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• Germany’s dangerous shift to the right: The new coalition agreement is a blow to refugee protection

• The European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation (Europol) has signed a working agreement with Egypt.
• Libyan authorities have suspended the operation of ten humanitarian NGOs after accusing them of facilitating the “resettlement” of people on the move in the country.
• A new NGO report has highlighted abusive practices undertaken as part of Morocco’s immigration control policies that the authors argue could be considered “forced disappearances”.
• The EU has announced that it will provide up to €1.6 billion to the Palestinian Authority in the period 2025–2027.
• Tunisian security forces have launched a large-scale campaign targeting informal camps housing thousands of undocumented people.

• The significant decrease in the number of irregular border crossings into the EU via the Mediterranean routes that was observed in 2024 has continued into the first quarter of 2025.
• Greece has redesignated Türkiye as a “safe third country” for people seeking asylum despite a recent Council of State ruling.
• The European Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex) is investigating 12 cases of potential human rights violations by Greece.
• Three of the six people who were convicted for starting the fire that destroyed the Moria refugee camp on the island of Lesvos in 2020 have been acquitted on appeal.
• A group of 40 people whose asylum claims were rejected in Italy have been relocated to the repurposed repatriation centres in Albania.
• The Maltese Minister for Foreign Affairs has said that Malta will not pursue reform of human rights conventions during its upcoming presidency of the Council of Europe (CoE) after all.

• AIDA Country Report on Cyprus – 2024 Update
• ECRE Annual General Conference 2025

OP-ED

By Karl Kopp and Wiebke Judith

Germany is facing a watershed moment in refugee policy. The negotiated coalition agreement between the conservative parties (CDU/CSU) and the Social Democrats (SPD) signals not only a dramatic tightening of asylum law but a dangerous departure from long-held human rights standards. Instead of reinforcing humanitarian principles and upholding the rule of law, the coalition embraces policies that undermine both.

The ink on the coalition agreement is not yet dry; all three parties still have to formally agree to it. However, it can be assumed that the coalition will not fail at this point and that the new German government will start its work after being sworn in at the beginning of May.

Turning refugees back at the border – and from rule of law

One of the main concerns is that the coalition partners have agreed to start sending back asylum seekers at German borders, despite the fact that such returns blatantly violate European and international law. The only remaining question is what the politicians mean by stating that these returns should happen “in coordination” with neighbouring countries. While Conservative politicians understand it as mainly informing the other governments, it seems that the Social Democrats want an agreement with them. While the latter appears to be unlikely when looking at public statements from Polish or Austrian politicians, the former could mean a major political dispute in Europe. Either way, these “paper pushbacks” would remain illegal. Whether or not Germany’s next Chancellor, Friedrich Merz, and his new interior minister will indeed enforce returns of asylum seekers on day one in office, as they claimed while campaigning, remains to be seen considering the political implications.

Access denied: Safe routes cut off

On another front, the current Ministry of the Interior (MoI) has already acted. While the coalition partners agreed to stop all humanitarian admissions, the MoI went beyond this to stop new arrivals under the UN Resettlement programme – although the parties have neither formally agreed on the coalition programme nor are they in office yet. Again, there is some ambiguity in the wording of the coalition agreement as it claims such programmes should be stopped “as far as possible”. This can be understood, for example, to exclude Afghans who have already received an admission confirmation for the German admission programme. It would, however, still leave many more in limbo in Pakistan and at danger of return to Afghanistan.

In a further blow to vulnerable groups, the coalition agreement includes the suspension of family reunification for those with subsidiary protection for two years. A similar suspension was in place from 2016 to 2018 in Germany under the same parties. Now, as then, it will mean further agony for families who have often already been separated for years.

The bitter irony is that while the coalition partners claim that they want to limit “irregular migration”,  in fact they will more effectively close the few regular routes for some of the most vulnerable refugees.

Paving the way for more externalisation

The coalition also intends to support the removal of the so-called “connection requirement” for declaring non-EU countries as “safe third countries”, thus opening the door for externalisation deals modelled on the UK’s Rwanda agreement. This would allow the deportation of refugees to countries they have never set foot in – a fundamental break with the spirit and letter of international protection norms.

A soon expected evaluation by the European Commission on the legal framework for “safe third countries” makes this shift particularly alarming. By proposing this change, Germany is aligning itself with the European hardliners who seek nothing less than a systematic dismantling of the refugee protection system.

