This year was especially difficult for many migrants and refugees in Europe, and those attempting to reach Europe. The coronavirus pandemic exacerbated hardships, while fires at Moria camp on Lesbos left thousands without shelter. Here's a look at some of the most important moments of 2020.
Germany's interior ministry warns in a paper that there could be a rise in so-called "secondary migration" of recognized refugees traveling from Greece to Germany. According to reports, there already has been a rise in asylum applications of recognized refugees coming from Greece.
A monument on the island of Lampedusa by the artist Christo and titled "Gateway to Europe" was "packed up" with plastic bags and tape on the night of June 2. Despite wrapping being a signature style of the artist, who died late last month, the move has sparked controversy.
Dunja Mijatovic, the human rights commissioner of the Council of Europe, has asked member states to release as many people as possible from detention centers for migrants amid the coronavirus emergency. She says that these facilities "provide poor opportunities for social distancing and other measures to protect against Covid-19 infection."
How many people asked for asylum in the European Union? Where did they come from? In what country did they request asylum? Here’s what you need to know about asylum applications in the EU in 2019.
According to a confidential EU report, 70,000 migrants have crossed from Turkey to the EU this year. The numbers raise questions about whether a EU-Turkey refugee deal is unravelling.
A new UN study takes a closer look at who the migrants coming from Africa to Europe are - and why they left. One of the findings: Migrants are often more educated than their peers who stayed home.
The far-right group Britain First has launched a campaign called "Operation White Cliffs" to patrol Britain's beaches in a bid to stop migrants attempting to land on UK shores after crossing the Channel in small boats. Local anti-racism campaigners have organized counter demonstrations and British authorities have meanwhile advised all citizens to avoid taking direct action and to leave that work to the authorities.
France and Italy have agreed on a new system to distribute migrants across the European Union. It comes ahead of an interior ministers meeting in Malta next week.
The decision to give the post of interior minister to bureaucrat, expert and long-standing ministry official Luciana Lamorgese could be read as a sign that Italian migration policy is about to change. Could her appointment be a break from the policies pushed hard by outgoing minister Matteo Salvini?
The UN's special rapporteur on the human rights of migrants criticized Hungary's 2015 decision to declare a state of emergency over the so-called refugee crisis. He added that the measure amounted to little more than scare tactics, and criticized the country's transit zones as being detention facilities.
Greece's new government announced its intention to reinforce the country's borders, as a rise in numbers of migrants crossing over from Turkey has recently been recorded once more. The EU's migration commissioner, Dimitris Avramopoulos, pledged his help to this end, as he met with the new prime minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis.