European Council on Refugees and Exiles (ECRE)

✍ Editorial: EU changing of the guard: Winter (may be) coming   For asylum and migration policy, there is not much good news – but when is there ever?   ➡What has already been determined? While the media has presented von der Leyen’s return as a victory for the centre against the extremes, on the asylum issue, neither she nor the EPP – nor many of its component parts – are centrist.   ➡Fifty shades of right ⚫The new Parliament features right-wing groups of varying shades, along a spectrum starting with the EPP and ending in a very dark place.  ⚫For the progressive groups, the election was not good, but nor was it a disaster.  ⚫In the increasingly fragmented political systems in Europe, centrist liberals have been able to act as power brokers.   ➡In the immediacy, there are five important questions:   ➡Who will be “our” Commissioner? ⚫The appointment of the big four positions was relatively smooth. Apart from von der Leyen herself, they are not bad news for asylum and migration policy. ⚫The next step is the appointment of the college of commissioners, including the selection of the JHA Commissioner, which has to be handled extremely carefully.   ➡Implementing or legislating? ⚫While ECRE did not support the Pact, the conclusion of the reforms means that at least the question of compliance, long neglected, is central and longstanding implementation gaps can be addressed. ⚫In this context, opening up the legal framework again would be a disaster. ⚫There will be pressure from states to change laws so that they do not have to provide international protection.   ➡Will rule of law prevail – consistently? ⚫There are reasons for concern. ⚫Near impunity for states – while NGOs, lawyers, emergency responders, journalists, work is restricted and criminalised.  ⚫The extreme right seeks and benefits from the absence of rule of law – but the centre right could do better at defending it.   ➡How are crises prioritised? ⚫The global political situation is unstable and beset with crises. ⚫Despite these manifest challenges, the extreme right will constantly try to stimulate new European migration crises for its own purposes, and those of its paymasters, including the one in the east.    ➡Will they leave foreign policy alone? ⚫It can be expected that the EPP/VDL-led Commission will continue the strategy of “externalisation”. ⚫All of these gimmicky efforts undermine the real potential for EU external policies to tackle the causes of displacement and also to building international protection where needed.   ➡There are events, crises, developments way beyond the control of Europe’s political leaders. There are also decisions that can be taken, responsibilities assumed, and harm to be avoided – in order to have a positive influence in the fraught area of asylum and migration policy.   ✒ Written by ECRE's Director Catherine Woollard 🔗 Read the full editorial here: https://bit.ly/46cvWYI

📚 The #AIDA Country Report on #Hungary is OUT   ➡️Statistics from 2023 illustrate how severely access to the asylum procedure in Hungary has continued to be hindered by the ongoing ‘embassy procedure’. In 2023, only 28 people managed to apply for asylum in Hungary (compared to 44 in 2022).   ➡️Five Iranian nationals received recommendations to enter Hungary following a two-year court case in which a court ordered the authorities to issue them.   ➡️ More than 100,000 people were pushed back to Serbia, despite a CJEU judgment and five European Court of Human Rights judgments condemning this practice.   ➡️ The Hungarian authorities continued to refuse to implement the Court of Justice of the EU’s (CJEU) judgment that found their system incompatible with EU law.   ➡️There were 33,882 TP beneficiaries in Hungary in 2023 (17% increase from 2022).   ➡️Applicants for TP in 2023 were still unable to access reception conditions until their status had been confirmed, a process which can take up to three months.   👉Notably, they could not receive the subsistence allowance: the only type of financial allowance available under TP. However, unlike in 2022, there were no substantive delays in the implementation of the procedure in 2023.    👉Inclusion into society was also several hindered in 2023 by a lack of Hungarian language courses, including in schools.   👉Finally, TP beneficiaries continued to struggle to access healthcare due to doctors’ lack of knowledge about their rights.   Read the full report here: 🔗https://bit.ly/3Se5GYc

