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Refugee crisis: latest news from across Europe 8.8.16

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01 August 2016

 SERBIA: Afghan Exodus: In transit through Serbia (Afghanistan Analysts Network, link): A detailed account of how changes in border regimes and policy in Serbia and, more widely, the Balkans, have affected refugees in Serbia and the civil society groups working to support them:

 

"The unprecedented flow of people through the Western Balkans in late 2015 and early 2016, and the opening of a humanitarian corridor, provided a brief and unique opportunity for people from war-torn countries to reach the European Union. When the corridor closed in March 2016 many people, including many Afghans, found themselves stranded and, again, at the mercy of smuggling networks. In this second dispatch of a three-part series, Jelena Bjelica and Martine van Bijlert discuss how the migration flows have impacted Serbia, a key transit country on the way to Europe, and how the situation for Afghans, and others, is becoming ever more precarious."

 Migration Fact vs. Migration Fiction (Project Syndiate, link) by Peter Sutherland:

"Migration continues to dominate political debate in many countries. Rightly so: the issue affects economies and societies worldwide. But public opinion on this crucial topic tends to be shaped by emotions, rather than facts. The result is a lack of open and effective dialogue about migration’s risks – or its many benefits."

 EU: Beyond the borders: overview of "external migration dialogues and processes"

An official overview of the EU's "external migration dialogues and processes" demonstrates the sprawling nature of the EU's efforts to manage and control migration and provides some details on the recent history of different processes, as well as forthcoming events.

It was presented to Member States' officials at a meeting of the Council of the EU's High-Level Working Group on Asylum and Migration in mid-June and was drawn up by the European Commission and the European External Action Services.

See: Annex to High-Level Working Group on Asylum and Migration on: 13 June 2016, Summary of discussions (10349/16, LIMITE, 22 June 2016, pdf)

 Is Germany trying to set Migration “Plan B” Agenda using Greece? (Keep Talking Greece, link): "Greek Migration Ministry denied the report of German daily Bild that an alternative Plan B is needed should Turkey walk out of the EU-Turkey Migration Deal to stem flows to Europe.

“The minister denies Bild’s translation of his comments,” the immigration ministry said in a statement, publishing what it said were Mouzalas’s answers in Greek to Bild’s questions.

According to the statement, Mouzalas had actually said: “Greece is committed to the EU-Turkey deal, which depends on both the EU’s support and on Turkey’s duty to respect it.”

“Clearly we are concerned, but for now the number of people arriving on the Greek islands (since the deal was enforced in March) does not indicate that the deal is not being respected,” he said."

 Child refugees: Vanessa Redgrave delivers urgent letter to Downing Street on lone child refugees in Calais (Citizens UK, link): "Vanessa Redgrave, Lord Alf Dubs and Aislin McGuckin today delivered a letter to Downing Street calling for an immediate amnesty for the unaccompanied minors in Calais identified by Citizens UK as having family in the UK. This action follows Wednesday’s Home Affairs Committee report, Migration Crisis, which called for the 157 unaccompanied minors in Calais identified by Citizens UK to be brought to the UK in a one-off amnesty."

See: the letter (pdf) and the Home Affairs Committee report: Migration Crisis (pdf)

 EU: Press Release: EASO launches ‘EU Relocation Programme’ mobile app (EASO, link): "Today, the European Asylum Support Office launched its first mobile app for smartphones and tablets, allowing asylum seekers to quickly find information in English and various non-EU languages (English, Arabic, Sorani, Kumjani and Tigrinya) about the EU Relocation Programme, their rights and obligations when applying, contact points and more. The app is the latest initiative in the implementation of EASO’s integrated information and communication campaign on relocation. With the app, EASO aims to promote relocation as the only safe and legal way from Greece and Italy to other EU Member States. The EU Relocation Programme app can be downloaded from the AppStore and Google Play."

Relocation may be "safe and legal", but Member States have failed to meet their commitments under the scheme. Until they do so the EASO's attempts to promote the scheme seem doomed to fail. See: Refugee relocation scheme "has clearly failed", says Italy's immigration chief (Statewatch News Online, July 2016)

 EU: Migration crisis: 74% of Europeans want EU to do more (European Parliament press release, link): "The EU has experienced an unprecedented influx of migrants over the last few years. 74% of Europeans want the EU to do more to manage the situation, according to the latest Eurobarometer poll commissioned by the European Parliament. In addition two thirds of respondents said EU action on migration was insufficient. Read on to discover what measures the European Parliament is working on."