November 18, 2017
Politics, Refugees
The municipality of Lesvos has called for a general strike on Monday, November 20 2017, to protest the overcrowded accommodation centers and the living conditions for the thousands of refugees and migrants stuck on the island of the Eastern Aegean Sea. Public services, clinics, shops and pharmacies will remain closed. …
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September 6, 2017
World
The European Court of Justice (ECJ) on Wednesday dismissed a challenge by Slovakia and Hungary against the EU’s relocation policy for asylum seekers, upholding the EU’s right to oblige member countries to take in refugees. In response to the migration crisis that hit Europe in the summer of 2015, the …
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August 7, 2017
Greece
Migration Minister Yiannis Mouzalas has confirmed that Germany will start returning newly-arrived asylum seekers to Greece, effectively ending a five-year suspension of such transfers due to the poor conditions in the debt-hit country. In an interview with German public television station ARD show “Report Mainz,” due to be aired on …
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July 25, 2017
Refugees
Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) has released a new report highlighting the drastic deterioration of the care and protection for vulnerable people in Lesbos, Greece, who have fled from violence and wars in Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan and suffer from post-war psychological trauma. “Vulnerable people are falling through the cracks and are …
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July 18, 2017
Refugees
Migrants clashed with police in and around the hot spot Moria on the island of Lesvos on Tuesday after they staged a protest about the poor living conditions and delays in asylum procedures. According to local media, the protest was staged by a group of African migrants, who set gabrage …
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June 7, 2017
Politics, Turkey-GR
A Human Rights institute in Sweden accuses Greece of breach of European and International laws by sending back Turkish citizens seeking asylum in an effort to escape the purge by the country’s political leadership. According to allegations, the Greek government has started to apply these practices “as of mid-May”. The …
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April 25, 2017
Refugees
EU countries would get €60,000 for every asylum seeker they take in above their EU-set quota as part of a plan drawn up the government of Malta that currently holds the rotating presidency of the Council of Europe. The government of the island state believes that financial incentives will persuade EU …
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April 1, 2017
Refugees
The International Migration Organization and Greece have reportedly laid a plan with additional financial incentives to rejected asylum seekers. According to German magazine Der Spiegel, the incentives are thought in order to discourage asylum seekers from appealing the decision and stay longer in the country. The cash grant is double …
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March 23, 2017
Politics, Refugees
Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias sent a strong message to the European Union partners: “Greece will not take back refugees from northern Europe,” he said adding that “a new wave this summer would overwhelm us.” In an interview to German daily Die Welt, Kotzias said Greece does not have the capacity …
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March 15, 2017
Politics, Refugees
The EU Turkey deal has trapped thousands of people in abysmal conditions on the Greek islands for the past year, while denying most access to asylum procedures and refugees protection, Human Rights Watch said today. This assessment of conditions is released ahead of the first anniversary of the agreement, signed on March …
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March 1, 2017
Politics
Austrian authorities would not have to provide food and accommodation to migrants who are denied asylum and refuse to leave the country, under a draft law approved by the government Tuesday. The bill aims at encouraging asylum seekers to leave voluntarily. “The first thing is basically that they don’t get anything from the …
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February 23, 2017
Politics, Turkey-GR
Two Turkish soldiers fled to Greece and sought asylum, amid increased tension between the two neighboring countries, after the Supreme Court rejected the extradition of 8 Turkish soldiers. However, this case seems quite different as the two are allegedly members of the special forces unit that attempted to assassinate Turkish …
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February 11, 2017
Very Mix
The relocation scheme of the European Union has blatantly failed. From the target of 6,000 relocations per month, less than 13,000 people have been relocated form Greece to other EU-member countries within the whole year 2016. According to data released by the Relocation Unit of the Asylum Service, the total …
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January 17, 2017
Politics, Refugees, Very Mix
European countries deliberately delaying the program of refugees’ relocation, while at the same time want to send more than 4,000 asylum seekers back to Greece. According to Director of Greece’s Asylum Service, Maria Stavropoulou, there are currently 4,415 requests from European countries (mainly Hungary) that want to return refugees back …
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January 12, 2017
Politics, Refugees
The government in Germany brings back plans to have refugees sent back to Greece. The “news” comes at a time, when the extreme bad weather conditions have exposed the inhuman conditions thousands of refugees and migrants experience in Greece. But also at a time, when negotiations between Greece and its …
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October 2, 2016
Politics
Germany wants to reinstate EU rules, the so-called Dublin regulation, which obliges asylum seekers to be sent back to Greece as the first EU country they reached, Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere said in an interview. Due to deficiencies in Greece’s asylum processing system and the large number of migrants …
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June 20, 2016
Politics
On June 9th, the Lawyers Association of Mitilini (Lesvos) sued the European Asylum Support Office (EASO) for obstructing access to asylum proceedings by its members. The lawyers claim that EASO officials and private security guards are prohibiting access to specific areas of the holding centers, also called hotspots, that host …
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April 5, 2016
Politics
Below is a Summary of Greece’s New Asylum Legislation voted last week. The Legislation was approved by the Greek Parliament in order to facilitate the implementation of Eu Turkey Deal. The Bill contains important charges for asylum seekers. Summary in English Greece’s New Asylum Legislation: What Will Change? April 4, …
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November 22, 2015
Refugees, Very Mix
More than 2,000 refugees have been trapped in Northern Greece after FYROM authorities closed the boarders and allow only refugees from Syria, Afhanistan and Iraq to cross Skopje. Holders of passports from other countries are not allowed to cross to FYROM and from there to head towards Central and North …
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April 29, 2014
Refugees, Very Mix
“The European Union must sanction Greece for its widespread practice of pushing back refugees and migrants,” said Amnesty International in its “Greece: Frontier of hope and fear”” published on Tuesday. According to AI, with this practice Greece violates its international human rights obligations and urges the EU to use its …
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