Check out the latest #asylum and #migration job vacancies. Subscribe to #ECREWeekly to receive them in your inbox every Friday afternoon (https://bit.ly/496vOul) ⭐ Equal Legal Aid, Volunteer Lawyer, Thessaloniki, 1 September: https://lnkd.in/daXRizjg ⭐ Fenix - Humanitarian Legal Aid, Legal Officer Volunteer, Lesvos: https://lnkd.in/dg3dvHsB   ⭐ France terre d'asile, Chargé.e de mission – Direction de la Protection des mineurs isolés étrangers, Paris, 5 August: https://lnkd.in/eHdDkTnY ⭐ Norwegian Refugee Council, Global Fundraising Director, Oslo, 24 July: https://lnkd.in/euwSvFiz ⭐ Platform for Undocumented Migrants (PICUM) , Call for Expression of Interest: Participatory Action Research (PAR) with Migrants in Food Supply Chain Labour Markets, The Netherlands, Poland, and Spain, 12 August:  https://lnkd.in/e7BP-XBu   ⭐ Platform for Undocumented Migrants (PICUM), Deputy Director, Brussels, 12 August: https://lnkd.in/eYqQymHB   ⭐ Platform for Undocumented Migrants (PICUM), External Advisor on Supporting Litigation on the EU Migration Pact, 6 September: https://lnkd.in/exXsa4Sx   ⭐ Quaker Council for European Affairs, Consultant, 29 July: https://lnkd.in/djwurD75 ⭐ Right to Remain, Mini-internship – Communications and Administration, London, 21 July: https://lnkd.in/ec2AJzXj ⭐ SOLIDARITYNOW, Δικηγορος (Αντικατασταση), Athens, 21 July: https://lnkd.in/eXN8UUHG ⭐ Scottish Refugee Council, Chair of the Board of Trustees (Scottish Refugee Council), Scotland wide/Hybrid, 31 July: https://lnkd.in/eJWKftkG ⭐ United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Policy Intern, Adjumani, 31 July: https://lnkd.in/eYqtqANn    ⭐ United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Refugee Advisors, 19 July: https://lnkd.in/gqTYEXgX  

📢European Council on Refugees and Exiles (ECRE) and Platform for Undocumented Migrants (PICUM) have published a joint study in which they have analysed the use of the Border Management and Visa Instrument (BMVI) by EU member states (MS).   ➡The study finds that EU funding for border management has been used for infrastructure, equipment, and activities that may pose significant risks to the fundamental rights of people at the EU’s external borders.   ➡The BMVI has an initial budget of €6.2b for the period 2021-2027 to be used at the external borders. The study finds that, to date, MS have received €4b, an increase of 45% compared to the funding they received under the ISF – Borders and Visa Instrument during 2014-2020.   ➡The BMVI increased since 2021 due to a combination of elements. The programme for ️Greece received an additional €620m. Bringing the total amount of funding available for border management activities in Greece to more than €1b despite concerns about fundamental rights abuses.   ➡The EC clarified that funding cannot be used for building walls or fences, as it considers them to be inefficient and disproportionate border control measures. ➡Yet funding can already be used to support a combination of equally disproportionate measures such as...️   ➡Border surveillance technology complementing or replacing physical barriers (e.g. Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland) ➡Vehicles transporting migrants to outposts where pushbacks take place (e.g. Italy, Slovenia, and Austria) ➡Sniffer dogs helping border guards patrol & chase people crossing (e.g. Croatia, Lithuania, Poland, and Spain) etc...   ➡The BMVI can be used to support vulnerable people, UAMs, people in need of international protection, victims of human trafficking, and children. ➡However EU MS are systematically deprioritising activities in the area of assisting and protecting people at borders.   ➡The study concludes that the monitoring and evaluation system, as well as the safeguards against fundamental rights breaches in EU-funded activities are not yet sufficiently developed to ensure proper accountability.   ➡The study ends with a set of recommendations to both the EC and EU MS on the use of BMVI resources, particularly in the context of the implementation of the EU Pact on Migration and Asylum, and the MTR of the programmes that is due to take place by the end of 2024.   ➡Read here: https://lnkd.in/e59EGGJK

