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.
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.
The Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund (AMIF) -- which is part of the EU financial framework for 2021-2027 -- will amount to 9.882 billion euros in current prices. The announcement came after a deal was reached by the European Parliament and the European Council.
Greece has announced that 7,200 migrants stuck in temporary accommodation since the blaze at the Moria camp in September will be moved to permanent accommodation by September 2021. The European Commission will support the Greek government with the building project.
Greece, Italy, Malta and Spain say that the new migration pact – as proposed by the European Commission – fails to do enough to systemically redistribute new migrants arriving in the southern EU member states. The four Mediterranean countries expressed their demands in a discussion paper seen by the German news agency dpa.
The European Commission has announced a new plan to help countries better integrate migrants. The plan is aimed at fostering migrants' sense of belonging and fighting an 'us and them' narrative.
At a high-level conference on migration on November 19, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen underscored that Italy, Greece, and Spain are concerned that they do not have the capacity to deal with migration flows and that they need help from other European countries.
Has the European Commission failed to protect migrants from abuses by Croatian border forces? After Amnesty International filed a complaint, an inquiry into this matter has been opened.
Ylva Johansson, the EU commissioner for home affairs, has expressed concern about the growing number of migrants arriving on the Spain's Canary Islands. Local authorities want more help from Madrid and Brussels while rights groups are calling for the evacuation of the overcrowded port camp on Gran Canaria.
The European Commission will take legal action against Hungary once more following the country’s most recent transgression against EU-wide asylum standards. Brussels announced on Friday that it will initiate infringement proceedings shortly over Hungary's "incorrect application of EU asylum legislation."
UN refugee chief Filipp Grandi has called on countries to be more generous in taking in people in need of protection. Grandi also lambasted governments for their xenophobic tendencies, which he said must not dominate asylum policy.
There have been mixed reactions to the new EU pact on migration. The European Commission sought consensus ahead of the pact in order to pass the policy into law even through countries which had been resisting the idea of mandatory quotas. Many human rights organizations though have slammed the proposals.