Latest Migration News
On the move
Recent highlights
Since the beginning of the year, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) has reported that 129 people have died in the Mediterranean Sea, trying to reach Europe. If the Mediterranean sea routes are deadly, so are European policies. On February 17, a report by nine human rights organizations revealed that at least 120,457 “pushbacks” were recorded in Europe in 2024. In the Atlantic, the Canary route also continues to claim many victims. In February 2025, Mauritanian authorities found nine bodies off the coast of Nouadhibou, a departure point for migrant boats heading for the Canary Islands.
Over the month of February, the Eastern Mediterranean route saw a significant increase in migratory crossings. On February 27, 350 migrants reached the Greek island of Gavdos, the highest number of arrivals on this small island in a single day.
Shipwrecks in the central Mediterranean continue to multiply. On February 11, 16 people from Pakistan were found dead off the coast of the Libyan town of Zaoula when their boat sank. A total of 63 people were on board, and only 37 survived. One person has been hospitalized, 33 are in “police custody” and ten other passengers are missing.
Positive News
- On the 07th of January 2025, the European Court of Human Rights delivered its ruling in the case of R.E v. Greece. In 2019, the Greek authorities pushed back an asylum seeker in the Evros region. Greece was condemned for deporting this Turkish citizen to her country of origin, without first examining her application for international protection. The judgment also states that her arrest and detention were legally unjustified and notes the degrading treatment suffered by the applicant. The work of lawyers from the Greek Council of Refugees was indispensable in this victory, which recognizes the systematic nature of the refoulement of migrants and refugees.
- On the 30th of December 2024, Algeria released 60 young Moroccans imprisoned for “irregular” migration. In a context of diplomatic tensions and closed borders, these young people were repatriated. The Moroccan Association for the Assistance of Migrants in Vulnerable Situations is following the case of 480 migrants still in prison or missing.
EU updates
The European Commission is preparing a reform of the EU’s return system to speed up the removal of rejected asylum seekers. The plan, to be unveiled on March 11, includes tough measures against migrants and aims to strengthen the enforcement of expulsion decisions. At the same time, the EU is exploring “return hubs” in third countries, despite legal challenges and human rights concerns. Migration Commissioner Magnus Brunner said : ‘Europe needs effective and modern procedures for returning rejected asylum seekers and visa violators. Without these procedures, we compromise the credibility and viability of the entire immigration and asylum system’.
- On 5 March, EU interior ministers met to discuss migration. On the agenda were the concept of ‘control visits’, allowing Syrians to travel temporarily to their country of origin to assess their options, without losing their visa rights in their adopted country, and the introduction of a new entry and exit system for foreign nationals travelling to 29 European countries. These new border control systems, which are already in place at certain European airports, are the most visible manifestation of the means put in place by Europe to strengthen security at its borders.
Countries
Return Mania
Mapping policies and practices in the EuroMed region
The research provides an overview of the current return policies and practices in the Euro-Mediterranean region and sheds a light on the violations of human rights entailed by this “return obsession”, which is shared across Member States, EU institutions and third countries alike. The report covers national return policies and practices in the Mashreq and Maghreb regions, focusing on returns from Turkey and Lebanon to Syria, and on readmission agreements between Italy and Tunisia, Spain and Morocco as well as France and Morocco. It also looks at returns from Germany and Italy to Egypt. Read More