refugee policy

• Afghanistan
• Austria
• Belarus

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.

• Italy

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.

• Belarus
• Germany
• Lithuania

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.

• Afghanistan
• Germany

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.

• Afghanistan
• Germany

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.

• Burkina Faso
• Germany

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.

• Germany

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.

• Denmark

The new center would likely be built in an African country and may eventually lead to the bulk of the country's asylum applications being processed overseas.

• France
• Germany
• Italy

The foreign ministers of Italy, France, and Germany have conducted a mission to Tripoli to show support for the national unity government under new prime minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh. They have called for change in several areas -- including respect for human rights in migration management.

• Germany
• Syria

The net number of migration to Germany continued to tumble in 2020. The COVID-19 pandemic was cited as a chief reason for the decline in numbers, which now has fallen to merely a third of the legally permitted numbers.

• Colombia
• Germany
• Jordan

International organizations and charities are worried that migrants, refugees, and displaced people are sometimes being forgotten or ignored from national vaccination strategies. They call on the global community to do more to make sure everyone is immunized.

• Belgium
• Germany
• Greece

A situation like the one in Moria must "never happen again," said the European Commissioner for Home Affairs. Some lawmakers called for a "solidarity-based solution" to the crisis, but not everyone agrees.