From fairness to burden-shifting in asylum procedures

Equally troubling is the coalition’s plan to overhaul asylum procedures by replacing the official duty to investigate (Amtsermittlungsgrundsatz) with a “burden of proof” approach (Beibringungsgrundsatz). In practice, this means placing the full responsibility for substantiating their claims on refugees themselves – many of whom flee without documentation and under extreme duress. Legal experts and human rights advocates have rightly warned that this shift threatens the fairness of asylum proceedings and may violate constitutional guarantees of due process. In addition, it does not conform to the duties to review all country of origin information that are placed on the asylum authorities by the European asylum acquis.

Ukrainian refugees will face new restrictions

The regression doesn’t stop there. Ukrainian refugees who arrive in Germany after 1 April 2025 – many of whom are women and children — will once again be subjected to the restrictive benefits system for people seeking asylum, including limited healthcare and the controversial “payment card” system. This move not only undermines integration but is also a troubling signal of growing social populism against Ukrainian refugees.

The human cost of political calculations

While policy-makers in Berlin finalised their measures to harden migration policy, the human cost became painfully visible. As the coalition agreement was being negotiated, another deadly shipwreck which claimed the lives of women and children from Afghanistan occurred near the island of Lesvos. Families in Frankfurt, Bochum, Cologne and Berlin are now grieving and identifying loved ones in the morgue.

These are not isolated tragedies – they are the foreseeable outcomes of policies that close off safe pathways and force people onto dangerous routes.

Germany at a crossroads

With this agreement, Germany risks abandoning its role as a defender of human rights and refugee protection in Europe. The country stands at a crossroads: it can either lead with humane, lawful, and pragmatic solutions or it can join the retreat into deterrence and denial. The consequences of that choice will be measured not only in policy but also in human lives.

Karl Kopp is Director and Wiebke Judith is Legal Policy Spokesperson at ECRE member organisation PRO ASYL.

EUROPEAN DEVELOPMENTS

• The European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation (Europol) has signed a working agreement with Egypt.
• Libyan authorities have suspended the operation of ten humanitarian NGOs after accusing them of facilitating the “resettlement” of people on the move in the country.
• A new NGO report has highlighted abusive practices undertaken as part of Morocco’s immigration control policies that the authors argue could be considered “forced disappearances”.
• The EU has announced that it will provide up to €1.6 billion to the Palestinian Authority in the period 2025–2027.
• Tunisian security forces have launched a large-scale campaign targeting informal camps housing thousands of undocumented people.

The European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation (Europol) has signed a working agreement with Egypt. According to a European Commission (EC) press release, the working arrangement will to “enhance law enforcement cooperation to fight against terrorism, drug trafficking, migrant smuggling, and organised crime”. The agreement is unlikely to have been welcomed by human rights advocates. Prior to the signing, a coalition of NGOs called on the EC to halt the agreement, warning that it risked legitimising illegal practices by Egyptian police and exacerbating human rights abuses in the country. More recently, the executive director of the NGO Refugees Platform in Egypt, Nour Khalil, argued that increased EU-Egypt co-operation raised “serious questions” particularly regarding human rights violations associated with border control and forced deportations, and accused the EU of being “complicit” in them.

Libyan authorities have escalated their attacks on organisations assisting people on the move. On 2 April, the Internal Security Agency (ISA) – an entity that has been widely criticised for human rights abuses – issued a statement in which it announced the suspension of operations for ten international humanitarian NGOs, including ECRE member organisations the Danish Refugee Council and the Norwegian Refugee Council. The ISA has accused the ten NGOs of violating local laws by providing aid that allegedly facilitates the resettlement of “illegal migrants” from Sub-Saharan Africa in Libya, an activity that it described as a “hostile act” which threatened the country’s demographic composition. It also accused them of money laundering, citing a lack of transparency in financial transactions and currency exchanges. The NGO Committee for Justice (CFJ) has condemned the crackdown, not least because it involved serious violations against NGO staff members.  “At least 18 employees were subjected to interrogation and intimidation, passports of some were confiscated, and they were forced to sign pledges not to work with any international organization in the future”, CFJ said in a statement.

