Sweden takes over the rotating EU Presidency at the beginning of the new year. After a new government took power in October promising to get tougher on immigration, could those attitudes spill over into European policy next year?
Idris Hassan is an Iraqi Kurd. He arrived in Sicily in July 2022. Before that, he claims never to have been to Italy. He was living and working in Sweden, as a chef, before he was deported to Italy. His story is not the only case like this, say those who work at the reception center where he is living.
The number of deportation orders issued in the European Union is on the rise, according to Eurostat figures. Almost 100,000 people were ordered out of the 27-member bloc in the second quarter of 2022.
The nationalist Sweden Democrats party, lead by Jimmy Akesson, gained around 20% of the vote in Sweden's national elections held Sunday. The reason for this success is largely attributed to Akesson's appeal with an electorate that is disillusioned by the country's traditional parties and considerably less tolerant toward migrants.
The Swedish government has announced it plans to reintroduce checks at its border, as the number of refugees arriving from Ukraine increases.
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.
A special law in Sweden gives young Afghans six months after they finish school to find a job – or return to their home country. The move is part of a tightening of asylum policy.
Norlla Amiri, a refugee in Sweden since he was a child, is the first Afghan to become a professional football player in the Swedish top league. This is his story.
More than 1,500 migrants have illegally entered Germany from Scandinavian nations since the beginning of the year. Politicians are calling for an overhaul of the Dublin regulation to make such secondary migration less attractive.
Left with no other options, Syrians in Europe have taken local chemical companies, overseas banks and technology firms to court, as well as senior Syrian officials and members of terror groups.
Blueberries, redcurrants, cloud berries. Sweden’s forests are full of these tiny jewels growing wild, but the harvest and sorting is hard work. A Deutsche Welle documentary has lifted the lid on the thousands of mostly Thai migrant workers who suffer difficult conditions for the ‘privilege’ of being allowed to work at this job every year.
In an interview with ANSA and other European media outlets, EU Commissioner for Home Affairs Ylva Johansson explained the new migration and asylum pact due to be unveiled on September 23, stressing that nobody will find ideal solutions but rather a well-balanced compromise that will ''improve the situation''.