Migration

The perpetuation of fear and disinformation around migration by the media in the EU

Images and videos of French police officers employing violence against migrants protesting in Place de la République in central Paris were broadcasted to the world on November 23. The protest in Paris was organised by humanitarian organizations to claim against the unjust displacement of hundreds of people and alert the public to the plight of migrants and refugees. […]

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The European complicity in Croatian border violence against migrants and asylum seekers

The major importance of the Balkan route in terms of migration towards Europe is internationally known. Nevertheless, the international regulations on the subject of asylum are heavily disregarded in this area by the local authorities. In the last years, the number of episodes of violence and abuses against migrants and refugees have been significantly growing. […]

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How have some European Member States reacted to the New Pact on Migration and Asylum?

After almost two months since the launch of the New Pact on Migration and Asylum, questions arise on the possibility for European Member States to leave past controversies behind and move towards a more coherent and cohesive approach to migration and asylum. […]

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SOPHIA to IRINI: A Shift in EU Mediterranean Operations

“Sophia is finished, we have a new mission and a clear demarcation line against abuses of traffickers” said Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg in February after a meeting with EU Foreign Affairs Ministers about launching a new naval operation in the Central Mediterranean. […]

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“Let’s Bring Them Here movement”: when the civil society mobilises

After the terrible fire that devastated the camp in Moria on the Greek island of Lesbos on the 9th September 2020, numerous mobilisation actions were carried out to help the approximately 13,000 people that were in the camp. An unusual initiative, however, has caught everyone’s attention: the air expedition organised by the Dutch civil society to bring 189 refugees to the Netherlands. […]

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The New Pact on Migration: a real change or a hidden preservation of the past approach?

“So let’s stop talking it down, and let’s get to work for it. […] Let’s build the world we want to live in. Long live Europe!” With these words, the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen closed her speech on the State of the Union held on the 16th September 2020. In this speech, the President announced the forthcoming release of the New Pact on Migration and Asylum. […]

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Memento Moria – The urgent need for reforming asylum in Europe

The recent fire outbreak in the largest Greek migrant camp on the island of Lesvos accentuated the harsh reality many migrants and refugees have been facing over the past years. Images of people running from the fire, sleeping on the streets and walking amid the burned camp should reawaken the European conscience and responsibility to act in front of a dangerous threat for human rights and individuals’ dignity. […]

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Violent pushbacks of migrants at Greek borders – Where is Europe?

On 1 March 2020, Greece suspended the right to seek asylum. Additionally, they announced that they would increase border security to prevent the entry of migrants, and summarily deport the ones entering illegally into Greek territory. […]

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How has COVID-19 changed migratory movements in Europe and in the world? – The social and political controversies behind migration

COVID-19 has posed several challenges on migratory movements. At the end of June, among the 11,300 people who had tried to cross the sea from Libya, 50% had been sent back and disembarked in Libyan ports. […]

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EU-Turkey Agreement. A problem of capacity or politics?

In 2015, around one million refugees and migrants reached Europe by Sea. People from Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq were forcibly displaced from their home countries due to war and conflict and came to Europe through Turkey to seek Asylum. Many of them, however, lost their lives in their journey to Greece in the Aegean Sea. […]

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