The Finnish government has declared it will commence building a 200-kilometer fence on its border with Russia. Finland says the war in Ukraine has fundamentally changed its security situation, and fears Moscow could use migrant flows at the border to exert political pressure on the country.
New barbed wire fences are being erected across Europe’s eastern borders. Many of these barriers are between the EU and Russia or Russian-friendly states like Belarus, following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. But they also stop migrants and asylum seekers from entering the bloc.
Finnish authorities report a record number of people seeking protection in the country after Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Hundreds of migrants are still being intercepted daily along the Poland-Belarus border while trying to reach the European Union. Many of the smugglers meanwhile have been found to be residing in Germany.
Some Middle Eastern passengers will no longer be able to purchase tickets for, or board Belavia flights from Turkey to Belarus. In Poland far-right nationalists march in Warsaw, protesting the build-up of migrants on the border; and Finland reports 30 migrant arrivals from Belarus.
Sweden is stopping all deportations to Afghanistan, citing the deteriorating security situation in the country. It comes after Finland last week became the first European country to announce a freeze on forced returns.
Finland is the latest EU country to announce it is preparing to fly about 100 unaccompanied children from overcrowded camps on the Greek islands to the capital Helsinki.
The Finnish government has announced it will take in 175 vulnerable asylum seekers from various camps in Greece, Italy, Cyprus and Malta. It hopes its gesture will help to "alleviate the humanitarian situation," in the Mediterranean region.
The H&M Group, known in many parts of the world for its fast-fashion clothing, has pledged to promote the ethical recruitment and protection of migrant workers in global supply chains. The multinational company last week signed a memorandum of understanding with UN agency International Organization for Migration (IOM).
A Russian man has been charged with fraud after he constructed a false border post near the Russian border with Finland. Border control authorities said he received 10,000 euros from four South Asian migrants after promising to smuggle them into the EU.
Each individual country in Europe has its own set of rules to naturalize into the country. No matter where you end up, it will take years and some money. In part 2, InfoMigrants takes a look at Poland, Finland, Greece, Slovakia, Slovenia, Hungary and Luxembourg.
After a survey highlighting that healthcare operators and social workers have a hard time identifying human trafficking victims, the Finnish office of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) has recently published a document with a number of practical guidelines to identify those being trafficked.