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EUROPEAN COMMISSION (InfoMigrants) European Commission President announces migration policy direction for new term – Ursula von der Leyen was re-elected as President of the European Commission for a second term on Thursday. She quickly announced how she wanted to use that role to shape Europe's migration policy over the coming five years.

See more (EUobserver) New EU commission seeks bigger Frontex and more cash-for-migrant deals – Ursula von der Leyen has promised to further shore up the EU’s borders as she starts her second term as president of the European Commission.

EXTERNAL PARTNERS (Reuters) Tunisia urges Europe to increase assistance to tackle migration crisis – Tunisia’s prime minister urged European countries on Wednesday to increase financial assistance to his country and others to help tackle the flow of migrants from sub-Saharan Africa.

EXTERNAL PARTNERS (Medyanews) Human Rights Watch labels Turkey ‘occupying force’ in Syria, details torture allegations – A new report submitted to the UN by Human Rights Watch labels Turkey an “occupying force” in Syria, citing torture, war crimes and humanitarian crisis, and urging international action.

EXTERNAL PARTNERS (Euronews) Video. 87 migrants rescued at sea by Doctors Without Borders – During the rescue, a Libyan Stability Support Apparatus boat endangered the operation. Migrants were seen jumping into the water to escape the Libyan ship. The rescued people, including children and babies, are awaiting a disembarkation port. New Italian legislation forces rescue ships to dock at distant ports, hindering timely rescues. So far, 884 migrants, including 48 children, have died in 2024.

MEDITERRANEAN (Middle East Monitor) The Trans-Mediterranean Forum on migration held in Libya – UNSMIL (United Nations Support Mission in Libya) welcomes Trans-Mediterranean Migration Forum in Tripoli.
 

•  NATIONAL DEVELOPMENTS

AUSTRIA (Euronews) Austrian government announces new obligations for asylum seekers – The new measures are intended to give refugees a structured everyday life while also benefiting Austrian society.

CYPRUS (Cyprus Mail) Cyprus to receive €30 million in EU funding for border control – Cyprus will receive an additional €30 million in funding from the European Commission for upgrades to its coastal surveillance system, part of an effort to manage migration.

GERMANY (EUobserver) Germany talks up West African ties following EU’s Sahel exit – German foreign minister Annalena Baerbock talked up the prospect of closer political ties with Senegal and the Ivory Coast, in the latest attempt by a senior EU politican to rebuild the bloc's political influence in West Africa.

GERMANY (InfoMigrants) Germany: Protests continue against asylum seeker home in small village – Plans to put 500 asylum seekers in a village with just 1,370 residents have met with protests in the north-east of Germany.

GREECE (National Herald) EU’s Anti-Torture Panel Says Greece Mistreating, Pushing Back Refugees – In report on its late 2023 visit, the Council of Europe’s Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) said it had found abuse of refugees and pushbacks, denied by the government.

See more (EUobserver) Piles of faeces in ‘dignified’ EU-funded migrant camps in Greece – The European Commission skirted questions on its past claims that EU-funded migrant centres on the Greek islands are dignified.

GREECE (Middle East Monitor) Child migrant arrivals in Greece quadruple this year, Save the Children reports – International NGO, Save the Children, reports that child migrant arrivals in Greece have quadrupled this year.

HUNGARY (Budapest Times) Bakondi: Hungary puts forward several proposals on tackling migration – As part of its EU presidency, Hungary has put forward several proposals on resolving the issue of migration, which the EU has not tackled successfully since 2015, the prime minister’s chief security advisor told public broadcaster M1 on Saturday evening.

IRELAND (Guardian) Asylum seekers in Dublin reportedly attacked by people with knives – Fifteen people forced to flee hours after erecting makeshift camp as tents reportedly slashed and thrown in river.

IRELAND (BBC) Site earmarked for asylum seekers hit by fire again – Firefighters in Dublin have extinguished another fire at a site in Coolock that was being renovated to accommodate asylum seekers.

ITALY (AP News) Italian authorities seek truck driver who was filmed striking migrants near French border – Italian border police are looking for a truck driver who is shown on a widely circulated video striking female migrants after he found them in the back of his vehicle near the French border, officials said Wednesday.

MALTA (Malta Today) Malta extends Libyan coastguard assistance ahead of migration forum – Prime Minister Robert Abela meets Libyan PM Dbeibeh in Tripoli where Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni will also be in attendance.

POLAND (Notes from Poland) Polish border guard violated law by sending injured migrants back to Belarus, finds court – A court has found that Poland’s border guard violated the law when sending Afghan and Ethiopian migrants back to Belarus after they had injured themselves while crossing the border. One of them had made clear his wish to claim asylum in Poland.

SPAIN (InfoMigrants) Canary Islands: Two migrants die after reaching El Hierro – A two-year-old girl died in hospital hours after crossing the Atlantic from the coast of West Africa to the Canary Islands. A young 20-year-old who had crossed in the same boat also died.

UK (EUobserver) UK’s Starmer urges EU cooperation to combat people smuggling crisis – UK prime minister Keir Starmer urged European leaders to work together to combat human trafficking in the first major diplomatic test of his promises to ‘reset’ relations with the EU.

See more (BBC) UK pledges £84m to stop illegal migration ‘at source’ – Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has pledged £84m for projects in Africa and the Middle East to stop illegal migration “at source”.

See more (Times) Migrants from ‘safe’ countries will be processed first, Labour pledges – Yvette Cooper will prioritise migrants from countries such as India, Vietnam and Albania, from where asylum seekers are less likely to be accepted into the UK.

UK (Guardian) UK to resume funding to UN Palestine relief agency Unrwa – David Lammy’s decision marks a rare split between the UK and the US on policy towards Gaza.

UK (BBC) Border Force seizes yacht after Channel crossings – Border Force officers have seized a yacht in connection with small boats crossings in the English Channel on Saturday.
 

•   FEATURE STORY