Refugee crisis: latest news from across Europe 29.11.16

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Are You Syrious (28.11.16, link):

 

Mediterranean: More violence against migrants as well as against the NGO’s - Watch med six week report

"Watch the Med has issued its six week report. The report states that violence against migrants as well as NGOs is increasing, and warns that the EU is ever more concerned with systematically pushing people back to Libya’s coast than helping them to reach safety. It seems that in late October, the EU’s naval operation EUNAVFOR MED/Sophia started to train the so-called Libyan coast guard on their vessels, showing them how to do the dirty job of preventing travelers from leaving Libyan waters."

Hungary: Bicske reception center closing, Migszol against it

"The Bicske reception center will be closed by the Hungarian government by the end of 2016. Migszol, the Migrant Solidarity Group of Hungary, has issued a statement explaining that they are against this because they support, “the full inclusion of anyone in society regardless of their immigration status.”

 GREECE: Pressure grows as Athens eyes faster asylum process (ekathimerini.com, link):

"The municipal council on the Aegean island of Chios has voted against a government proposal to create a new reception center for migrants and refugees on the site of a former landfill with the aim of easing congestion at the existing Souda facility."

 Over 5,300 Voluntary Returns From Greece (News That Moves, link)

"More than 5,300 foreign citizens voluntary returned from Greece to their countries of origin from January 1 to November 7 this year,.."

 Greece: Refugee camp flooded – Is Chios the new Idomeni? (video) (Keep Talking Greece, link):

"A strong rainfall on the island of Chios left a couple of hundreds of refugees and migrants sitting in the mud. Rocks have been put at the tents basis to protect them from the next wind blow. Kids play in the mud. The camp of Souda has turned into a lake of water and mud as the soil could not absorb the tones of water due to heavy rainfall on Sunday evening."

 Record number of boat migrants reach Italy in 2016 (euractiv, link):

"A record number of migrants have reached Italy by boat from North Africa in 2016, according to official data, as pressure on Italy’s shelter and asylum systems grows.

Italy has borne the brunt of new arrivals since the implementation in March of an agreement between the European Union and Turkey to curb the flow of migrants sailing for Greece.

As of November 28, 171,299 boat migrants had reached Italy’s shores, the Interior Ministry said, compared to the previous record of 170,100 for all of 2014."

 Turkey slams EU vote as ‘most unjust in history’ (euractiv, link):

"Turkey’s EU Affairs Minister, Ömer Çelik, on Tuesday (29 November) dismissed a European Parliament vote to freeze accession talks with Ankara as the “most unjust resolution in history” and urged solidarity instead.

During a visit to Brussels, Çelik sought to ease tensions exacerbated by the non-binding vote last week to halt Turkey’s membership process over its “disproportionate” crackdown since July’s failed coup."

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