|
Do you want to receive this or other newsletters from ECRE?
EU PRESIDENCY (Agence Europe) Hungarian Presidency wants to leave a mark – On Thursday 4 July, the Hungarian government’s international spokesman, Zoltán Kovács, warned a group of European journalists visiting Budapest, including Agence Europe, that the Hungarian Presidency of the Council of the EU wants to “leave a mark”.
See more (Agence Europe) Hungarian Presidency of EU Council to focus on protecting external borders to combat illegal immigration – On Friday 5 July, Bence Rétvári, Deputy Minister of the Hungarian Ministry of the Interior, spoke in favour of protecting the EU’s external borders to a group of European journalists visiting Budapest, including Agence Europe.
ATLANTIC ROUTE (Guardian) At least 89 migrants dead after boat capsizes off Mauritania, state news agency says – Dangerous Atlantic ocean route is gaining popularity because of increased vigilance by authorities in the Mediterranean.
EASTERN BORDERS (Euractiv) Germany should take more leadership to defend Europe’s Eastern border, says Poland’s Tusk – Germany should take more responsibility for the security of the EU’s eastern border, Poland’s Prime Minister Donald Tusk told his German counterpart Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Tuesday (2 July) as the two leaders met for the first intergovernmental talks in six years.
EXTERNAL PARTNERS (Reuters) Turkey closes Syria border after violence flares in both countries – Turkey closed its main border crossings into northwest Syria on Tuesday after Turkish troops came under fire from Syrians angered by violence against their compatriots in Turkey, a Syrian opposition source and residents said.
See more (Balkan Insight) Turkey Probes Organised Bot Activity on X Stirring Anti-Migrant Protests – The Police is probing bot accounts suspected of running the organised hate speech campaign that has fuelled anti-refugee protests all over Turkey.
EXTERNAL PARTNERS (Irish Times) Brazil, Egypt and India among five new ‘safe countries’ for asylum – Applications for protection from countries on list will be accelerated, with an initial decision in three months.
MEDITERRANEAN (EUobserver) Smugglers not main perpetrators of violence against migrants, finds joint UN report – Smugglers are not the main perpetrators of violence towards people migrating along the central Mediterranean route, according to a new joint UN report.
BELGIUM (Brussels Times) Asylum seekers who work now have to pay for their lodging in reception centres – Asylum seekers in Belgium who do paid work now have to contribute to their accommodation costs if they still occupy spaces in reception centres, according to the office of the Secretary of State for Asylum, Nicole de Moor.
BULGARIA (EUobserver) Bulgaria pressured Frontex to ignore abuse in return for witnessing ‘how border guarding works’ – Frontex officers in Bulgaria were offered experiencing how border guarding actually works in reality on the ground — on the condition they don’t report violations, according to internal Frontex documents seen by EUobserver.
FINLAND (Euronews) Finnish PM urges parliament not to water down controversial deportation bill – Finland’s Prime Minister Petteri Orpo on Monday urged parliament not to weaken a deportation bill that would allow Finnish border authorities to refuse to accept asylum applications in certain circumstances.
FRANCE (POLITICO) Calais’ Jungle is gone, but the migrants keep coming – French and British efforts to stop small boats have done little to prevent migrants from crossing the Channel.
GERMANY (InfoMigrants) Refugees flown to Germany under UN resettlement program – 154 refugees from African countries arrived in the German city of Erfurt last week as part of a United Nations resettlement program.
GERMANY (InfoMigrants) ‘People look at you funny’ – asylum seeker payment cards in Germany come with restrictions, stigma – The payment card for asylum seekers is meant to streamline the distribution of benefits. But recipients in Hamburg and a small city in Thuringia say they make their daily lives harder.
GERMANY (POLITICO) Germany’s Scholz breaks bad on migration – Multiple high-profile acts of violence and the rising popularity of the far right have convinced the German chancellor to deport migrants who commit crimes.
See more (DW) Political row breaks out in Germany over Ukrainian refugees – A row has broken out in Germany over whether unemployed Ukrainian refugees should be allowed to stay. Some in the conservative opposition want them sent back to Ukraine. But many Ukrainians say they want to work in Germany but are stymied by bureaucracy.
