On Wednesday April 17, the German Cabinet decided on a raft of new measures for a draft law which will be put before the German Parliament. German Interior Minister Horst Seehofer has been hoping to strengthen current measures in order to limit and better control asylum law in the country.
The number of immigrants in Germany who fail to complete their integration and language courses rose significantly in 2018. Some political parties have pointed out that these failed measures cost taxpayers hundreds of millions of euros.
The EU border agency Frontex has denied having documented any "collusion" between NGOs and human traffickers. French Interior Minister Christophe Castaner had claimed earlier in the week that Frontex knew of NGOs aiding smugglers.
The Italian government has issued a new decree related to migrant flows that will allow 30,850 non-EU workers to enter the country. Of these, 12,850 will be employed in non-seasonal work and freelance work, and 18,000 will be employed for seasonal work in the agricultural and tourist-hospitality sectors.
A new study says that Germans with an immigrant background trust the country's political system, but lack the confidence to engage with it. Political analyst Jan Schneider talks to DW about how this could change.
The Education Outcomes Fund for Africa and the Middle East (EOF), a billion-dollar fund promoted by the Education Commission of former UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown, was presented in Italy. The fund aims to support initiatives to fight social, political, and economic emergencies in Africa, and to offer more opportunities on the continent, thereby curbing migration.
After 50 worshippers were murdered in Christchurch and last year saw more than 800 attacks on Muslims in Germany, calls for an Islamophobia commissioner are growing. An anti-Semitism commissioner took office in 2018.
The regional administrative court of Veneto has ruled that non-compliance with fiscal obligations cannot be a reason not to issue or renew a permit to stay for foreign nationals in Italy.
Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte called, in his keynote speech in Strasbourg to the European Parliament, for a Europe for the people and by the people. He accused the bloc of having lost touch with what the people want and asked for more unity to address the many challenges the continent faces, including migration.
The mayors of some Italian and Spanish cities are challenging the politics of national sovereignty and blocked ports, by signing an alliance in support of NGOs working in migrant rescue in the Mediterranean. Just three months ahead of European elections, the signatories said the pact aims to "save Europe from itself.”
German Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democrats have met in an effort to shore up their credentials on immigration. The party, which now has a new leader, has seen support hemorrhage since the 2015 refugee crisis.
The British Home Office's decision to repatriate some 50 Jamaican nationals who were residing in the country has been condemned by the opposition. The government says it has ordered the charter deportation flight to remove foreign national offenders.