastguard said on Monday [21 October]. Another 22 people who boarded the same boat have been rescued amid fair weather and the rescue operation has ended, a coastguard official said.
ITALY (Balkan Insight ) Italian Court Rules Migrants Shipped to Albania Must Be Sent Back – A court in Rome on Friday [18 October] ordered the transfer back to Italy of 12 people from Bangladesh and Egypt who were intercepted at sea and then transported to a reception centre in Albania under a controversial new scheme backed by Italy and Albania’s premiers.
See more (Reuters) Italy adopts decree to overrule court objections on Albanian migrant camps – Italy’s government on Monday [21 October] passed a decree aimed at overcoming court objections to its flagship immigration plan that is aimed at deterring people that arrive irregularly by sending them to detention camps in Albania.
NETHERLANDS (Guardian) Netherlands mulls sending rejected African asylum seekers to Uganda – The Dutch coalition government, headed by Geert Wilders’ far-right Freedom party (PVV), is considering sending Africans whose asylum requests are rejected to Uganda, in plans that opposition politicians have said are “totally unfeasible”.
POLAND (Euractiv) Tusk says EU countries understand his government’s stance on asylum – The Polish government's position on asylum rights has been heard and understood by EU countries, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said after what he described as fruitful talks on migration at the European Council summit on Thursday [17 October].
PORTUGAL (Euractiv) Portugal ready to receive migrants but not ‘with doors wide open’ – “We are available to welcome immigrants to Portugal from countries where people don't see their opportunities guaranteed. We need qualified labour for various sectors of economic activity, and we are open to this, but this openness must not be confused with a policy of wide open doors,” said Portuguese Prime Minister Luís Montenegro.
SPAIN (Euractiv) Spain considers regularising hundreds of thousands of migrants – With the ultimate aim of regularising all non-Spaniards who arrived in Spain before 2024, the bill would ensure a significant reduction in the administrative deadlines for the temporary regularisation of people whose asylum applications had previously been rejected.
UK (BBC) Baby dead and dozens rescued in Channel sinking – A baby has died after a boat attempting to cross the English Channel sank on Thursday night [17 October], French authorities said. Officials said the overloaded boat started sinking off the coast of Wissant in northern France.