A new NGO report has highlighted a number of abusive practices in Morocco’s immigration control policies. According to the report, which was published by ECRE member organisation the Association for Juridical Studies on Immigration (ASGI), people on the move in Morocco have experienced arbitrary detentions, internal deportations, restrictions on communication with family and legal counsel, and disproportionate use of force. The organisation noted that these practices had had a disproportionate impact on individuals with international protection status, minors, vulnerable people and people from Sub-Saharan Africa. It also concluded that several elements of these abusive practices, such as deportations carried out without prior notification and the deprivation of communication rights, could be classified as “forced disappearances” according to international standards. Finally, it noted a “correlation” between violations and the process of externalisation of Europe’s borders “supported by substantial European Union funding to Morocco for the control of migratory flows”.

The European Commission has announced a package of financial support to the Palestinian Authority (PA). According to an EC press release, the PA will receive up to €1.6 billion in the period of 2025-2027 to “foster Palestinian recovery and resilience”. An amount of €82 million per year will be allocated to “provide services to Palestine refugees via the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), both in the occupied Palestinian territories and the wider region”. Speaking on the occasion of the first ever High-Level Political Dialogue between the EU and the PA, European Commissioner for the Mediterranean Dubravka Suica said: “We want them to reform themselves because without reforming, they won’t be strong enough and credible in order to be an interlocutor, not for only for us, but an interlocutor also for Israel”. Commenting on the EC press release, researcher Ramona Wadi wrote: “The most telling clause in the European Commission’s statement detailing its assistance is found right at the end. ‘This designation shall not be construed as recognition of a State of Palestine and is without prejudice to the individual positions of the Member States on this issue’”. Separately, Palestinian diplomat, Lema Nazeeh wrote in a long thread on social media that the funding package reflected the “contradiction at the heart of EU policy”. “It funds reconstruction. It supports the PA. It speaks of peace. But it does not challenge the actor destroying the foundations of peace – Israel’s system of apartheid, occupation, and siege”, she added.

Tunisian authorities have continued their crackdown on dissidents and people on the move. On 16 April, Human Rights Watch (HRW) published a report in which it highlighted the government’s use of politically motivated persecutions to silence critical voices. The report cited the cases of 22 people, including politicians, journalists and activists, who had been detained on charges, including terrorism, in connection with their public statements or political activities. The publication of the HRW report, comes less than two weeks after Tunisian authorities launched a large-scale operation targeting the estimated 20,000 undocumented people, mostly from sub-Saharan Africa, Pakistan and Bangladesh, living in informal camps near the port city of Sfax. Although a spokesperson for the Tunisian National Guard claimed that the operation to remove the people was being conducted “peacefully” and “humanely”, some of those who had been affected reported that authorities had destroyed and burned their belongings and food supplies. The same spokesperson, Houcem Eddine Jebabli, added that while some of the people left without shelter would benefit from “voluntary returns”, others had “dispersed into the wild”.

Related articles

• EU EXTERNAL PARTNERS: UNHCR suspends programmes in Egypt ― Rise in hate speech and violence targeting people on the move in Libya ― Shipwreck survivors deported to Tunisian desert (April 2025)
• EU EXTERNAL PARTNERS: Egypt urged to stop abusing people on the move – Two mass graves uncovered in Libya ― Tunisian authorities accused of ‘state trafficking’ of people to Libya ― Increase in number of ‘interceptions’ by Moroccan authorities in 2024 (February 2025)

EUROPEAN DEVELOPMENTS

• The significant decrease in the number of irregular border crossings into the EU via the Mediterranean routes that was observed in 2024 has continued into the first quarter of 2025.
• Greece has redesignated Türkiye as a “safe third country” for people seeking asylum despite a recent Council of State ruling.
• The European Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex) is investigating 12 cases of potential human rights violations by Greece.
• Three of the six people who were convicted for starting the fire that destroyed the Moria refugee camp on the island of Lesvos in 2020 have been acquitted on appeal.
• A group of 40 people whose asylum claims were rejected in Italy have been relocated to the repurposed repatriation centres in Albania.
• The Maltese Minister for Foreign Affairs has said that Malta will not pursue reform of human rights conventions during its upcoming presidency of the Council of Europe (CoE) after all.

