Integration councils represent the rights of migrants and non-Germans; everyone can vote, regardless of citizenship. In Cologne, a member of the Polish-German community has been elected for the first time.
A group of over 120 migrants, including sick children, has arrived in Germany from the Greek islands. Meanwhile, the German interior minister is warning that further offers to take in migrants from the overcrowded camps would encourage more immigration.
Italian Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio has announced that Italy must "forge an agreement on migratory cooperation with Tunisia" following the "Albanian model" from the late 1990s-early 2000s to control migration flows. The agreement with Albania enabled Italy to stop, seize and sink boats used for crossings.
Germany saw a 2.1% increase in the population with a migrant background in 2019, though the rate of increase was the least rapid since 2011. The largest group hails from Turkey, around one in three are from the EU.
The number of high-skilled workers who have immigrated to Germany with the EU Blue Card further increased last year. Compared to 2018, close to 15% more non-EU residents arrived in Germany last year.
Tunisia has begun its first census on immigration. The census aims to help define the country's migration policies, the Tunisian statistics institute has announced.
In just one month, the number of migrants living in the Aubervilliers camp in the Paris region has more than doubled, from 400 in mid-June to around 1,000 in mid-July. While arrivals are expected to continue over the next few weeks, NGOs denounce the failure of the French reception system.
An employment association, Domina Observatory, in Italy said that legalization of foreign domestic workers and home carers will allow the Italian government to collect a net revenue of at least €160 million annually.
Western Balkan workers are critical to some German industries, but a migration scheme may be greatly reduced. The CDU party wants to starkly reduce the number of Western Balkan workers coming to Germany.
Italy's government coalition continues to be divided on changes to ex-interior minister Matteo Salvini's migrants-security decrees. Salvini's former government coalition partner, the Five-Star Movement (M5S), wants to postpone the issue to September while its current ruling partner, the Democratic Party (PD), is asking to speed up a reform.
In Germany, almost half of first-time participants don’t successfully complete their German language courses. A parliamentary inquiry also showed that the share of those who failed tests has steadily been increasing since 2017.
French authorities insist they had reason to cut back on ADA cards – which give asylum seekers access to benefits – during the COVID-19 lockdown. They also say the right to the ADA has been extended to July because of the health crisis.