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Refugee crisis: latest news from across Europe 4.8.16

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01 August 2016

 United Nations High Commission for Refugees: The EU-Turkey Agreement is De-Facto On Hold (The Press Project, link)

"The UNHCR states that the agreement between Turkey and EU on a way to deal with the refugee crisis has, in reality, collapsed. At the same time it underlines the lack of deliberations between the two sides as well as the inability of the humanitarian organizations to operate in Turkey....

 

In a comment about the relocation mechanism, the head of the European UNHCR office, mentioned that it is operating at a slow pace since, out of 66.400 people who are to be relocated from Greece to other EU countries, only 2.681 have been relocated so far (according to data given by the Commission on July 27). Mr.Cochetel concluded that there are still problems in the registration of asylum requests in Greece while the other EU countries “even before the terrorist attacks, did not offer to accept refugees”."

UNHCR Weekly Report (28 July)

"Between 18 and 24 July, 8,157 refugees and migrants arrived in Italy by sea which is a significant increase to the previous week’s arrivals of 2,148. However, overall sea arrivals to Italy remain consistent with those of 2015. As of 24 July, 88,009 persons arrived by sea to Italy in 2016, compared to 93,540 persons whom disembarked at the end of July 2015. On three separate disembarkations this week the bodies of 39 individuals were discovered, bringing the total number of people dead or missing at sea to 2,990. Their cause of death is believed to be from inhaling engine exhaust fumes or suffocation. The top nationalities of origin among arrivals include Nigeria, Eritrea, Gambia, Cote D’Ivoire, and Sudan."

Are You Syrious (link):

France: Calais population on the rise

"Despite the partial eviction of the Calais camp, the population continues to increase, with Help Refugees believing the camp could reach 10,000 people by September. Help is therefore needed more than ever— the evacuation has not diminished the camp’s population, but has created the illusion that the problem has been solved, leading to a drop in donations."

 Greece: Eric Kempson (link): "One boat with 70 people on board was picked up south east of Lesvos, 4 people were taken to Hospital and two were missing but later found due to search and rescue, well done to every one involved great job."

 News (4.8.16)

Austrian chancellor wants EU to end accession talks with Turkey (euractiv, link): "Austria’s Chancellor Christian Kern on Wednesday called on the European Union to end membership talks with Turkey in the wake of a massive government crackdown following a failed coup..... “We have to face reality: the membership negotiations are currently no more than fiction,” Kern told Austrian media. “We know that Turkey’s democratic standards are far from sufficient to justify its accession.”"

EU, US reject UN plan to resettle refugees (euractiv, link): "The European Union and the United States among other heavy-weight countries have rejected a UN proposal to resettle 10% of the world’s refugees annually as part of a new global effort to tackle the worst refugee crisis since World War II. A document adopted late on Tuesday (2 August) failed to include the resettlement proposal from UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon that would have been the centerpiece of a UN summit on refugees in New York on 19 September".

Bulgarian Police Detain 65 Migrants in Sofia (novinite.com, link): "Police in Sofia have detained 65 migrants carrying no identity documents in less than 24 hours, the Bulgarian Ministry of the Interior announced on Wednesday. Eight migrants claiming to be of Afghan origin were detained on Tuesday night in an area of central Sofia

Thousands of migrants return home through IOM program (ekathimerini.com, link): "the International Organization for Migrants, the agency said on Wednesday. According to the organization, 3,691 migrants were repatriated from the beginning of the year until July 31."