Today, more people believe their community is a welcoming place for migrants, compared to nine years ago, a Gallup survey shows. However, attitudes in the EU have become more divided.
Italy is third among European Union countries for the number of migrants present in the country, following Germany and the UK. That's according to an immigration report by Caritas and Migrantes. The top three nationalities for migrants in Italy are Romanian, Albanian and Moroccan.
Germany's Federal Police reports a slight increase in irregular immigration by airplane. The majority of irregular migrants to Germany coming by air use the Schengen zone as a loophole.
France and Italy have agreed on a new system to distribute migrants across the European Union. It comes ahead of an interior ministers meeting in Malta next week.
Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto slammed the new Italian government's decision to open its ports to private charity ships disembarking migrants rescued at sea. He called the move "deplorable and dangerous" and said the move would create a lasting diplomatic clash between his country and Italy. His Italian counterpart meanwhile called for sanctions for EU member states who refuse to take on migrants under a proposed redistribution scheme.
The European Commission's incoming President Ursula von der Leyen has been coming under fire ever since she announced some of the titles for her new Commissioners. She was in particular criticized for the portfolio she handed to the Commissioner in charge of migration, security, employment and education which she wants to call "Protecting our European Way of Life."
European leaders have already agreed to a massive boost for the border protection agency, Frontex. The incoming head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, wants to bring forward the expansion.
The former mayor of Riace, in southern Italy, Domenico “Mimmo” Lucano has returned to his town. Riace became a symbol of migration under Lucano who was famous for implementing integration policies to help migrants, refugees and asylum seekers. He had been blocked from returning but the Locri Court has now revoked its ban. Upon his return, Lucano was welcomed by a group of refugees.
The decision to give the post of interior minister to bureaucrat, expert and long-standing ministry official Luciana Lamorgese could be read as a sign that Italian migration policy is about to change. Could her appointment be a break from the policies pushed hard by outgoing minister Matteo Salvini?
Last year, the European Union planned to introduce reforms to its migration policies, aimed at gaining better control over the migration situation into Europe. What's left of all those plans one year on?
A lawmaker from Angela Merkel's conservative party is under fire for saying migrant children who lack sufficient German language skills shouldn't enter primary school. Critics say he is pandering to right-wing populists.
While climate change is growing in the public conscience, migration is still the major issue for more EU citizens, according to the results of the European Commission's biannual Eurobarometer public opinion survey.