Author: RACHAEL ADEEGBE

France has announced that it will extend its internal border controls until April 30, 2025, citing ongoing terrorist threats and issues related to irregular migration. The French government has informed the European Commission that controls at its borders with six neighbouring Schengen countries—Belgium, Spain, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Germany, and Italy—will continue beyond the initial end date of October 31, 2024. Instead of ending the current measure, a new one will begin on November 1, 2024, ensuring that border controls remain in place. French authorities have expressed concerns about serious threats to public safety, including terrorism, organized criminal networks that facilitate irregular…

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni is in a difficult situation as she tries to save her controversial plan to manage irregular migrants by housing them in centers in Albania. The plan was recently blocked by Italian courts, which ordered the first group of migrants sent to Albania to be transported back to Italy. This court decision creates big problems for Meloni’s efforts to control migration in a new way, modeled to solve a long-standing issue in Italy and potentially in Europe. Meloni’s promise to reduce the number of migrants arriving in Italy through tough measures has faced many difficulties since…

Italy’s new plan to send migrants to Albania has hit a major problem after judges ruled against it. The deal, made by Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama, was supposed to help Italy manage the large number of migrants arriving from the Mediterranean. Under the plan, Italy would send male migrants to Albania while their asylum claims were processed by Italian judges. However, this plan is now facing serious legal issues after the court’s decision. Italy has been one of the main countries in Europe dealing with a huge number of migrants crossing the Mediterranean…

A migrant camp near the Serbia-Hungary border has been cleared, according to reports, easing the growing migration pressure on both countries. For years, the abandoned Kárász farm near Horgos, Serbia, served as a gathering spot for hundreds of migrants, mostly from the Middle East and Africa. However, with increased cooperation between Serbian and Hungarian authorities, the camp has been emptied, and the migrants were relocated to official camps elsewhere in Serbia. Serbian law enforcement agents began regular visits to the farm about a year ago, relocating migrants to camps in Kikinda and Preševo, both cities near the Romanian and North…

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has called on the European Union to revisit its migrant return policy, urging for a more effective system that ensures migrants are sent back to their countries of origin, rather than to their point of entry. Speaking ahead of the European Council summit in Brussels, Mitsotakis highlighted that migration would be a key topic on the agenda, with a need to improve the current strategy. Mitsotakis expressed Greece’s concerns about the existing regulations, which often result in migrants being returned to Greece, the country of entry for many asylum seekers. He stated that Athens plans…

The UK government is set to grant refugee status to over 62,000 migrants as it works to clear a significant backlog of asylum claims. The Refugee Council reports that the number of pending asylum applications could reach 118,063 by January. This increase comes as Labour has abandoned its plans to send migrants to Rwanda and has resumed processing asylum requests. According to the migrant charity’s analysis, based on official data and grant rates from the past year, around 62,801 additional people could be recognized as refugees. This implies that the backlog at the beginning of next year could be 59,000…

In a remarkable act of bravery, a Turkish captain has rescued 78 irregular migrants stranded in the Ionian Sea. These individuals, who had embarked on a journey to reach Europe, found themselves adrift after their captain abandoned the boat. On the morning of October 14, Turkish captain Ufuk Akdağ received a distress call from the stranded boat, located just 20 minutes away from his ship. “At 2:20 a.m., we were alerted to the situation and quickly mobilized for a rescue mission,” Akdağ recalled. His crew swiftly reached the migrants, providing essential first aid, food, drinks, and blankets. Among the migrants…

Mauritania has become a critical buffer for Europe, facing a massive influx of migrants attempting to reach the Canary Islands through the Atlantic route. Lemine Katthary, president of the Atlas-Sahel Observatory, revealed that over a million irregular migrants are in the country, many of whom aim to reach Europe. Mauritania, with its extensive borders, struggles to manage this crisis amid increasing pressures from organized crime groups. The rise in migrant numbers is a result of coordinated efforts by criminal networks operating in the Sahel and sub-Saharan Africa, targeting Mauritania’s coast as a gateway to Europe. These groups exploit the vulnerabilities…

A recent investigation by Lighthouse Reports, along with international media outlets, has accused Turkey of violating the rights of refugees and migrants in EU-funded deportation centers. The report alleges that Syrians and Afghans have been forced into signing documents for voluntary repatriation and deported under dangerous conditions to war-torn countries like Syria and Afghanistan. The European Union has denied these claims. The report, co-published by media outlets such as El País, Der Spiegel, Le Monde, and L’Espresso, highlighted allegations of systematic abuses, including beatings, lack of legal aid, overcrowding, and poor sanitary conditions in these centers. Lighthouse Reports noted that…

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has described the recent agreement with Albania to process migrants outside the European Union as a “courageous” move. Italy is the first EU nation to create migrant processing centers beyond its borders, aiming to manage the influx of people arriving from North Africa more effectively. In a speech to Italy’s Senate, Meloni said the decision represents a bold and unprecedented step. “It perfectly reflects the European spirit and should be a model for other non-EU nations,” she explained. Her comments came just a day after the first group of migrants was transferred from Italy to…