About: illegal migration Archives

Human traffickers have started to smuggle migrants to Europe on big ships, a challenge the European Commission was quizzed over its response to today (5 January).

The best way to combat illegal migration is to set up a regular immigration framework and not a “Fortress Europe”, according to Dimitris Avramopoulos, the Greek commissioner-designate for migration and home affairs. EURACTIV Greece reports.

While tragedies at sea involving African and Arab refugees continue to shock Europeans, Italy intends to push the migratory issue up the political agenda during its presidency, as Rome feels alone in dealing with what it considers a European "emergency".

France wants to increase funding for Frontex, Europe’s border control agency, and ensure border guards. It will raise the issue in the European Council on Friday 27 June. EURACTIV France reports.

Aware that some European countries do not view a common migration policy as an immediate priority, Greece is making a point to push for a single asylum system and a more coordinated management of illegal migration flows into Europe during its six-month EU presidency. EURACTIV reports from Athens.

In Switzerland, many problems with illegal migration and asylum seekers from third-world countries are being solved with mobility and migration partnerships. But these partnerships have to have a long-term perspective, the Swiss say.

Macedonia has accused Greece of dumping illegal migrants on its territory, the Macedonian daily Dnevnik reported, citing unnamed diplomatic sources. 

Athens has cracked down on illegal immigrants, detaining more than 6,000 last weekend (4-5 August) of whom 1,600 are now set for deportation.

Most asylum seekers to the European Union in 2011 came from Afghanistan, a new EU report revealed Tuesday (10 July).

Turkey made a first step toward accepting to take back illegal immigrants who crossed into the EU from its territory, apparently in exchange of easing the visa requirement for its citizens visiting the border-free Schengen space. 

European lawmakers yesterday (12 June) denounced the Danish presidency and the Council for agreeing to re-introduce internal border controls in the Schengen area, in effect bypassing the Parliament while negotiations are still ongoing.

The top French official responsible for immigration said the EU should build a wall along the 130-kilometre Greek-Turkish border, comparing it to the one between the USA and Mexico.

The months of the Arab Spring were marked with a 50% rise in illegal immigration in the EU, with a particular impact on Greece, EU immigration officials said in Athens. EURACTIV Greece contributed to this article. 

Taking lessons from Denmark’s temporary re-imposition of border checks, the EU would do well to intensify its efforts to streamline border practices towards a more coherent EU-wide approach, argues Peter Hobbing of the Centre for European Policy Studies.

The European Commission published yesterday (4 May) a proposal to better manage migration, following the diplomatic tensions between Paris and Rome over an arrival of some 25,000 illegal immigrants from Tunisia. The Commission paper was welcomed by the European People's Party and the Greens, and strongly criticised by the Socialists and Liberals.

A Brussels-based think-tank has slammed the way in which France and Italy are dealing with immigrants fleeing unrest in Northern Africa, labelling their actions a "shameful race to the bottom".

French President Nicolas Sarkozy and Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi yesterday (26 April) asked Brussels to make changes to the treaty establishing the Schengen border-free area. The proposed changes strengthen the hand of member countries and undermine the role of the European Commission.

Italy and France will today (26 April) discuss changing rules that scrap border checks between EU countries, as French President Nicolas Sarkozy visits Rome seeking to ease tensions over North African immigration following the Arab revolutions.

Italy quarrelled with other European Union governments yesterday (11 April) over how to handle thousands of migrants fleeing violence in North Africa, while the EU executive urged the bloc to do more for the refugees.

The Italian government gave its green light yesterday (7 April) to a decree allowing economic migrants from Tunisia to move freely throughout the Schengen area for a three-month period. France said it could re-establish border controls.

Paris and Rome are playing "ping-pong" with thousands of immigrants who travel by boat from the North African coast to the Italian island of Lampedusa, after which most of them try to reach France, the press in the two countries reports.

Returning from a visit to Egypt, Home Affairs Commissioner Cecilia Malmström said yesterday (24 March) that EU countries would be asked to help relocate on their territories a few thousand Eritreans stranded on Libya's borders with Tunisia and Egypt.

The head of France's far right National Front party, Marine Le Pen, criticised yesterday (14 March) what she described as slack controls that had allowed tens of thousands of clandestine immigrants into Europe through Sicily.

Italy faced criticism in the European Union on Thursday (24 February) for raising the alarm about a potential wave of refugees from Libya, with several governments saying Rome's calls for help in dealing with migrants were exaggerated.