The political groundwork for Thursday’s likely decision was already laid years ago when the EPP crushed the European Commission’s original 2018 proposal for a return directive in order to usher in more restrictive measures.
Universities play a significant, if often obscured, role in the development, perpetuation and expansion of Fortress Europe, says the Transnational Institute report.
The EU and Nigeria have made progress on the ‘strategic partnership’ first announced in 2023, unveiling a returns and readmission agreement for failed migrants on Monday.
Operating under the supervision of three Greek officers, the Afghan unit robbed, stabbed, threatened rape, and beat 61 newly-arrived migrants in 2023, says the report.
“Although for now, the conflict has not translated into immediate migratory flows towards the EU, what the future holds remains unclear,” says European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen.
The European Parliament’s centre-right is increasingly voting with far-right parties — first on migration, now on deregulation. As similar alliances emerge in national governments across Europe, the long-standing political “cordon sanitaire” against the far right is weakening, raising questions about whether this shift could soon become the new norm.
The vote on the return regulation on Monday in the European Parliament civil liberties committee now sets the legal stage for likely deportation facilities abroad, as the European Union cracks down on asylum and roll backs its commitment to refugees.
The EU is fast-tracking asylum decisions, labeling countries like Bangladesh, Egypt, and Morocco as “safe.” Could this put vulnerable people at risk? In this episode of Briefed, Léa Marchal unpacks the EU’s new regulations on safe countries and safe third countries — and the real human impact behind the numbers.
Samuel Nyabyenda Kwizera, a survivor of the Rwandan genocide and a professional dancer, is married to a Belgian national with whom he has two Belgian children. His life was upended and his family torn apart after Belgian authorities allegedly tampered with his Rwandan passport.
MEPs prepare to vote on a controversial deportation bill while debates intensify over Europe’s security amid the Iran war. Armenia’s prime minister addresses parliament, ministers tackle labour shortages and EU finances, and tensions rise over Ukraine funding as Hungary threatens a veto ahead of next week’s EU summit.
First launched in late 2022, the so-called High Level Network for Returns (HLNR) used the October 7 Hamas terror attack on Israel as a justification to enforce the exchange of data of individuals with a deportation order and flagged as “potential terrorists”.
“It has become evident that the necessary majority for a compromise has not materialised,” the centre-right MEP François-Xavier Bellamy said in an email to his counterparts, seen by EUobserver, ahead of a vote on the controversial deportation bill.
Migration control is at the heart of a planned ‘strategic partnership’ between the EU and Senegal.
A senior EU diplomat told reporters that ministers will focus on ways to compel people to return home voluntarily, amid wider migration talks on working with Lebanon and Libya.
Like much recent EU migration legislation, the proposal was presented without a comprehensive fundamental rights impact assessment. Sixteen UN experts have already raised concerns about its compatibility with international law. Yet EU institutions are rushing the file through the legislative process.
Iran is the second-largest refugee hosting country in the world, spooking leaders in Europe of any possible mass exodus, with the commission stepping up monitoring and cooperation with relevant UN agency and countries in the region.
The new EU-Swiss trade pact does not include a cap on freedom of movement, despite Switzerland’s focus on migration control.
THIS WEEK offers a weekly snapshot of the key developments in Brussels and across Europe over the next seven days, published every Monday morning.
Under Giorgia Meloni, Italy’s new migration law revives largely symbolic deterrence measures like the “naval blockade” and the Albania model that are unlikely to boost returns or reduce arrivals, while pragmatic labour regularisations proceed quietly in the background. However, voters are exposed primarily to the spectacle of deterrence.
The International Organization for Migration warns that growing restrictions on access to information about search-and-rescue operations along Europe’s sea routes are making it increasingly difficult to verify a rising number of deaths.