In the lead up to the European Parliament Elections, the German politician Manfred Weber has promised Bulgarians tight measures against illegal migration. Bulgaria was a critical part of the Balkan route at the height of the migrant crisis.
UNICEF said that in the first three months of 2019, 3,800 children arrived in Europe by sea and that one in every four migrant arrivals was a minor. In 2018, the figure was one in every five arrivals.
Although Pope Francis wants the Balkan nation to open its hearts and homes to migrants, there is considerable opposition to refugees in Bulgaria. Ties with the Catholic Church are also not warm.
It has become increasingly difficult for refugees to make their way from Greece to Central Europe. Even in the face of police violence and the risk of arrest, thousands still embark on the dangerous journey.
Bulgaria's interior minister has announced that security has been tightened along the southern border of the country. Meanwhile, the Bosnian government says that if European borders remain 'hermetically closed' to migrants, Bosnia will also close its eastern and southern borders.
The new prostitute protection law in Germany was meant to identify victims of human trafficking – most of them migrant women. More than 18 months after the law came into effect, thousands continue to be targeted for exploitation, and the risk for Nigerian women seems to be increasing.
EU member states are expected to increase detention center capacity and step up migrant deportations, in line with a request from the European Commission.
A report says just over half of Italians think migrants are more a problem than an opportunity. The survey suggests that in Europe, the populations in Hungary, Malta and Greece are most hostile to immigration, with the Swedes at the other end of the scale.
On December 7, 2017, the European Court of Human Rights found that Bulgarian authorities had held the children of an Iraqi refugee family in unacceptable conditions. Infomigrants looks at the rights of children who are held in administrative detention.
A video game called 'Bury me, my love' traces the steps of refugees from Syria to Europe. The number of attacks on migrant shelters in Germany has decreased this year. And a photograph of a Syrian refugee child wins the UNICEF Photo of the Year Award 2017.
The UN refugee agency has presented a number of recommendations as Bulgaria takes over the presidency of the Council of the European Union. These include calls for the reformed Dublin system to include a solidarity mechanism within the EU entailing the relocation of asylum-seekers" as well as the strengthening of "legal pathways" for refugees to arrive in Europe.
A new Doctors Without Borders report, called Games of Violence, highlights the brutal treatment of migrant children by border authorities in the Balkans.