Member States of the EU and Schengen Area have built around 1000 kilometres of walls since the 1990s to stop migration flows On the anniversary of the fall of the Berlin wall, a new report reveals that the EU and Schengen Area states have built around 1000 kilometres of walls, the equivalent of six Berlin […]
MEPs Demand Calais Solutions for Locals and Migrants
The situation in and around the port town of Calais is untenable for everyone: migrants and asylum seekers living in the informal camps, truck drivers crossing to the British Isles and the local population, said MEPs in a plenary debate on Tuesday. Most urged the EU Commission, France and the UK to work together to […]
UNHCR “Takes Note” Of EU Migration Summit Failures
The United Nations High Commission for Refugees wasn’t super happy with Europe’s big migration Summit. With the calm reflex of a seasoned stock broker watching the market crash, UNHCR said it “has taken note of the Statement of the EU Heads of State and Government of Turkey last night and we are concerned with some […]
British Deal Resurrected Spirit of Thatcher, Says Zimmer
During a debate at the European Parliament Plenary session in Brussels, GUE/NGL President Gabi Zimmer questioned the priorities agreed upon at so-called ‘Brexit talks’, she said, “The result of an internal Conservative Party squabble took the EU so far that an essential pillar, the social pillar has been gravely damaged. We are on the route […]
EU Pushes Two-Year Schengen Border Controls
EU Home Affairs ministers asked the European Commission on Monday to consider suspension of the Schengen area for up two years, prolonging EU Member States border controls. Under the Schengen Code, Member States can only introduce temporary border controls for two months, for unforeseeable events and six months, for foreseeable events. But under Article 26, […]
Refugee Women in Europe Risk Sexual Violence Says UNHCR Report
Oumo (not her real name), a young woman from sub-Saharan Africa is fleeing persecution that has left her brother-in-law dead and her sister missing. Fearing for her life, she made the dangerous and difficult journey to Europe where she is hoping to find asylum and safety. During her journey to Greece, Oumo was forced to […]
“Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, OVER” – EU Migration Re-Launch
The European Commission’s new European Agenda on Migration has been launched. It outlines the immediate measures that will be taken to respond to the Mediterranean crisis situation, as well as the steps to be taken in the coming years to better manage migration in all its aspects. The plight of thousands of migrants putting their lives […]
Rising Tide Of Death, As Europe Looks Inland
A year on from the Lampedusa shipwrecks, which claimed more than 500 lives, a new report by Amnesty International highlights how, what Amnesty called the “shameful inaction of European Union (EU) countries” has contributed to a spiralling death toll with thousands of refugees and migrants losing their lives in a desperate bid to reach European […]
MEPs’ Human Chain Jostled By Police. Group Declares “17,306 Dead Trying To Enter ‘Fortress Europe’”
Migrants; a protest, an aggressive police response. A familiar combination? Not when the Strasbourg police forcefully corralled Members of the European Parliament, protesting right outside the Parliament, and using the public demonstration to call attention to civil liberties issues. Excessive police action did not deter a group of 15 organisations launching an appeal to citizens, […]
“We are the richest continent. We can do more” – Schulz On Migration Solidarity
“Lampedusa has become a symbol of a European migration policy,” European Parliament President Martin Schulz told EU leaders at the October European Council, in Brussels. “It should also become a turning point for that migration policy”, he added, calling for greater support of the Mediterranean countries, which receive most irregular migrants trying to enter the […]