The Greek government has called on the European Union to help ensure the return of 1,450 failed asylum seekers currently in camps on the Greek Islands to Turkey "on the basis of the EU-Turkey deal".
Over the weekend, more than 150 migrants arrived in the UK after attempting to cross the Channel between mainland Europe and Britain. More than 50 were arrested by French authorities and brought back to France. In 2020, more than 9,500 made it across the water -- the numbers more than quadrupled on 2019 figures.
The number of asylum applications in Germany continues to decrease. According to the German interior ministry, there were over 30% fewer applications last year than 2019.
Portugal has started talks with other EU member states about the bloc's proposed asylum and migration pact. The aim is to find common ground and overcome differences, a statement from the Portuguese interior ministry said.
In Paris, young Afghans who lived in a now dismantled makeshift migrant camp are being temporarily sheltered in an exhibition hall. Although the premises are heated and have relaxation areas, the migrants lack medical attention, according to NGO workers.
Italian and foreign nationals have equal rights to access social services, a ruling by Milan's appeals court has confirmed. The case made national headlines after migrant children in the city of Lodi were effectively barred from eating at their school canteen.
Germany has begun vaccinating against COVID-19. Asylum seekers living in accommodation centers will be in the second group to receive the vaccine.
The UN migration agency IOM has helped to relocate 270 migrants from Malta to other European countries this year. More than eight times as many arrived on the island in the past 12 months.
Three Greek border guards and one policemen were charged with assaulting asylum seekers on Lesbos. The officials were charged on Saturday after an internal investigation from Athens. They have been released pending trial.
The year 2020 is not yet over, but already the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) has estimated that the number of the forcibly displaced "surpassed 80 million at mid-year." This is according to a report on trends in global forced displacement released on December 9.
In the early hours of Tuesday, German media reported that 56 migrants were left by the side of the motorway in snowy south-eastern Germany, not far from the Czech border.
The European Asylum Support Office (EASO) has published its latest analysis of the most recent asylum trends in Europe. In addition to COVID-19 related issues, EASO also highlighted a surge of asylum seekers coming to the EU from Belarus.