Check out the latest #asylum and #migration job vacancies.   Subscribe to #ECREWeekly to receive them in your inbox every Friday afternoon (https://bit.ly/496vOul)   ⭐Fenix - Humanitarian Legal Aid, Legal Officer Volunteer, Lesvos: https://lnkd.in/dg3dvHsB   ⭐France terre d'asile, Chargé.e de mission – Direction de la Protection des mineurs isolés étrangers, Paris, 5 August: https://lnkd.in/eHdDkTnY   ⭐Equal Legal Aid, Volunteer Lawyer, Thessaloniki, 1 September: https://lnkd.in/daXRizjg ⭐#MissionofCanadatotheEuropeanUnion, Program Analyst/Coordinator, Brussels, 21 July: https://lnkd.in/e5xTiGEu   ⭐Norwegian Refugee Council, Global Fundraising Director, Oslo, 24 July: https://lnkd.in/euwSvFiz   ⭐Platform for Undocumented Migrants (PICUM), Deputy Director, Brussels, 12 August: https://lnkd.in/eWHdBQpK   ⭐Quaker Council for European Affairs, Consultant, 29 July: https://lnkd.in/djwurD75   ⭐Right to Remain, Mini-internship – Communications and Administration, London, 21 July: https://lnkd.in/ec2AJzXj   ⭐Scottish Refugee Council, Chair of the Board of Trustees (Scottish Refugee Council), Scotland wide/Hybrid, 31 July: https://lnkd.in/euwSvFiz   ⭐SOLIDARITYNOW, Δικηγορος (Αντικατασταση), Athens, 21 July: https://lnkd.in/dvBxEcar   ⭐UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, Refugee Advisors, 19 July: https://lnkd.in/gqTYEXgX  

📚 The #AIDA Country Report on #Portugal is OUT   ➡️2,992 applications for international protection (including 277 resettlement cases) were registered in Portugal in 2023.    ➡️In the same year, 562 first instance decisions were made and international protection was granted in 404 cases (72% protection rate).   ➡️The Asylum Act was amended three times in 2023 in order to complete the transition from the Immigration and Borders Service (SEF) to the Agency for Integration, Migration and Asylum (AIMA) which began operating on 29 October 2023.   👉Although this reform may have positive outcomes in terms of separating administrative and law enforcement competencies, civil society organisations (CSOs) have highlighted a number of shortcomings, including difficulties in obtaining information regarding AIMA’s procedures. CSOs have also observed gaps in the implementation of the asylum procedure, notably regarding registration and interviews, and AIMA reception conditions.   👉The reforms also shifted the responsibility for the provision of material reception conditions from the Ministry of Internal Administration to the Ministry of Labour, Solidarity and Social Security. CSOs have reported shortcomings in the provision of adequate reception conditions by the AIMA, including lack of information, lack of access to material reception conditions and lack of access to adequate housing, particularly for unaccompanied minors.   ➡️Regarding the detention of asylum seekers, the application of the border procedure was resumed in November 2023 following a suspension that lasted for more than three years. This has resulted in asylum seekers being refused entry and detained in transit zones at Lisbon airport in conditions which have been described as incompatible with human dignity and which have been publicly condemned by Portugal’s national preventive mechanism.   ➡️As of 31 December 2023, Portugal had registered 54,231 TP beneficiaries since March 2022.   Read the full report here: 🔗https://bit.ly/3WjBpK4

📚 The #AIDA Country Report on #Croatia is OUT   ➡️Reports of pushbacks and violent police practices at the border continued to be documented in 2023. According to the Danish Refugee Council (DRC), there were 3,323 reported pushbacks from Croatia to Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH). Of them, 825 people reported being denied access to asylum system.   ➡️In 2023, there were 68,144 applications for international protection (compared to 12,872 in 2022). More than half (35,992) were made at border police stations. However, only 1,783 applications for international protection were then lodged (1,685 new applications and 98 subsequent). This indicates that Croatia continues to be a transit country for most asylum seekers.   ➡️In March 2023, Parliament passed a law to amend the Law on International and Temporary Protection. The amended law, which entered into force on 1 April 2023, introduced a number of important changes to the legislative framework relating to the submission of asylum applications, rules on asylum interviews, strengthening the role of unaccompanied minors’ guardians, broadening the reasons for the restriction of freedom of movement and detention, access to the labour market for asylum seekers and the introduction of humanitarian admission.   ➡️More than 34,000 people were accommodated in reception centres for applicants for international protection in Zagreb and Kutina in 2023.    Read the full report here: 🔗https://bit.ly/462g7Ud

