Archive
Bulgaria and Romania speed up asylum and deportation procedures with EU support
"Pilot projects" intended to beef up border controls, accelerate asylum and deportation proceedings, and reinforce the role of EU agencies in Bulgaria and Romania have just begun - yet EU legislation intended to do the same is yet to be approved. Read More
Schengen states make new call for border wall funds
A group of eight Schengen states has reiterated the now-longstanding call for the European Commission to fund the construction of border walls. Read More
EU: New report highlights impact of pandemic on reception facilities for asylum seekers
COVID-19 lockdown measures across Europe increased homelessness and destitution among asylum seekers due to evictions and the temporary closure of relevant administrations, says a new report by the Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS). Read More
EU: Pushbacks scandal: Frontex correspondence with national and EU authorities
On the day that the European Parliament's inquiry into Frontex begins, we are publishing correspondence between Frontex executive director Fabrice Leggeri and the European Commission, Council and Parliament, the Frontex Management Board, and the border authorities Greece, Romania, Portugal and Sweden, on the subject of alleged complicity in pushbacks in the Aegean region. Read More
Romania, Poland and Czech Republic acquiring drones for border surveillance, military purposes
A number of NATO member states in Eastern Europe - namely Romania, Poland and the Czech Republic - are acquiring a variety of drones with the aim of stepping up border surveillance activities, amongst other things. Read More
EU: Passenger Name Record (PNR): Commission closes eight infringement proceedings for failure to transpose passenger surveillance rules
"The European Commission closes today [2 April 2020] infringement procedures against eight Member States as they transposed EU rules on Passenger Name Record data into national law." Read More
Migrants in Malta transferred after EU deal
"Migrants were transferred on Thursday from Malta to Germany, Lithuania, and Romania after they were rescued by the NGO vessel Ocean Vikings last August, the Times of Malta writes. This follows an EU-brokered agreement reached Read More
Migrants in Malta transferred after EU deal
"Migrants were transferred on Thursday from Malta to Germany, Lithuania, and Romania after they were rescued by the NGO vessel Ocean Vikings last August, the Times of Malta writes. This follows an EU-brokered agreement reached Read More
Security Union: Commission calls on 4 Member States to respect EU exclusive competence in the area of automated DNA, fingerprint and vehicle registration data exchange (Prüm Decisions)
"The Commission decided today to launch infringement procedure by sending letters of formal notice to Austria, Bulgaria, Hungary and Romania for signing an agreement with 5 Western Balkan countries on the automated exchange of DNA data, dactyloscopic data and vehicle registration on 13 September 2018." Read More
Council of Europe: Romania: anti-torture committee concerned about abuse of prisoners by staff, inter-prisoner violence and allegations of police ill-treatment
"The Council of Europe’s Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) has expressed concern about several persistent problems in Romanian prisons - including the abuse of prisoners by staff and inter-prisoner violence - as well as about numerous allegations of police ill-treatment..." Read More