• Home /
• News /
• 2019 /
• August /
• EU Refugee crisis: latest news from across Europe (26.7-5.8.19)

EU Refugee crisis: latest news from across Europe (26.7-5.8.19)

01 August 2019

Statewatch News
EU  
Refugee crisis: latest news from across Europe
26.7-5.8.19

Follow us: | | Tweet

Italy-Malta "Non Paper" wants compulsory relocation mechanism rather than the voluntary one

The Italian and Maltese: Non-Paper (pdf) is presented as being in opposition to the solidarity mechanism and plan to organise orderly relocations and disembarkation in compliance with the law of the sea and the principle of the nearest safe harbour or place of safety.

Migration Mobilities Bristol - New thinking on people and movement (migration.blogs.bristol.ac.uk, link):

"Memorials to people who have died and to those missing during migration - Reflections on the first WUN-funded workshop By Martin Preston, University of Bristol:

Memorials form one way in which public memory is created and reproduced (Dickinson, et al, 2010). The shores of Lesvos and the water around it serve as the final resting place for many of those lost. Initiated by ‘Welcome to Europe’ a purpose-made physical recognition of the dead and missing of the ongoing migration ‘crisis’, a monument at the shores at Thermi on the East of the island was destroyed by unknown perpetrators. However the spot remains a focal point to remember those who have died, as happens annually since October 2013."

Migrant crisis: Self-immolation exposes UN failures in Libya (BBC News, link):

"After a horrific two-year ordeal across three countries - being bought and sold by people traffickers and surviving running out of fuel on an inflatable boat while trying to cross the Mediterranean - Mohamed finally gave up hope.

The Somali man's wife Leyla, 21, recalls the day he burnt himself to death after hearing that they were not on a UN refugee list."

How the media contributed to the migrant crisis (Guardian, link):

"Disaster reporting plays to set ideas about people from ‘"over there’"

Europe’s refugee crisis, or more properly, a disaster partly caused by European border policies, rather than simply the movement of refugees towards Europe, was one of the most heavily mediated world events of the past decade."

Italy lets in stranded migrants after striking EU deal (euractiv, link):

"Italy allowed 116 rescued migrants to disembark from a coastguard ship Wednesday (31 July) with Interior Minister Matteo Salvini’s backing after five EU countries and the Church agreed to share responsibility for looking after them."

Home Office rejects Human Rights Committee’s call for a time limit to immigration detention (HoC, link):

"The Home Office has rejected the UK Parliament Human Rights Committee’s recommendation to introduce a time limit on immigration detention, despite the overwhelming cross-party support."

Probe opened into Gregoretti coast guard-ship case - EU asks members to take in migrants, Berlin says willing to do so (ANSA.it, link):

"The Siracusa prosecutor's office has opened an investigation regarding the case of the coast guard ship Gregoretti, which has been in the Augusta port since Saturday evening with 115 migrants still onboard. The ship's captain, according to reports, is at the prosecutor's office to be questioned. Meanwhile, the European Commission is contacting member states to understand which countries would be willing to take in some of the migrants."

“Video lie detector” for travelers: Patrick Breyer sues EU for keeping the iBorderCtrl project secret (patrick-breyer.de, link):

"The EU is funding the development of a “video lie detector” to detect deception by immigrants through video recordings of their faces. Because the EU is keeping information on this scientifically highly controversial project secret, civil liberties activist and Pirate Party Member of the European Parliament, Dr. Patrick Breyer, has filed a complaint with the EU Court of Justice."

July 2019

Police kicks foreign passenger at Athens International Airport (video) (Keep Talking Greece, link):

"Greek police has ordered an urgent internal investigation into an incident where a police officers kicks a foreign passenger at the Athens International Airport ‘Eleftherios Venizelos.’

The incident was captured on a video and posted on social media by the brother of the harassed passenger.

Arash Hampay has reportedly complained to the airport authorities before posting the video."

UK: Anti-Deportation Activists Are Blocking Coaches to Charter Flights (VICE, link):

"We watched Reclaim the Power members blockade the depot of a coach company that transports people due to be deported on charter flights.

At around 5AM this morning, activists began a blockade of Hallmark Connect coach depot, just south of Heathrow airport, to demonstrate against the company's involvement in the transportation of detainees due to be deported on controversial charter flights."

