About: illegal migration Archives

Up to 50 migrants went missing after a large rubber dinghy sank in the Mediterranean Sea, Italian rescuers said on Wednesday (12 August), while more than 1,500 were picked up from other vessels in the past 24 hours.

The European Commission today approved €2.4 of aid over six years for countries including Greece and Italy that have struggled to cope with a surge in numbers of immigrants.

The European Council will have to make crucial decisions regarding the future of the EU in the fields of migration, asylum and border protection, said Elmar Brok MEP. Otherwise, the Mediterranean will remain the deadliest route on the globe.

European heads of state and government met on Thursday (23 April) in an extraordinary summit to discuss the Mediterranean migrant crisis following mass drownings of migrants off the coast of Libya.

Italian ships have picked up almost 700 migrants in seven inflatable boats and further rescue operations are underway, as calm seas favoured departures from Libya for the Italian coast, the coast guard said on Sunday (12 April).

Migration from the Western Balkans towards the EU is not new. But the size of the exodus from Kosovo surprised many in early February, when the media began reporting that a large number of Kosovar Albanians were trying to enter Hungary via Serbia. EURACTIV Serbia reports.

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.