On March 11, 2024, in Madrid, despite pressure from CSOs, various criticisms and proven deviance from Frontex, the European Commissioner for Migration Ylva Johansson said that she was “satisfied” with the functioning of the agency.
On March 07, 2024, the European Commissioner for Migration Ylva Johansson, the Belgian Secretary of State for Asylum and Migration, Nicole de Moor, and the Spanish Minister of the Interior Fernando Grande-Marlaska signed a partnership with Mauritania. Faced with the increasing arrival of migrants in the Canary Islands, the EU has announced the funding and equipment of the Mauritanian coast guard in collaboration with Frontex.
On March 06, 2024, at the Congress of the European People’s Party in Bucharest, the party’s manifesto was unveiled with the support of the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen. One of the goals of this perilous programme is the deportation of asylum seekers in Europe to third countries. This is reminiscent of the policy of externalising asylum claims to Rwanda that the UK government is trying to execute.
On the 4th and 5th March 2024, a meeting of the Justice and Home Affairs Council took place. In particular, the ministers discussed the role of “smugglers” in migratory mobility.
On March 04, 2024, due to a minority deadlock, the Belgian Presidency of the Council of the EU decided to close negotiations on persons from third countries in an irregular situation. This decision halts, among other things, efforts to ease procedures for access to long-stay residence permits in the EU.
On February 28, 2024, the EU Ombudsman, Emily O’Reilly, blamed Frontex for its recurrent malfunctions that have caused preventable deaths in the Mediterranean Sea. O’Reilly has called on EU lawmakers to set up an independent commission of inquiry as a prelude to the reform of Frontex.
On February 28, 2024, the European Union Agency for Asylum published its figures for 2023. It notes a grow of 1.14 million asylum applications in the EU, with an increase of 18% compared to 2022. This is the highest figure since 2016. People of Syrian, Afghan and Turkish origin are at the top of the list of nationals applying for international protection. The agency also notes a drastic increase in the number of Palestinian cases.
On February 26, 2024, the Council of the EU reached an agreement to reform police cooperation policy. A first part of the new regulation will allow police in EU member states to access DNA data, fingerprints, facial images and other surveillance tools available to other member states. A second component will allow, if national legislation permits it, access to databases for the identification of missing persons.
On February 26, 2024, as the number of drownings in the Channel Channel in 2023 doubled, a group of NGOs criticised the new agreement signed between the British authorities, Frontex Director General Hans Leijtens and EU Migration Commissioner Ylva Johansson. Various spokespersons for these NGOs have denounced the repetitive violations of international law by Frontex and the British institutions as well as the endangerment of the lives of migrants that this agreement between the United Kingdom and the European Union entails.
On February 21, 2024, research was relayed by PICUM which shows that irregular migrants in Europe are more often affected by depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder. This is further evidence that exclusion, persecution, and long-term exposure to precariousness weaken the mental health of people on the move.
In February 2024, a thorough, rigorous and detailed MSF report on the multi-causal and multi-form violence suffered by people in migration situations was published. In particular, the medical and humanitarian organisation denounces European migration policies that seriously harm the health, safety and dignity of these people.
In February 2024, the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights published his recommendations on the defence of the right to asylum. The document also highlights the pressures faced by civil society actors committed to the protection of human rights.
The European Court of Human Rights has published its 2023 annual report. This document, accessible and free of charge, reviews the case law and highlights the judicial activities of this high institution often called upon to rule on disputes relating to human mobility.
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