Syrian migrants rescued off Albanian coast
On Saturday, news agencies reported that 55 Syrian migrants had been brought back to land after hours on a boat in rough seas. The Syrians had been attempting to reach Italy.
Albania
UK prosecutors drop charges against 69 Albanian migrants
The UK Home Office charged 69 Albanian migrants in November this year with "illegally entering the country" on a boat. Now it has transpired that the boat was intercepted before they reached the UK and so the charges have been dropped.
Coronavirus: Albanian migrant workers blocked at Greek border
Thousands of Albanians who work in Greece have been unable to re-enter the country. New anti-coronavirus rules imposed by Athens require them to be COVID-tested three days before they are allowed across the border.
More than 80,000 applications for migrant regularization in Italy
A total of 80,366 applications for migrant regularization in Italy have been submitted in the first month of the scheme, which began on June 1 as part of post-COVID-19 relaunch measures. The vast majority of the cases have already been processed. However, the Italian interior ministry said the number of applications is continually growing.
Police target human trafficking network in raids across Germany
German police have raided 26 premises across the country on Wednesday during an operation to dismantle human trafficking rings. Three suspects have been detained, who are alleged to have links to a criminal group run by a 65-year-old Kosovan national, who was also arrested.
Germany: Merkel's CDU eyes Western Balkans immigration curbs amid coronavirus
Western Balkan workers are critical to some German industries, but a migration scheme may be greatly reduced. The CDU party wants to starkly reduce the number of Western Balkan workers coming to Germany.
Migrants in Albania: Begging for food, hiding from violence
According to an investigation by the magazine Balkan Insight, increasing numbers of migrants in Albania are being left hungry and frightened in state-run facilities. They are reduced to begging on the streets to get by.
Interpol deals blow to trafficking and smuggling rings in Balkans
Over 200 suspected traffickers and migrant smugglers have been arrested in an Interpol-led operation. Victims of the rings came from 14 different countries.
Even in the EU, children suffer in immigration detention
A global study by the United Nations has called on countries to end the detention of child migrants. Hundreds of thousands of children are held in immigration detention in more than 80 countries worldwide. The study claims this violates children's rights and does serious harm to their physical and mental health.
Germany has deported 17,000 people so far in 2019
Since the beginning of the year, Germany has deported nearly 17,000 people. The vast majority of them were moved to to EU countries, following the Dublin Regulation.
Albanian ship rescues 111 migrants in Aegean water
Albania's Defense Ministry said that one of its ships in the Aegean Sea has rescued 111 migrants. The migrants were trying to cross into Greece from Turkey and have since been handed over to Turkish authorities.
European police on Albania border to stem migrant flows
Two months ago, the EU border and coastguard police Frontex deployed 50 officers to the Greek-Albanian border to intercept migrants headed north. So far, migrants have been apprehended on a daily basis, Frontex says.