The significant decrease in the number of irregular border crossings into the EU via the Mediterranean routes that was observed in 2024 has continued into the first quarter of 2025. According to preliminary data published by the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex) on 11 April, the number of detected crossings on the Eastern Mediterranean route between 1 January and 31 March 2025 fell by 29% compared to the same period in the previous year. Similar decreases were recorded on the Central Mediterranean and Western Mediterranean routes (-26% and -18% respectively). According to data extracted from the International Organization for Migration’s Missing Migrants Project, there was also a 35% decrease in the number of people on the move who were recorded as dead or missing in the Mediterranean in the first quarter of 2025 compared to the equivalent period in the previous year (385 down from 595).

Greece has redesignated Türkiye as a “safe third country” for people seeking asylum. On 9 April, the Greek government adopted a joint ministerial decision in which Türkiye is included in the ‘National List of Safe Third Countries’ as a safe third country for asylum applicants from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Somalia and Syria. According to a press release issued by the Ministry of Migration and Asylum, the decision will “allow the immediate rejection of asylum applications of those of the above individuals who have entered Greece illegally from Turkey, and their return”. The timing of the decision is controversial as it comes less than three weeks after the Greek Council of State annulled the previous one. ECRE member organisations the Greek Council for Refugees and Refugee Support Aegean, who brought the legal case that ultimately resulted in the annulment, condemned the adoption of the new joint ministerial decision as being “in blatant violation of principles of legality and legal certainty and in dereliction of Article 95(5) of the Constitution” and “an explicitly provocative statement of non-compliance on the part of the Administration with the relevant decisions of the Council of State and the CJEU”. “It is not acceptable for the administration of a law-abiding state to blatantly ignore the courts and to lead people into danger and despair for the sake of short-lived political sensationalism with the sole apparent aim of appealing to extreme, xenophobic audiences,” they added in a joint statement. They also vowed to apply for a judicial review of the decision and to “exhaust legal avenues (…) to legally claim and impose sanctions”.

Frontex is investigating 12 cases of potential human rights violations by Greece. On 8 April, Frontex Spokesperson Chris Borowski said that some of the cases related to allegations of pushbacks “at the border”. Although he provided vey few details about the cases, including whether they had taken place on land borders or at sea, he did specify that two of the incidents had taken place in 2025, nine in 2024 and one in 2023, and stated that each case was being “examined thoroughly”. Borowski also said that Frontex would make recommendations for Greece to implement and that failure to do so could result in a reduction in funding, including for Greek coast guard vessels. “The executive director of Frontex has said that he expects all these recommendations to be implemented. Otherwise, he would consider reducing or cutting funding for co-financed assets,” he said. Commenting on Frontex’s discussions with the Greek government, Borowski said: “We are now putting fundamental rights at the heart of these negotiations. In the past this discussion happened towards the end of the negotiations, so they were kind of a secondary issue, but now they’re really the core of these negotiations”. In an interview with the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network published on 8 April, the head of Frontex, Hans Leijtens, explained how he had spent the two years since his appointment trying to engage with the Greek government in order to address allegations of human rights violations but that he had grown “impatient” and felt that a “new approach” was required.

Three of the six people who were convicted for starting the fire that destroyed the Moria refugee camp on the island of Lesvos in 2020 have been acquitted on appeal. The three Afghans had initially been classed as adults and sentenced to 10 years in prison each by a court on the island of Chios in June 2021. Following an appeal, in 2024, the court accepted that it had not been proven that they were adults at the time of the fire and their cases were transferred to a juvenile court. On 4 April, the juvenile court of Mytilene ruled that the their involvement in the fire had not been proven. Commenting on the not guilty verdict, the trio’s lawyer, Zacharias Kesses, said: “My young clients were held for almost three-and-a-half years in prisons unsuitable for minors, without sufficient evidence and without due process”. “This case is a typical example of how criminal justice can fail when fear, stereotypes and political expediency prevail,” he added. Two of the other people who were arrested after the fire were tried as minors and sentenced to five years in prison each, later reduced to four. They have since been released. The sixth person lost an appeal against their conviction in March 2024.