📚 The #AIDA Country Report on #Switzerland is OUT   ➡️In 2023, 30,223 people applied for asylum in Switzerland, an increase of over 20% compared to 2022.    👉The main countries of origin were Afghanistan, Türkiye, Eritrea, Algeria and Morocco.   ➡️More than 10% of new asylum applicants were unaccompanied minors.   ➡️The State Secretariat for Migration (SEM) issued 26,667 asylum decisions at first instance.   ➡️The overall protection rate was 39.3%, rising to 78.4% when only in-merit decisions are considered.   ➡️There were 15,567 number of pending cases at first instance at the end of 2023.   👉In addition, 23,012 people from Ukraine applied for Status S in Switzerland in 2023 and 18,375 of them were granted it.   Read the full report here: 🔗bit.ly/4cCZt03

The #AIDA Country Report on #Italy is OUT   ➡️In 2023, 136,826 asylum applications were registered in Italy (compared to 77,200 in 2022) and 164,070 TP permits were issued.    ➡️Of 60,772 first instance asylum decisions, 8% of applicants were granted refugee status, 10% were granted subsidiary protection and 19% were granted a national form of protection (‘protezione speciale’).   ➡️The overall recognition rate in 2023 was 37% (compared to 47% in 2022).    ➡️35,563 requests (including both ‘take charge’ and ‘take back’ requests) were received under the Dublin Regulation’s incoming procedure. At the same time, there were 6,530 requests under the outgoing procedure.   ➡️The ‘Protocol between the Government of the Republic of Italy and the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Albania on Strengthening Cooperation in Migration Matters’ was signed on 6 November 2023 in Rome and ratified through Law 14 on 21 February 2024.   👉The official purpose of the agreement was to strengthen bilateral co-operation between Italy and Albania on the management of migratory flows from third countries through the construction of two centres on Albanian territory under Italian jurisdiction in which migrants who had been rescued in international waters and who should be channelled to border or return procedures would be hosted.   ➡️At the end of 2023, 139,388 asylum seekers and beneficiaries of international protection were being accommodated in national reception centres.    Read the full report here: 🔗https://bit.ly/3xFJ0cr

Thank you to all of the wonderful people of the ECRE member organisations, NGOs, think tanks, academics, EU institutions, and other international organisations who attended the #ECRE_AGC24 (2024 ECRE Annual General Conference) on Thursday 20 June 2024 in #Brussels.🙌   We were blessed to mark #WorldRefugeeDay with so many dedicated individuals and organisations, discussing the future of migration in Europe, and our part in it.✊   Thank you especially to our outstanding speakers and moderators (in order of appearance):   Panel 1 – Tackling Global Displacement ( Europe's role): Tineke Strik Stefan Maier Sadhia R.afi Dr Shepherd Mutsvara Dr.Suad Mohamed   Workshop 1 – Implementing the EU asylum reforms (risks and opportunities): Esther Pozo Vera Luis Cerdán Ortiz-Quintana Olivia Sundberg Diez Catherine Woollard   Workshop 2 – Collaborative advocacy and activism for increased EU-wide resettlement commitments: Maria Voica Flor Didden Meron Ameha Knikman Elie Umukunzi   Workshop 3 – Untangling the EU’s migration partnerships with third countries: Dr Hassan Ould Moctar Hélène Soupios-David  Sylvain Mossou RIMA HASSAN Dr Jean-Pierre Cassarino   Workshop 4 – (De facto) detention in the Common European Asylum System (current and future challenges to ensure fundamental rights compliance): Beth Cachia Dr Galina Cornelisse Claudia Bonamini Sara Kekuš Joost Depotter   Workshop 5 – European Parliament elections (assessment of the results, reflections on civil society campaigns, and plans for next steps): Nikolaj Nielsen Ekram Jalboutt Eva Singer Annette Mbapa Ikongo Ahmad Reshad Jalali   Workshop 6 – Improving standards and safeguards before, during and after age assessment procedures: Table 1: European Lawyers in Lesvos (ELIL) Table 2: Kids in Need of Defense (KIND) Table 3: European Council on Refugees and Exiles (ECRE)/Francesca McClean   Panel 2 – Inclusion of Refugees and Migrants (assessing the EU’s Recent Policy Developments): Evita Armouti Mauro Gagliardi Silsila Mahboub  Andrea Leruste   Closing Remarks: by Colette Meffire See you next year!! 💙💛🧡💜