GREECE (Balkan Insight) Frontex Officers Failing to Report Migrant Abuses on Albania-Greece Border – EU border agents are failing to report rights violations committed against migrants and refugees on the Albanian-Greek border, according to an investigation by BIRN.
HUNGARY (EUobserver) Corruption in Hungary is ‘a feature, not a bug’, warns Transparency International – Corruption is a deeply-ingrained feature of governance in Hungary, according to pro-transparency campaigners.
HUNGARY (EUobserver) Hungary ‘not planning' to pay €200m fine for flouting EU asylum laws – Budapest has declared it is not planning to pay the €200m fine imposed by the European Court of Justice in June for failing to apply EU asylum law, just as Hungary takes over the EU Council presidency.
ITALY (ANSA) Amnesty International: Conditions in administrative detention violate rights of migrants – In a report published on July 3 Amnesty International denounced the “illegal deprivation of liberty” that migrants in Italy suffered, stating that they were forced into detention centers that fall below international standards.
ITALY (Guardian) Banksy-funded migrant rescue boat detained in Italy after saving 37 people – Artist calls impounding of MV Louise Michel ‘vile and unacceptable’ after rescue of 17 unaccompanied children.
ITALY (ANSA) Migrant arrivals down 60% in 2024, interior ministry says – Migrant arrivals in Italy dropped by 60 percent in the first six months of 2024 compared to the first semester of 2023, down from over 62,000 to just over 25,000, according to data released by the interior ministry. The ministry also said repatriations were up 15 percent over the same period.
ITALY (ANSA) Italy’s MEDU publishes migrant abuse report on World Torture Day – On June 26, Doctors for Human Rights (MEDU) released a report in Italian titled ‘Frammenti’ (Fragments), highlighting the abuse of migrants and its effects. Supported by the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), the report was published on the International Day in Support of Victims of Torture.
ITALY (ANSA) ‘Lack of data on migrants, homeless and detainees in Italy’ – The topic of medical assistance for “excluded or invisible” individuals, such as irregular migrants, homeless persons, and detainees, remains “relatively unexplored.” This issue was discussed at a dedicated convention at the Italian National Institute of Health (ISS) in Rome.
LITHUANIA (Lithuanian National Radio and Television) Asylum seekers seek compensation from Lithuania for illegal detention – Twenty-four migrants have filed a class action lawsuit requesting compensation from Lithuania for arbitrary detention in 2021–2022.
POLAND (Notes from Poland) Poland asks Germany and France for help policing Belarus border – Poland has asked for support from German and French police and border guards to protect Poland’s border with Belarus amid an escalation of the migration and security crisis there.
POLAND (Notes from Poland) Germany has returned 4,600 illegal border crossers to Poland this year, half of them Ukrainians – The German authorities have so far this year sent back over 4,600 people to Poland who attempted to illegally enter Germany. Around half of them were Ukrainian, with the next largest national groups being Syrians and Afghans.
SPAIN (Euractiv) Spain’s PP suggests deploying army to curb irregular migration – The Spanish government should curb the massive influx of illegal migrants with all the means at its disposal, including the deployment of the military and navy to better control its borders, Miguel Tellado, parliamentary spokesman for the main opposition force, the right-wing Partido Popular (PP/EPP) has said.
SPAIN (Guardian) Hundreds in Canary Islands protest against influx of migrants – Hundreds protested on Saturday in the Canary Islands against an influx of migrants to the Spanish archipelago, which has welcomed more than 19,000 migrants since the beginning of 2024.
UK (BBC) Starmer confirms Rwanda deportation plan ‘dead’ – Sir Keir Starmer has confirmed the Rwanda deportation scheme is "dead and buried", on his first full day as prime minister.
See more (Guardian) Forget ‘stop the boats’, Starmer wants to ‘smash the gangs’ – but will it work? – Labour’s new border security unit faces major challenges, as campaigners warn they need a better plan for safe routes.
See more (BBC) UK hopes to recoup cash from scrapped Rwanda scheme – The government will be looking carefully at what money can and cannot be recouped after it scrapped the Rwanda deportation scheme, Downing Street has said.
|