A group of 40 people whose asylum claims were rejected in Italy have been relocated to the repurposed repatriation centres in Albania. The transfer, which took place on 11 April, was the first since the Italian government adopted a decree allowing the centres in Gjadër and Shëngjin to be used as repatriation centres. The two centres were initially intended for the detention of people intercepted in international waters in the Mediterranean while their asylum claims were being processed. However, following various legal challenges, all of the people who had been taken to the centres since they opened in October were transferred to Italy shortly afterwards. Following the latest transfer, legal experts have called into question the legality of an EU member state relocating people whose asylum claims have been rejected to a location that is neither their country of origin or a transit country. Most recently, the Italian Asylum Migration Working Group (TAI) has denounced the use of handcuffs on the people transferred to Albania on 11 April as “an unbearable display of cruelty, which tramples on the rights of those people and the principles of our legal system”.

The Maltese Minister for Foreign Affairs has said that Malta will not pursue reform of human rights conventions during its upcoming presidency of the Council of Europe (CoE) after all. Responding to a question from the MaltaToday newspaper, Ian Borg said that Malta will pursue the priorities that he set out in February and which do not include reform of the European Convention on Human Rights. Borg’s statement may be interpreted as a “snub” to Prime Minister Robert Abela who told a group of EU leaders in March that Malta would be putting human rights convention reform on the agenda of its CoE presidency. “I spoke with the prime minister and this is the programme Malta will be pursuing,” Borg said, referring to the priorities that he had previously outlined. Commenting on Borg’s statement, ECRE member organisation the aditus Foundation said: “We welcome this clear statement from Minister of Foreign Affairs Ian Borg in favour of protecting and strengthening human rights during Malta’s presidency of the Council of Europe”.

Related articles

• MEDITERRANEAN: New data reveals large number of deaths in 2024 ― Controversy surrounding recent shipwreck and pushbacks continues in Cyprus ― Two key rulings in favour of people seeking asylum in Greece ― New plans for Italy’s detention centres in Albania ― Possible admission of government involvement in spyware scandal ― Backlash after Maltese prime minister’s remarks on reforming human rights conventions (March 2025)
• MEDITERRANEAN: More rescues and deaths in Central Mediterranean ― Cyprus accused of pushbacks and ignoring NGO warnings prior to tragedy ― Leaked EU document suggests Malta refuses to co-operate in search and rescue missions ― Italian court confirms suspension of rescue ship’s detention (March 2025)

NEWS FROM THE ECRE OFFICE

AIDA Country Report on Cyprus – 2024 Update

The updated AIDA Country Report on Cyprus provides a detailed overview on legislative and practice-related developments in asylum procedures, reception conditions, detention of asylum seekers and content of international protection in 2024. It also includes an annex which provides an overview of temporary protection.

A number of key developments drawn from the overview of the main changes that have taken place since the publication of the 2023 update are set out below.

Statistics

• Asylum applications and decisions: 8,664 people applied for asylum in Cyprus in 2024 (10,662 in 2023). Although decisions were issued for 16,103 people, at the end of the year 20,576 people were still awaiting a first instance decision and 6,986 at second instance. The in-merit recognition rate was 38% while the overall protection rate was 23.5%.

Asylum procedure

• Access to the territory: In the first few months of 2024, there were multiple reports of boats carrying people who wanted to reach Cyprus in order to claim asylum being intercepted by Cypriot authorities and subsequently pushed back towards Lebanon from where the people risked forcible return to Syria. In October 2024, the European Court of Human Rights found that Cyprus’s summary return of two asylum applicants to Lebanon had violated their rights under the European Convention on Human Rights. In addition, between May and November 2024, there were also reports of pushbacks at the Green Line which resulted in people being trapped in the ‘buffer zone’ in extremely harsh conditions.
• Suspension of examination of Syrian applications: In April 2024, the government announced that due to an increase in the number of Syrian nationals arriving in Cyprus, the examination of their asylum applications would be suspended. The suspension was still in effect at the beginning of 2025.

Reception conditions

• Reception conditions below adequate levels: Reception standards remained below adequate levels in 2024. Although conditions in the reception centres improved in 2023 and 2024, reception capacity remains low so the majority of asylum applicants live in the community, often in extremely poor conditions.
• Racist attacks: Violence against migrants continued in 2024. Examples included frequent racist attacks, especially against non-EU delivery people; hate speech, police profiling and incidents of police entering private accommodation to identify undocumented people.
• Access to the labour market: Following a five-year period during which access to the labour market was permitted one month after lodging an asylum application, in October 2023, this delay was increased to nine months. In 2024, employers’ associations expressed concern over the possible impact of the nine-month ban on the capacity of businesses to cover their staff needs.
• Insufficient safeguards for children: The number of refugee children (both accompanied and unaccompanied/separated) remains high in Cyprus. There are still gaps in the protection of minors, particularly in the Pournara First Reception Centre (FRC) and some shelters for unaccompanied and separated children. Children remain without adequate guardianship and are thus exposed to various risks, including trafficking and sexual or labour exploitation. In addition, procedures regulating the assessment of a child’s best interests are also lacking.

