(AFP) There were tears and emotional tributes Monday as Spain and the European Union paid tribute to the 192 victims of March 11, 2004, Madrid train bombings that marked the start of mass Islamist attacks in Europe. Heads were bowed across the […]
(Reuters) The leaders of Belgium and Sweden and the European Union’s chief executive promised on Wednesday to tighten border security and step up repatriations after a failed asylum seeker from Tunisia shot dead two Swedish football fans in Brussels. They spoke after […]
(AP) European Union countries on Wednesday overcame a major obstacle in their yearslong quest to overhaul the bloc’s asylum rules amid warnings that time is running out to clinch agreement on the entire scheme before next year’s EU elections. EU envoys clinched […]
(AP) Pope Francis challenged French President Emmanuel Macron and other European leaders to open their ports to people fleeing hardship and poverty, insisting Saturday that the continent isn’t facing a migration “emergency” but rather a long-term reality that governments must deal with […]
(AFP) European Union member Cyprus said Friday it has asked the bloc to review whether Syria remains an unsafe country to which member states should be barred from repatriating asylum-seekers. The move follows a flurry of racially-motivated attacks on foreigners in recent […]
(Politico) The EU called Monday on Greece to investigate allegations that it is abandoning migrants at sea amid concerns that the center-right government in Athens is violating EU law. The EU’s executive urged Greece to launch a probe into alleged illegal migrant […]
(AP) European Union interior ministers on Friday weighed proposals to ease tensions between France and Italy over migrants arriving on their shores without authorization, including a possible crackdown on charity-run ships doing search and rescue work in the Mediterranean Sea. In recent […]
(Politico) The European Commission is pushing to create guidelines for the NGO boats rescuing migrants off Europe’s shores as part of a plan to reduce the number of asylum seekers heading to the Continent. The plan, presented Monday by the European Commission, […]
(Anadolu) The European Union’s border agency, Frontex, has deliberately and systematically cooperated with Greece in illegal pushbacks of asylum seekers to Turkish waters, a German magazine reported Thursday. Findings of an investigation by OLAF, the bloc’s anti-fraud agency, on the dimension of […]
(AFP) Cyprus struck a deal Monday with the European Union to help it handle a large migrant influx to the divided Mediterranean island, which Nicosia says is the highest per capita in the EU. The agreement will make it easier for Cyprus […]
(AP) Turkey “has much to gain” if it works with the European Union to stem migrant arrivals from its airports and shores to the ethnically divided Mediterranean island of Cyprus, a top EU official said Sunday. European Commission Vice President Margaritis Schinas […]
(AP) The chief of the European Union’s Frontex border agency said Wednesday that the repatriation of migrants is Cyprus’ “most urgent need” and that his organization is ready to facilitate flights to return home people who had asylum claims rejected in Cyprus. […]
(AP) The repatriations of migrants who have had their asylum applications rejected is essential to easing overcrowding and reducing violence at a migrant reception camp, Cyprus’ interior minister said Wednesday. Minister Nicos Nouris told state broadcaster CyBC that 35 migrants suffered minor […]
(AP) The European Union on Tuesday launched a major revamp of the rules governing the movement of people and goods into and around Europe as coronavirus restrictions and fears over a “hybrid attack” from Belarus using migrants are placing increasing strains on […]
(AFP) Pope Francis on Saturday blamed the EU’s nationalist divisions for a lack of coordination on migration as he began a landmark trip to Greece, aiming to improve complicated relations with the country’s Orthodox Church. Francis said that Europe was “torn by […]
(AFP) France on Sunday urged Britain to help more with cracking down on people-smuggling gangs following a row between the two countries last week over an unprecedented boat accident in the Channel that cost 27 lives. “We have to work with our […]
(AP) Hundreds if not thousands of migrants sought to storm the border from Belarus into Poland on Monday, cutting razor wire fences and using branches to try and climb over them. The siege escalated a crisis along the European Union’s eastern border […]
(Politico) The Afghanistan crisis could be a spur for the EU to agree on a common approach to migration and asylum, European Commission Vice-President Margaritis Schinas suggested in an interview published Saturday. “I see this as the moment to agree on a […]
(AP) The sight of hundreds of migrants swimming or climbing fences separating the Spanish enclave of Ceuta from the rest of Africa this week is a stark reminder of just how dependent the European Union can be on the whims of countries […]
(AFP) Spain accused Morocco of “blackmail” on Thursday for allowing a record 8,000 migrants to reach the Spanish North African enclave of Ceuta, sparking a crisis that saw clashes on the Moroccan side of the border overnight. Spanish authorities were caught by […]
(Kathimerini) “Very serious” incidents that violated international regulations reportedly took place on April 26 and 27 involving vessels of the Turkish Coast Guard and the European Border and Coast Guard Agency, Frontex. Kathimerini understands that the incidents occurred off the eastern Aegean […]
(AP) The interior ministers of the five Mediterranean countries on the front line of mass migration to Europe want their EU partners to share the burden more equitably. “We can no longer be punished for our geographical position,” Malta’s Byron Camilleri said […]
(Kathimerini) European Commission Vice-President Margaritis Schinas on Friday briefed the committees on European affairs and public administration in the Greek Parliament on the EU’s continuing talks over the New Pact on Migration and Asylum, responding to criticism and concerns from all sides. […]
(Euronews) Brussels has unveiled a new package of measures aimed at tackling the threat of terrorism in Europe, including plans to give a stronger role to Europol. A spate of recent terrorism attacks prompted the European Commission (EC) to publish the measures […]
(AP) The EU’s top migration official confirmed Wednesday that she retains confidence in the embattled head of Frontex, amid pressure on the bloc’s border and coastguard agency for an independent investigation of allegations it was involved in illegal pushbacks of migrants. Asked […]
(AP) The European Union’s top migration officials struggled Thursday to sell their new plan to overhaul the bloc’s failed asylum system amid concern they have sold out to anti-migrant governments. Critics say the proposal focuses on rapidly deporting people who don’t qualify […]
(AFP) Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on Friday demanded more “active” participation from the EU in housing thousands of migrants on the island of Lesbos, as he said Athens will rebuild a notoriously overcrowded camp destroyed by fire. “A new facility will […]
(National-UAE) Almost 120 terrorist plots were uncovered across Europe last year, resulting in more than 1,000 arrests. ISIS was responsible for all but one of the 10 people killed. The latest figures covering terrorist incidents in 2019 have been revealed in Europol’s […]
(AFP) EU members on Wednesday rejected what they said is Turkey’s use of desperate migrants to pressure its neighbours — and strongly backed Greece’s border crackdown. In a statement agreed by European interior ministers meeting in Brussels, the 27 capitals said the […]
(AFP) Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned on Monday that “millions” of migrants would soon head for Europe, drawing accusations from EU leaders that he is trying to pressure them into backing his incursions into Syria. Turkey gave the green light to […]
(Reuters) The European Union executive accused Hungary’s nationalist government on Monday of distorting the truth about immigration into the bloc, marking a further deterioration in their troubled relationship ahead of European Parliament elections in May. The EU has long been critical of […]
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