- On March 3, the European Union Asylum Agency published an annual analysis of asylum trends in 2024. In 2024, the Euro-Mediterranean zone observed significant trends in asylum applications. Germany continued to receive the highest number of applications in the EU, although these were down 29% on the previous year. Cyprus maintained its leading position in terms of asylum applications per capita. Spain, Italy and France saw a similar number of applications, representing around 16% of total applications in the EU.
- On February 18, in a joint press release, Migreurop reported that MEPs and several civil society organizations had called for the suspension of European funds allocated to migration management in Libya, following the terrifying discovery of mass graves.
- On February 17, a report by nine human rights organizations stated that at least 120,457 pushbacks were recorded in Europe in 2024, including almost 20,000 on the eastern borders. Specifically, 13,600 pushbacks were recorded in Poland, 5,388 in Latvia and 1,000 in Lithuania. These pushbacks were violent, and people were left to die in dangerous conditions. In this report, the authors denounce the attitude of the European Commission and member states to this violence.
- From February 6 to 11, 2025, the Summit for Action on Artificial Intelligence held in Paris demonstrated the misuse that European countries are making of AI in the field of migration. A case in point is the EU-funded iBorderCtrl project, which aimed to deploy lie detectors based on an analysis of the emotions of a person arriving on European soil. This device was used in some airports in Greece, Hungary and Latvia, but is reportedly no longer in use. However, EDRi (European Digital Rights) doubts this claim.
- The Pushbacks Report 2024 from the organisation 11.11.11, documented 120,457 cases of illegal refoulement at EU borders, with Greece (14,482 cases in the Aegean Sea), Bulgaria (52,534) and Hungary (5,713) among the countries most affected. These practices, often violent (use of dogs, beatings, theft of goods), are in violation of international law. Despite convictions, such as the 200 million euro fine imposed on Hungary by the EU Court of Justice, impunity remains and the criminalization of humanitarians is intensifying. The report calls for tighter controls and an end to these violations.
- Against a backdrop of tightening migration policies in Europe, several countries, including Greece, Poland, Latvia and Lithuania, are facing charges before the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) for practices involving the illegal refoulement of migrants. After Greece, condemned in January for these practices, which contravene international law, Poland, Latvia and Lithuania have justified these measures, despite their illegality under international conventions, notably the Geneva Convention.
