About: pushbacks
Greece said it blocked hundreds of migrants from crossing Aegean
Greece said on Monday (23 May) it had prevented around 600 migrants from crossing the Aegean into its territorial waters from neighbouring Turkey, in the largest attempted entry this year.
Iraq says almost 4,000 repatriated from Belarus borders
Baghdad has repatriated almost 4,000 of its citizens stuck on the Belarus borders with European Union members Poland, Lithuania and Latvia in recent weeks, Iraq's foreign minister said Sunday (16 January).
Migrants camped in Belarus warehouse still hope to get to EU
Sleeping on mattresses in a Belarusian warehouse, hundreds of Middle Eastern migrants are still clinging to the hope of a future in western Europe as the year draws to a close.
EU home affairs chief praises Croatia’s handling of border violence scandal
EU Commission home affairs chief Ylva Johansson has welcomed Croatia's handling of media revelations showing border officers beating migrants despite NGO reports of continuing violence at the border with Bosnia.
Poland frowns at EU-proposed longer legal limbo for migrants from Belarus
The European Commission on Wednesday (1 December) proposed letting member states bordering Belarus, and facing migrant flows allegedly orchestrated by Minsk, to keep arrivals' asylum claims in legal limbo for longer. But Poland called the move ‘counter-productive’.
UN Refugee chief slams EU leaders for management of refugee crisis
EU leaders cannot justify xenophobia, pushbacks, and violence amid the current refugee crisis. UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi told European Parliament on Wednesday (10 November).
Greece says Turkish boats tried to force migrants into its waters
Greek authorities on Tuesday (9 November) aired a video showing a rubber dinghy filled with migrants and escorted by two Turkish boats which they said were trying to force it into Greek waters.
Hit by migrant flow from Belarus, Germany seeks Polish help
Germany has suggested increasing joint patrols along its border with Poland in response to increasing numbers of migrants arriving via Belarus, according to a letter seen by AFP on Tuesday (19 October).
Poles protest against migrant pushbacks
Thousands of people demonstrated in Warsaw on Sunday (17 October) against pushbacks of migrants at the Polish-Belarusian border.
Poland passes law allowing migrants to be pushed back at border
Poland's parliament on Thursday (14 October) passed a legal amendment allowing migrants to be pushed back at the border and for asylum claims made by those who entered illegally to be ignored.
EU Commission urges probe after report on migrant pushbacks in Greece, Croatia
The European Union's executive called for an investigation into illegal migrant pushbacks after a report by German media outlets Der Spiegel and ARD documented what they said were Greek, Croatian and Romanian officials carrying out such operations.
Journalistic investigation exposes violent pushbacks at EU borders
Migrants are suffering sometimes-violent illegal pushbacks carried out by special police units at the EU's borders, especially Greece and Croatia, an investigation published Wednesday (6 October) by media including Germany's Der Spiegel found.
Lithuania pushes back Afghan migrants despite European Court stand
Lithuania on Thursday (9 September) pushed five Afghan migrants back to Belarus shortly after they had crossed the border despite the European Court of Human Rights earlier saying they should be allowed to stay.
Europe’s rights court tells Poland, Latvia to aid migrants stuck on Belarus border
The European Court of Human Rights on Wednesday (25 August) told Poland and Latvia to provide aid and care for dozens of Afghan and Iraqi migrants stranded on the border with Belarus.
UN refugee agency presses Poland to help migrants on Belarus border
The UN refugee agency UNHCR and rights groups urged Poland to offer medical and legal support and shelter to migrants camping on the border with Belarus, a day after Warsaw said it would build a fence to prevent migrants crossing.
Latvia starts pushing back migrants at tense Belarus border
Latvian border guards turned back dozens of migrants into Belarus overnight under a new state of emergency designed to stem a flow of arrivals the European Union says is orchestrated by Minsk.
Greek police plan high-decibel message to deter migrants
Greek police on Thursday (3 June) said they plan to send out a high decibel message designed to deter would-be migrants after setting up two controversial "sound cannons" at the Evros border post with Turkey.
NGOs sue EU’s Frontex for violating migrants’ human rights
Three non-governmental organisations said Tuesday (25 May) they are suing the EU's border protection agency Frontex for violating the human rights of an unaccompanied minor from Burundi and a Congolese woman seeking asylum on the Greek island of Lesbos.
EU court deals another blow to Hungarian asylum policy
In the latest legal setback for Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, the top EU court in Luxembourg ruled that Budapest had broken Union law by restricting access to the international protection procedure for asylum applicants in transit zones and unlawfully detaining them.
Lawmakers bash EU border agency over alleged migrant pushbacks
Lawmakers in the European Parliament grilled the director of the European Border and Coast Guard Agency on Tuesday (1 December) over migrant pushbacks in the Mediterranean, with left-wing political groups calling for his resignation.
Commission calls for meeting with Frontex over alleged ‘push-back incidents’
The European Commission has called for an urgent extraordinary meeting of the Management Board of EU border agency Frontex, which has been accused of "illegal pushbacks" of migrants in the Aegan Sea. EURACTIV's partner Euroefe reports.
Greece denies report of secret ‘black site’ for migrants near Turkish border
The Greek government dismissed on Wednesday (11 March) a report in The New York Times that it was holding illegal migrants who cross the border from Turkey at a secret "black site" where they are denied access to lawyers and cannot file asylum claims.
Bulgaria sends gendarmerie to border, as fears rise of migrant wave from Turkey
Bulgaria has sent gendarmerie forces to its border with Turkey because the threat of a migrant wave is real, Prime Minister Boyko Borissov said on Friday (28 February).