The German NGO Sea-Eye is in the process of suing the Italian ministry of transport for blocking its search and rescue vessel Alan Kurdi in Sicily. The blockage has been preventing further necessary rescue missions in the Mediterranean, Sea-Eye said.
Between August 2019 and June 2020, Germany gave out almost 6,000 family reunification visas to family members of refugees and those with subsidiary protection in Germany. These numbers remain below the government limit -- partly due to the travel bans during the coronavirus pandemic.
The COVID-19 pandemic threatens to derail Germany's push to integrate its growing migrant population. Largely employed in the services sector, migrants face job loss, isolation and contracting the virus at a higher rate than natives. Foreign nationals even grapple with intensified racism due to the pandemic.
The head of Germany’s most populous state North Rhine Westphalia (NRW) visited the migrant camp Moria on the Greek island of Lesbos on Tuesday. After speaking to organizations working there, Armin Laschet called on the whole EU to "wake up" and said that he had listened to those in despair in the camps.
The German frigate "Hamburg" set sail from Wilhelmshaven in the north of Germany on August 4. It is expected to reach its Mediterranean patrol zone off the Libyan coast by mid-August. The boat will be part of the EU operation Irini, designed to help enforce a UN weapons embargo on Libya in the hope of stabilizing the country.
On the sixth anniversary of the Yazidi genocide at the hand of IS in Iraq, Germany's development minister has called for further commitment for those affected. The Yazidis' central council in Germany, meanwhile, sharply criticized the international community for a lack of willingness to clear up the atrocities.
Two Guineans were injured, one of them critically, in an apparent racially-motivated attack near a known far-right hangout in the central German city of Erfurt. Twelve German nationals were arrested but later freed.
The German interior ministry has halted the plan of the German capital state of Berlin to receive 300 vulnerable refugees from Greece. Officials in Berlin reacted with astonishment and outrage.
After major coronavirus outbreaks at several businesses, German lawmakers are finally considering cracking down on the exploitation of foreign workers.
A rising number of persons with refugee protection in Germany live in private accommodation, with the majority rating their housing situation as satisfactory or better. About three quarters are now housed in urban areas, with more expected to call mid-sized cities their homes in the future.
Germany saw a 2.1% increase in the population with a migrant background in 2019, though the rate of increase was the least rapid since 2011. The largest group hails from Turkey, around one in three are from the EU.
The number of high-skilled workers who have immigrated to Germany with the EU Blue Card further increased last year. Compared to 2018, close to 15% more non-EU residents arrived in Germany last year.