EU countries are considering withdrawing trade privileges from partner countries that refuse to take back failed asylum seekers. Rights groups say the proposal uses trade as economic blackmail to control migration.
Italian Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi met his Egyptian counterpart Mahmoud Tawfik in Cairo last week to discuss cooperation between the two countries, including on efforts to stem irregular migration.
The UK government has introduced a new law – dubbed the 'Small Boats Bill' – which would criminalize migrants arriving via the English Channel. Critics say the proposals will not deter people from attempting the crossing.
Germany's center-right alliance has asked Berlin to slow down irregular migrant entries and to speed up asylum decision and deportation processes. One politician criticized the CDU/CSU parliamentary group for making such a demand just after more than 60 migrants lost their lives at sea off the coast of Italy.
An acute economic crisis, rising food insecurity and a lack of jobs are forcing many Pakistanis to embark on dangerous journeys to reach Europe.
Latvia and Lithuania have agreed to boost bilateral cooperation at the border with Russia and Belarus to stop steady numbers of irregular migrants crossing their borders. The two Baltic states consider the migrant flow as a hybrid war tool used by Moscow, in cooperation with Minsk.
The EU has managed to decide on a series of new policies aimed at curbing irregular migration. However, the impact of those policies is likely going to be limited, with the focus on economic migration rather than addressing the root causes of migration.
According to Germany’s new Special Commissioner for Migration Joachim Stamp, the German government plans to asses its options for transferring asylum procedures to the African continent. Meanwhile, Chancellor Olaf Scholz wants the government to also focus on deportations of people with no right to remain in the country.
The Czech Republic has announced that it will end conducting border controls with neighboring Slovakia, which had been introduced in a bid to control irregular migration patterns. But elsewhere in the bloc, border controls remain on high alert.
Ursula von der Leyen has called on EU member states and partner nations to strengthen solidarity and coordination in their fight against irregular migration. She also urged countries to increase the number of repatriations of irregular migrants, and to step up their border management capabilities – particularly at the Turkish-Bulgarian border.
The Swiss People's Party has declared it wants to "put a stop" to what it calls "disproportionate and harmful" immigration. The right-wing party hopes to set up transit zones abroad to prevent "illegal entries."
Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani has told a hearing of the joint committees of foreign affairs of the Lower House and foreign affairs and defence of the Senate that the Western Balkans are key for the migration.