Hundreds of migrants have been picked up in the Mediterranean this month and sent back to Libya. All the migrants were taken to detention centers, where the UN migration agency IOM has warned they are at increased risk of human trafficking.
EU figures estimate that 6.9 million children in Europe reside in a country different from the one on their passport. Around two-thirds of these hail from outside the bloc. The figures are rising, albeit not that fast.
The European Asylum Support Office (EASO) will deploy up to 2,000 personnel to Greece, Cyprus, Italy and Malta in 2020 to support national authorities with asylum and reception. While support to Greece will double compared to 2019, support to Italy will be decreased as the country faces less workload within first instance asylum procedures.
Croatia has assumed the six-month rotating presidency of the EU Council -- for the first time. The youngest EU member state is having a chance to prove itself on the world stage amid serious allegations of migrant abuse at its borders.
A Eurobarometer survey has found that over a third of all Italians felt that immigration is the most important issue for the EU to deal with. In contrast to other EU citizens, Italians seemed less convinced of the need to introduce a common EU-wide asylum system.
Despite the falling numbers, the country still logs the largest share of all EU asylum claims. Around a quarter of asylum requests in the bloc this year were filed in Germany.
A total of 392 migrants have been relocated to other European countries by request of the Italian government since September. The most recent transfer took place just before the Christmas period on December 20, when 132 migrants were relocated to Germany.
Eurostat said the EU has experienced a 12% increase in first asylum requests in the third quarter of 2019 - compared to numbers from the previous quarter. For the first time, asylum seekers from Venezuela are in the top three of nationalities submitting asylum requests.
Cyprus will harden its border with the Turkish-controlled northern part of the island known as the Green Line. The move is intended to stop people from crossing into the south to claim asylum there.
Over the past eight years, Italy has granted the lowest number of work permits to foreigners in the European Union. This has contributed to an increase in illegal immigration, said representatives from the Foundation Leone Moressa during a recent hearing in the Italian Lower House.
A new study concludes that Afghans deported from Germany and EU countries are at risk of death, economic hardship and radicalization. The government is seeking to streamline deportations in 2020.
Libya's coast guard has reportedly intercepted more than 430 Europe-bound migrants in the past week. The UN has meanwhile voiced alarm over the escalating situation in the country and how it affects migrants and refugees.