Migrants: contacts with states on Gregoretti - EU Germany says it is available to host some (ANSA, link):

" A European Commission spokesperson, speaking about the coast guard ship Bruno Gregoretti, said that ''following Italy's request'' for a refugee redistribution plan, the Commission ''has started contacts to support and coordinate all those member states who intend to take part in efforts of solidarity concerning the migrants on board'', who are 140. ''These contacts are still ongoing'', the spokesman added.

''We are not in the position to say how many and which countries'' are taking part in solidarity efforts ''but it will be up to the single states to communicate their availability'', the spokesperson added,"

EU gives Greece blimp to monitor migrants (ekathimerini.com, link):

"Authorities say European Union border agency Frontex has provided the Greek coast guard with a crewless blimp to help combat illegal immigration and to augment search and rescue operations in the eastern Aegean Sea.

Greece's Shipping Mministry says the 35-meter (115-foot) airship can fly as high as 1,000 meters (3,300 feet) and will be tethered to the ground on the island of Samos, which is close to Turkey's coast."

Dozens of migrants still stuck on coastguard vessel in Italy port (euractiv, link):

"An Italian coastguard vessel stranded in the Mediterranean with more than 130 migrants aboard has been allowed to dock in the Sicilian port of Augusta but Rome on Sunday (28 July) refused to let them disembark until a deal is struck with the EU."

Suspension of EU-Turkey Deal and Mass Deportations from Turkey (Deportation Monitoring Aegean, link):

"Turkey started mass expulsion of Syrians and at the same time refuses to take back migrants from Greece under the EU-Turkey readmission deal."

And see: Home page (link)

Outsourcing European Border Control: Recent Trends in Departures, Deaths and Search and Rescue Activities in the Central Mediterranean (law.ox.ac.uk, link):

"In our previous blog post ‘Border Deaths in the Mediterranean: what we can learn from the latest data?’ on Border Criminologies (March 2017) we discussed the existing data sources on Mediterranean Sea migration and provided an analysis of key patterns and trends. We found that Search and Rescue (SAR) has little or no effect on the number of arrivals, and it is rather the absence of SAR that leads to more deaths. These results, which are in line with other research, were covered by various European media outlets and also resulted in a peer reviewed publication in Sociology (also available as a free preprint)."

European Commission: Commission takes Hungary to Court for criminalising activities in support of asylum seekers and opens new infringement for non-provision of food in transit zones (Press release, pdf):

"Today, the European Commission decided to refer Hungary to the Court of Justice of the EU concerning legislation that criminalises activities in support of asylum applications and further restricts the right to request asylum. The Commission has also decided tosend a letter of formal notice to Hungary concerning the non-provision of food to persons awaiting return who are detained in the Hungarian transit zones at the border with Serbia."

GREECE: Refugees wanted to be heard, so they started the Migratory Birds newspaper (neoskosmos.com, link):

"Mahdia Hosseini, 28, and Fatima Sedaghat, 16, are two young women from the Network for Children’s Rights youth centre in Kolonos, a working class district of Athens. The centre serves the needs of young refugees, migrants as well as low-income Greek people from morning until night.

It’s newspaper, Migratory Birds, is one of the few refugee-led initiatives in Greece and has a circulation of 13,000, and is printed in five languages: Greek, English, Arabic, Farsi and Urdu. Recent funding cuts have meant an uncertain future for the publication that has given voice to dozens of migrant and refugee communities since it got off the ground in 2017."

Up to 150 feared dead as boats capsize off Libya - About 137 people were rescued and returned to Libya, according to coastguard (Guardian, link):

"Up to 150 people attempting the perilous sea crossing from Libya to Europe are missing and feared drowned after two migrant boats capsized on Thursday.

If the toll is confirmed, it would be the highest from a shipwreck in the Mediterranean this year.

Ayoub Gassim, a spokesman for Libya’s coastguard, told Associated Press that two boats carrying about 300 people capsized about 75 miles (120km) east of the capital, Tripoli. About 137 people were rescued and returned to Libya, he said. The coastguard had recovered one body so far."

Search our database for more articles and information or subscribe to our mailing list for regular updates from Statewatch News Online.

We welcome contributions to News Online and comments on this website. Contact us.