Detention of asylum seekers

• Statistics on detention: Although the overall number of detained asylum applicants remained low (there were 20 asylum applicants in detention in December 2024), alternatives to detention were still not systematically applied, even in the cases of vulnerable people.

• De facto detention in first registration and reception centre: Asylum applicants in the Pournara FRC continued to experience restrictions on their freedom of movement in 2024 despite there being no legal basis for it. Although the average duration of stay in 2023 and 2024 was shorter than it had been in previous years, it was still much longer than the initially planned 72 hours.

• Detention conditions: Asylum applicants continued to be detained in sub-standard conditions in holding cells in police stations and airports across the country in 2024. They also faced obstacles in accessing asylum procedures and legal remedies to challenge detention and/or rejected asylum applications from those locations.

Content of international protection

• Lack of integration opportunities: The lack of integration opportunities remains a weak point of the Cypriot asylum system. A new integration plan had been finalised but was eventually abandoned. In 2024, there were reports of the integration plan being revised but it has not yet been
• Hardening of naturalisation regulations: As a result of legal amendments that were introduced in 2023, it became extremely difficult for beneficiaries of international protection, including those who were born or grew up in Cyprus, to satisfy the requirements for applying for naturalisation. This continued to be an issue in 2024.
• Family reunification: Access to family reunification remained a lengthy procedure for refugees in 2024. Beneficiaries of subsidiary protection (98% of Syrians present in the country) remain ineligible for family reunification.

Temporary protection

• Statistics: As of 31 December 2024, 24,823 individuals had registered for temporary protection in Cyprus (20,923 as of 31 December 2023).
• Access to rights: Temporary protection holders have access to all rights included in the Temporary Protection Directive upon registration and, in most cases, without obstacles. A small one-off amount is provided for financial support and accommodation options are limited. However, access to the labour market is immediate. Access to education is immediate but with limited support measures.

The full report is available here and the annex on temporary protection is available here.

For more information about the AIDA database or to read other AIDA reports, please visit the AIDA website.

NEWS FROM THE ECRE OFFICE

ECRE Annual General Conference 2025

The ECRE Annual General Conference (AGC) 2025 will take place 09.00-18.00 on Thursday 5 June 2025 in Warsaw.

Participation in the AGC is open to representatives of ECRE member organisations, other organisations (e.g. other NGOs, think tanks, academic institutions, national administrations, EU institutions and other bodies, other international organisations etc.) and individuals. However, the participation of representatives of ECRE member organisations will be prioritised and ECRE reserves the right to refuse participation.

As in previous years, the AGC will consist of a mixture of plenary sessions and smaller workshops. A draft agenda will be available to download from this page soon.

Lunch and morning and afternoon refreshments will be provided for all participants.

The AGC will be followed by an informal social event in the evening.

There is no limit on the number of people from the same organisation who can participate. However, please note that due to current financial constraints, ECRE will not be able to cover any travel or accommodation costs for participants.

If you would like to participate in the ECRE AGC 2025, please complete this registration form.

For more information, please contact Ben Moore.

RECENT REPORTS

ECRE

• AIDA Country Report on Cyprus – 2024 Update
• AIDA Country Report on the United Kingdom – 2024 Update

• AIDA Country Report on Bulgaria – 2024 Update
• Comments Paper: Schengen Borders Code
• Policy Note: Maintaining International Protection in Europe During Syria’s Transition

ECRE Member Organisations

• Amnesty International, Unhoused and unheard: How Belgium’s persistent failure to provide reception violates asylum seekers’ rights
• International Rescue Committee et al., Joint NGO analysis and recommendations: Ensuring a fair and rights-based solidarity mechanism under the EU Pact on Migration and Asylum
• PRO ASYL and Refugee Support Aegean, Recognised Refugees 2025

