The Council of Europe and the European Parliament have signed a political agreement outlining a 'roadmap' to pass sweeping reforms to the EU asylum and migration system. Their goal is to finish all negotiations by February 2024.
One in four Austrians is an immigrant or has a migration background, a new survey from Statistics Austria has revealed. Germans make up the biggest group of foreign nationals in the country.
The dire situation of Ukrainian refugees must not detract attention from all those who risk death to flee their countries, Council of Europe special representative on migration and refugees Leyla Kayacik told ANSA in an interview. "The situation of those fleeing Ukraine is extremely serious, but this should not make us forget all the others who are fleeing their countries and who often die in the process," stressed Kayacik.
The European Union wants to take in millions of refugees from Ukraine, in a move that could inadvertently shift the decades-old fight over asylum and migration policy. Bernd Riegert reports from Brussels.
The UN refugee agency UNHCR has sent a document of recommendations for the French and Czech 2022 presidencies of the Council of the European Union, asking to prioritize the protection of refugees in Europe and in the world.
The foreign minister of Luxembourg, Jean Asselborn, has urged the European Union to accept quotas of refugees from Afghanistan. But some EU countries, including Austria, say Afghans fleeing the Taliban takeover should not be offered protection in Europe.
The crisis in Afghanistan has rekindled political debate in Italy on migration. Far-right leader Matteo Salvini is focusing on a high number of migrant arrivals via sea in 2021, while the left and various other political parties have called for humanitarian corridors to get Afghans at risk out of the country.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel has accused Belarus of using refugees to "undermine security." Her remarks come as the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan fuels concerns that thousands of people could try to flee to Europe.
Just weeks before a general election, German politicians are worried that large numbers of Afghan refugees might make their way to Europe. The wave of mostly Syrian refugees who came in 2015 still haunts German politics.
DW and other major German news outlets have made an urgent appeal to Chancellor Angela Merkel to quickly evacuate Afghan journalists who put their lives at risk to report from the conflict zone.
As the UN document turns 70 years old, experts say there is a lack of political will to implement the rights of refugees under the agreement. Countries in Africa are already moving beyond it.
A fake website about Germany's asylum policy has attracted attention and caused some confusion. The website wrongly claims that Interior Minister Horst Seehofer announced that Germany would take in refugees from camps on the Greek Islands. A satire group has since published a letter of confession and an open letter to the federal government.