About: hotspots
Greece to move migrants out of congested island camps
Greece will this month begin moving hundreds of elderly and ailing asylum seekers out of congested island camps to protect them from the coronavirus, the migration ministry said on Thursday (16 April).
‘Corona time’ in Europe’s main migrant camp in virus lockdown
In Europe's biggest asylum seeker camp of Moria, on the Greek island of Lesbos, authorities are trying to keep residents apart from a population with at least three coronavirus cases.
Greece to restrict migrant camp movements in virus measure
Greece has said it is placing migrant camps across the country on a two-week shutdown to visitors to ward off the new coronavirus. “Visits (to camps) by individuals and organisations are suspended for at least 14 days,” the migration ministry...
Migrants clash with Greek police, diplomatic efforts underway
Greek police fired tear gas to repel hundreds of stone-throwing migrants who tried to force their way across the border from Turkey on Sunday (1 March), with thousands more behind them after Ankara relaxed curbs on their movement.
Greece to start setting up closed-type migrant camps
Greece will begin setting up closed-type camps for asylum seekers on its Aegean islands in March, the country's migration minister said Monday (10 February), in response to growing tensions over the migrants' current overcrowded facilities.
Asylum-seekers in Greece, Italy hotspots face ‘years of limbo’
Asylum-seekers crowded into "hotspots" in Greece and Italy face limbo that can drag on for years because of legal bottlenecks and poorly performing EU schemes, a report said Wednesday (13 November).
‘Hell on earth’: The Moria refugee camp on the Greek island of Lesbos
Living conditions in the Moria camp on the Greek island of Lesbos, housing thousands of refugees, are particularly difficult, according to Oxfam. As the weather turns colder, the charity is calling for an immediate reaction from Europe. EURACTIV France reports.
Malta demands EU solution before migrants disembark
Malta is pushing other European countries to take in around 250 migrants in its care before it will allow dozens of people stuck on two rescue boats to disembark, a government source said Tuesday (8 January).
Greece vows to improve conditions on island hotspots
Greece's migration minister on Tuesday (18 September) pledged to improve living conditions for migrants in camps on islands in the Aegean Sea, where he said arrivals had doubled this summer.
Greece’s Moria migrant camp faces closure over public health fears
Greece's biggest migrant camp faces closure next month unless authorities clean up "uncontrollable amounts of waste", the regional governor said, citing public health risks.
Activists held in Greece for illegally aiding migrants
Police in Greece said on Tuesday (28 August) they had arrested three members of a Greek NGO on suspicion of helping migrants illegally enter the country.
‘Controlled centres’ for migrants – not ‘hotspots’, say EU leaders
The European Council’s idea of “controlled centres” for migrants put forward in its conclusions is strikingly similar to the 2015 hotspots. EURACTIV.fr reports.
Italy cannot be ‘Europe’s refugee camp’, Salvini says
Italy's new hardline interior minister Matteo Salvini said Sunday that "common sense" was needed to stop the country from being "Europe's refugee camp" as he visited a migrant centre in the south.
Far-right group attacks migrants on Greek island
A far-right group launched a violent attack overnight on migrants staging a sit-in protest on the Greek island of Lesbos, injuring around a dozen people, police said Monday (23 April).
EU officials fear new wave of migrants after Greek court ruling
A top Greek court ruled on Wednesday (18 April) that migrants landing on Greek islands should no longer be held there while asylum claims are assessed, a decision raising alarm among EU officials in Brussels.
Only 16% of asylum seekers in Greece to be sent to Turkey, despite EU deal
Only "16% of asylum seekers" who have arrived in Greece are likely to be sent to Turkey despite a controversial EU deal, the former head of Greece's asylum service said Sunday.
Human traffickers capitalise on ‘chaos’ at Europe’s migrant hotspots
Human traffickers are capitalising on widespread chaos at migrant reception centres across southern Europe to transport their victims undetected and lure other migrants into forced labour, a European security watchdog said yesterday (31 January).
Migration to dominate ‘Club Med’ summit in Rome
The heads of seven southern European states gather in Rome today (10 January) to tackle one of the stubbornest thorns in the EU's side: flows of migrants from war-torn and impoverished countries.
Arrivals surge on Greek islands despite EU-Turkey deal
With Turkey being one of the items on the agenda of the EU summit starting on Thursday (19 October), AFP is reporting that migrants are still coming to Greek islands despite the EU-Turkey deal to stem the arrival of refugees from Turkish territory.
African and European leaders renew efforts to tackle migration
African and European leaders gathered in Paris on Monday (28 August) to broach the subject of migration, where support was expressed for moving the EU’s external border into Africa itself, so that asylum applications can be handled locally. EURACTIV France reports.
Refugee hotspots in Italy and Greece ‘not yet adequate’, say EU auditors
The EU’s emergency response to the 2015 refugee crisis, by creating arrival ‘hotspots’ in Greece and Italy, has left reception centres that are “not yet adequate”, according to a damning new report by the EU Court of Auditors.
Europol seeks more African cooperation in fight against people smugglers
No other illegal business is more lucrative: half a million people traffickers appear in Europol's database and the number is only rising. Police are now counting on Africa to help. EURACTIV Germany reports.
UN alarmed at migrants dying of cold
Refugees and migrants are dying in Europe's cold snap and governments must do more to help, rather than pushing them back from borders and subjecting them to violence, the UN refugee agency UNHCR said today (13 January).