• Association for Juridical Studies on Immigration (ASGI), Untraceable: Border practices and enforced disappearances in Morocco
• Association for Juridical Studies on Immigration (ASGI), La Commissione europea monitora il protocollo Italia-Albania, ma l’interferenza con il diritto UE è già evidente
• Flemish Refugee Action et al., Non-Reception Policy
• Forum réfugiés, Rapport alternatif présenté au  Comité des Nations unies contre la torture  en vue de l’examen du 8ème rapport périodique de la France
• Refugee Council, Lost Childhoods: The consequences of flawed age assessments at the UK border
• Refugee Support Aegean, No support for refugees returned to GreeceRefugee Support Aegean, At least 61 refugees dead and 59 missing in 27 shipwrecks in Greece in 2024
• SolidarityNow and Generation 2.0, Revealing the Unseen Migrant Workers

Others  

• Europe Must Act, Growing Hostility Against Asylum in Europe
• Helen Bamber Foundation, Dismissing Risk:  The impact on trafficking survivors of labelling countries of origin as 'safe'
• Human Constanta, Humanitarian Crisis in Belarus and on the Border with the European Union in 2023-2024: Structural Analysis and Prospects
• Human Rights Watch, “All Conspirators” – How Tunisia Uses Arbitrary Detention to Crush Dissent

• Border Violence Monitoring Network, Balkan Regional Report – January 2025
• Civil Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre, Echoes#16 – Commemor’Action!
• Egala and Oxfam, Brutal Barriers: Pushbacks, violence and the violation of human rights on the Poland-Belarus border
• Health Information and Quality Authority, Monitoring and inspecting International Protection Accommodation Service Centres in 2024
• International Centre for Migration Policy Development, Phasing out temporary protection? Shaping EU policies through national experiences
• European Union Agency for Asylum, Latest Asylum Trends 2024 – Annual Analysis
• European Union Agency for Asylum, Practical Guide on Nationality: Concepts related to nationality and statelessness in the context of international protection
• Mixed Migration Centre, Beyond Restrictions: How migration and smuggling adapt to changing policies across the Mediterranean, the Atlantic and the English Channel

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UPCOMING EVENTS

ECRE Member Organisations

• 23 April, Online, Launch Event: Moving with Dignity Handbook, Quaker Council for European Affairs
• 25 April, Glasgow, Refugee Festival Scotland 2025, Scottish Refugee Council
• 29 April, Online, Rapport rétention 2024 : 40 ans de rétention administrative, Forum réfugiés
• 12 May, Brussels, 100 Boats – 100 Million People, Arbeiterwohlfahrt (AWO) Saxony-Anhalt
• 13-14 May, Lyon and Online, Formation : La réunification familiale, Forum réfugiés
• 16-17 May, Athens, Crossing Borders – Building Futures: Restorative Justice for Children and Young People on the Move, European Forum for Restorative Justice (Deadline for registration: 28 April)
• 22-23 May, Lyon, Formation : Les auteurs de violence conjugale, Forum réfugiés
• 21 September, Ghent, Refugee Walk, Flemish Refugee Action

Others

• 30 April, Online, Inclusive digital solutions for migrant integration, EPIC-UP project
• 6 May, Online, Humanitarian Crisis in Belarus and at the European Union Border in 2023–2024, Human Constanta
• 10 May, London, EU Minorities Summit 2025, Black Europeans
• 12-16 May, Online, Migration Communication Strategies: Effective Approaches to Depolarise the Debate, European University Institute (Deadline for applications: 28 April)
• 12 May – 20 June, Online, CRCP Geneva Advocacy Programme for Refugee Advocates, Refugees Seeking Equal Access at the Table (R-SEAT), (Deadline for applications: 28 April)
• 15-16 May, Eindhoven and Online, Self-Reliance through Digitalization in Asylum Reception, COA International Knowledge Platform
• 30 June – 1 July, Vienna, Inaugural Conference: Migration in times of Polarization, Vienna Centre for Migration and Law
• 30 June – 11 July, Brussels and Online, Summer School on EU Immigration and Asylum Law and Policy, Odysseus Network (Deadline for applications: 15 May)
• 8-12 September, Brussels, AGORA 2025 (Young Feminists’ Summer Camp), European Women’s Lobby (Deadline for applications: 15 May)
• 6-8 October, Florence, Effective Migration Governance: Policy Impacts and Trade-Offs, European University Institute (Deadline for applications: 8 September)
• 9-10 October, Osnabrück, PhD and PostDoc Colloquium in Forced Migration and Refugee Research (Fully-funded) (Deadline for applications: 15 May), University of Osnabrück
• 20-21 November, Vienna, Fachkonferenz : Flüchten – Ankommen – Bleiben, Integrationshaus
• Online, Training Course: Temporary Protection in the European Union, Council of Europe

