Italy is increasing its payments to migrant reception facilities. After former interior minister Matteo Salvini had slashed their funding, many local authorities had struggled to find companies willing to run migrant centers.
The charity has accused Brussels of using aid money as a policy tool to curb migration to Europe. The case of Libya was particularly notorious, according to researchers, who warned: "No one is tracking the money."
Almost 1.5 million more euros will be added to a fund set up by Italy to help African nations, specifically for projects in Niger and Ethiopia.
Most non-EU citizens in Italy will no longer be blocked from receiving the citizenship wage basic income, the Italian social security and pensions agency INPS announced last week. Many applicants had their requests blocked due to missing documents regarding assets in their home countries.
Italian police say that 25 people received large sums of money from the government to pay for migrant reception services – and then used the funds to pay for things like villa renovations and a birthday party.
The number of asylum seekers receiving benefits decreased considerably in 2018. According to the Federal Statistical Office of Germany, the number went down by 12%.
Migrant rights lawyers want the Italian social security and pensions agency INPS to resume evaluating foreigners' applications for the country's 'citizens' income' The suspension of assessing applications is "illegal and discriminatory," they argue.
Being a refugee with a regular income can be expensive: German municipalities make refugees with personal earnings pay part of the rental fees if they live in shared accommodations. Hundreds of euros for a bed in a shared room are the norm. Researchers and refugee advocates criticize a lack of transparency and asylum seekers' little influence on their accommodation due to the difficulty of finding a regular apartment.
Cédric Herrou, the French farmer who shot to fame after defying authorities to help dozens of migrants enter the country illegally, has launched France's first Emmaus-backed farming community at his southern Roya valley property. The project will allow for refugees and homeless people, who are otherwise excluded from the labor market, to work on the farm in exchange for a small stipend.
The European Commission has decided to provide 3 million euros to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), so that they can provide cash assistance to Palestinian refugees hit by the war in Syria.
Germany's far-right AfD party has attacked the Merkel government for reportedly spending 23 billion euros on asylum and integration last year, calling it a waste of public money on an expensive 'welcome party' for migrants. But the country's national public TV station ZDF says the amount that was actually spent on asylum seekers was much less.
Many migrants and refugees are sending money to family members in their home country. But what's the best way to do this? What are the legal restrictions? Sertan Sanderson explains everything you need to know in the latest episode of FactCheck.