Italian deputy foreign minister Emanuela Del Re has said that the Sahel region is, in Italy's eyes, "the true border of Europe". Del Re underscored that the countries in the region are a priority and "crucial for migration management".
There have been mounting calls across Germany in recent weeks to bring an end to the deportation stop for Syrians, following a deadly knife attack on two tourists in Dresden earlier in October.
EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Italian Premier Giuseppe Conte have agreed that the EU and Italy will work together on EU migration reforms.
Italy will spend €8 million on a plan to reduce migration flows through Niger. This was announced by Italian Deputy Foreign Minister Emanuela Del Re during a visit to the African country.
An Italian association, ARCI, has expressed its "profound worries" after several asylum seekers housed in various structures across Italy revealed they are being tested and sent to quarantine ships off the coast when they test positive for COVID-19. Some of these asylum seekers have been in Italy several years.
Italian Interior Minister Luciana Lamorgese said Monday that the "time has come" for citizenship reform in the country but that it must be within parliament.
In Belgium, 32-year-old Sammy Mahdi, the son of an Iraqi refugee, has just been appointed Secretary of State for Asylum and Migration. He said his goal is to increase deportations.
Ministers representing Cyprus and Lebanon recently reaffirmed a deal to intercept migrant boats attempting to reach Cyprus, making things de facto more difficult for those who hope to seek asylum in the country. Cyprus says its reception centers are full to capacity, and the country has been criticized for its treatment of migrants by NGOs.
The mayor of the northern Italian town of Ferrara, right-wing League party member Alan Fabbri, has sparked outcry after comparing undocumented migrants to a "tumor to eradicate". The comment came in relation to the police headquarters' rejection of 134 stay permits since the beginning of the year and 12 revocations of stay permits for foreigners.
Ministerial sources cited by the BBC and the Financial Times revealed that the British government took into consideration the idea of using an island in the Atlantic Ocean as a possible destination for a gathering and filtering center for asylum seekers awaiting a response from the United Kingdom.
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.
Three days after multiple fires destroyed most of the Moria migrant camp on the Greek island of Lesbos, thousands of the former residents are still sleeping out in the open. Although the authorities are starting to offer emergency accommodation for some, their efforts are being contested by some locals. Charities working with migrants in the area say provision is so far “ineffective.”