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OPEN JOB VACANCIES

ECRE Member Organisations

• Finnish Refugee Advice Centre, Juristia, 30 April
• International Catholic Migration Commission, Head of Office – ICMC Greece, Athens, 30 April
• Kids in Need of Defense, Case Manager – Europe, Lublin
• MOSAICO – Action for Refugees, Project Manager – Progetto Spazio Comune (sostituzione maternità), Turin, 15 May

Others

• Collective Aid, Lesvos Programmes Manager, Lesvos
• Collective Aid, Grant Writing Coordination, Remote (within Europe)
• Doctors Without Borders (MSF), Technical Logistics Manager, Sicily, 30 April
• Boat Refugee Foundation, Medical Volunteer, Lesvos
• Europe Cares, Volunteers, Lesvos
• European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA), Seconded National Expert – Equality Law, Vienna, 12 May
• European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA), Seconded National Expert – National Human Rights Protection, Vienna, 12 May
• European Women’s Lobby, Facilitators for AGORA 2025 (Young Feminists’ Summer Camp), Brussels, 15 May
• I Have Rights, Volunteer Caseworker, Samos
• I Have Rights, Volunteer Interpreters (Arabic, Dari, Farsi, Kurmanji and Turkish), Remote
• Latin American Women's Aid, Counsellor – Spanish speaker, London, 30 May
• Latin American Women's Aid, Refugee Support Worker, London, 11 May
• Latin American Women's Aid, Children and Young People Emotional and Wellbeing Worker, London, 11 May
• MV Louise Michel, Chief Engineers
• Samos Volunteers, General Volunteers, Language Teachers, Psychologists, Logistics Officer, Community Centre Officers, Communications Officer and Project Manager, Samos
• Rainbow Migration, Legal Officer, London
• Refugee Action, Senior Digital Communications Officer, London, Manchester, Birmingham or Bradford, 27 April
• Refugee Action, Communications and Engagement Officer (Maternity Cover), London, Manchester, Birmingham or Bradford, 27 April

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ONGOING CAMPAIGNS

ECRE Member Organisations

• Association for Juridical Studies on Immigration (ASGI) et al., Voluntary Humanitarian Refusal: An Offer You Can’t Refuse
• Cepaim Foundation, 10.000 firmas por la CONVIVENCIA
• Flemish Refugee Action, Stop de harde aanpak van mensen op de vlucht
• Jesuit Refugee Service, Our shared humanity
• Refugees Welcome Italia, Accoglienza Famiglia Afghana
• Safe Passage International, Send a Message of Solidarity with Refugees
• Safe Passage, Say No to the Hostile Environment
• Together With Refugees, The Fair Begins Here Promise

• Collective Aid and Samos Volunteers, EU: Stop funding inhumanity! No more CCAC ‘prison camps’
• European Network Against Racism, Equality at Risk in the EU
• Human Rights Watch, #WithHumanity
• ProtectNotSurveil, #ProtectNotSurveil

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CALLS FOR PAPERS, PROJECT PROPOSALS, UNIVERSITY COURSES etc.

Call for Nominations

• Silver Rose Awards 2025, SOLIDAR, 30 June

Calls for Papers

• Climate change: choices for displaced people, Forced Migration Review, 8 May
• HGRA Blog & Working Papers Series, Enhancing Management and Studies on Migration in Libya (HGRA) Project, 15 May

• Promoting actions to fight racial discrimination and structural racism, Avocats Sans Frontières, 18 May

• Chancellor’s International Scholarships, University of Sussex, 30 April
• Scholarship for Refugees, French Refugee Council
• Scholarships Provided by Universities, Student Action for Refugees

Call for Submissions

• Fiction, poetry and artworks by refugees, asylum seekers, and immigrants, other side of hope, 30 April

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