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22 May 2025
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EUROPEAN DEVELOPMENTS
NEWS FROM THE ECRE OFFICE
RECENT REPORTS
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EUROPEAN DEVELOPMENTS
EU EASTERN BORDERS
- A Hungarian MP has tabled a legislative proposal aimed at severely restricting the activities of NGOs.
- Polish MPs have voted overwhelmingly to extend the duration of the controversial new asylum law.
- The Finnish Immigration Service is planning to pilot a new type of reception centre with a focus on promoting and supporting voluntary and forced returns.
- The government of Lithuania has filed a case against Belarus at the International Court of Justice relating to irregular crossings of the countries’ shared border.
A Hungarian MP has tabled a legislative proposal aimed at severely restricting the activities of NGOs. According to the proposal, which was tabled by János Halász MP from the ruling Fidesz party, organisations that pose a “threat” to Hungary’s sovereignty will be subject to various requirements, including no longer being able to accept foreign funding without authorisation, no longer being eligibility for personal tax relief and having to declare their assets. Halász justified his proposal on the grounds that “cases of serious infringements on Hungary’s sovereignty have come to light”. His accusations are similar to others made previously by Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. In a speech on 15 March, Orbán described NGOs and other critics of his government as “bugs who have made it through the winter” and said that “spring cleaning” would start by Easter. In an op-ed published by the EUobserver news agency on 15 May, Daniel Hegedüs from the German Marshall Fund of the United States wrote that the design of the draft law “surpasses all previous efforts in its open attack on basic democratic norms and fundamental rights in Hungary, as well as on the core principles of EU law and the authority and competences of the European Commission.” He urged the European Commission (EC) to recognise the “unprecedented nature of this attack, not only on the last remaining bulwarks of pluralist liberal democracy in an increasingly authoritarian Hungary, but also on the EU legal order and the commission’s own institutional prerogatives”. Despite Hegedüs and others’ impassioned appeals, the EC appeared to be taking a “wait and see” approach to the situation: “We are following this process closely for now. Since this is a draft law, we will not comment on its details,” an EC spokesperson told journalists in Brussels on 16 May. Four days later, a group of Hungarian NGOs, including ECRE member organisation the Hungarian Helsinki Committee issued a joint statement in which they called on the EC, the European Parliament, EU member states and the Council of Europe to act urgently in order to prevent what they have dubbed “Operation Starve and Strangle” from being completed. The draft law is reportedly scheduled for a final vote during the parliamentary session on 10-12 June.
Polish MPs have voted overwhelmingly to extend the duration of the controversial new asylum law. On 21 May, 366 MPS voted in favour of extending the law which prevents people who have entered Poland from Belarus from claiming asylum for an additional 60 days. 17 MPs from the Left (Lewica) and Together (Razem) parties voted against the extension. The law entered into force in March 2025 for an initial period of 60 days. Two days before the vote in the Sejm (lower house of parliament), ECRE member organisation the Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights submitted a negative opinion on Prime Minister Tusk’s request to extend the law. Describing the law as “unconstitutional”, the organisation denounced both the “extreme degree of generalisation of opinions about aggressive behaviour of migrants” and the government’s efforts to conceal the “humanitarian aspect of the crisis on the border, including subsequent cases of death and reports of violence experienced by migrants by both Polish and Belarusian services”.
The Finnish Immigration Service (Migri) is planning to pilot a new type of reception centre with a focus on promoting and supporting voluntary and forced returns. According to a press release issued on 9 May, the pilot scheme will be launched in June 2025 at a reception centre in Vantaa. In addition to normal reception services, the centre will start providing people seeking asylum with “more extensive advice on voluntary return and support with return arrangements”. According to Migri Director General Ilkka Haahtela: “The pilot scheme is necessary because voluntary and forced returns are currently not sufficiently quick and efficient in situations where right of residence in Finland cannot be granted”. “Our goal is that applicants who have received a negative decision return to their countries of origin as soon as possible and that a larger number of people will use the voluntary return option,” he added.
Elsewhere, Finland has completed the first 35km of a new fence along its border with Russia. According to the Finnish Border Guard, the fence, which will eventually extend along 200 km of the 1,344 km Finland-Russia border is “absolutely necessary” for the maintenance of border security. “The main purpose of the fence is to control a large mass of people if they are trying to enter from Russia to Finland,” said the deputy commander of the Southeast Finland Border Guard district, Antti Virta. “From the Border Guard’s perspective, it improves our ability to perform border surveillance, to act if there’s some kind of disruption at the border or a border incident,” added her colleague, Head of Operations Samuel Siljanen. The fence is due to be completed by the end of 2026.
The government of Lithuania has filed a case against Belarus at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) relating to irregular crossings of the countries’ shared border. Lithuania has accused its neighbour of violating the United Nations Protocol Against the Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Sea and Air by “enabling migrant smuggling, failing to secure its borders, neglecting co-operation with enforcement authorities and disregarding the rights of migrants”. According to Lithuanian Minister of Justice Rimantas Mockus, “Lithuania’s reputation must be safeguarded and the Belarusian regime must be held legally accountable for orchestrating the wave of illegal migration and the resulting human rights violations”. “We are taking this case to the International Court of Justice to send a clear message: no state can use vulnerable people as political pawns without facing consequences under international law,” he added. The decision to file a case at the ICJ comes less than two weeks after the Lithuanian government announced that it would deploy additional military personnel to the Lithuania-Belarus border in response to a reported rise in the number of irregular crossings.
Related articles
  
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NEWS FROM THE ECRE OFFICE
The updated AIDA Country Report on Hungary provides a detailed overview on legislative and practice-related developments in asylum procedures, reception conditions, detention of asylum applicants and content of international protection in 2024. It is accompanied by 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 update on 2023 are set out below.
International protection
- The “state of crisis due to mass migration” which was initially introduced in 2015 remains in effect nearly a decade later. This quasi-permanent legal framework suspends key provisions of the Asylum Act and continues to authorise pushbacks of migrants from any part of the country, without legal procedures or avenues for appeal. The state of crisis has been used to justify derogations from EU asylum standards.
Asylum procedure
- Limited access to asylum: In 2024, only 29 people managed to apply for asylum in Hungary and no recommendation on the approval of entry from the National Directorate-General for Aliens Policing was issued in the embassy procedure. The asylum authority continued to issue refusal decisions to people who entered Hungary by regular means and tried to apply for asylum. According to the current legislative framework, they have to submit an intent at the Hungarian embassies in either Belgrade or Kyiv prior to being allowed to apply for asylum in Hungary, despite domestic court judgements that have clearly indicated that an in-merit procedure has to be conducted. At the beginning of 2025, a minor legal amendment allowed applications from some people under detention or compulsory stay. However, the system remains incompatible with EU law.
- Pushbacks persist despite court rulings: In 2024, there were 5,713 recorded pushbacks. Although this represented a decrease compared to previous years, it should probably be attributed more to Serbian border control efforts rather than to any changes in Hungarian practices. In June 2024, the Court of Justice of the EU ruled that Hungary had failed to comply with a 2020 judgment and imposed a €200 million lump sum fine and a €1 million daily penalty on it. Hungary has refused to pay the fine or implement the ruling. In 2024, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) condemned Hungary in one case of collective expulsion.
- No suspensive effect in expulsions: Legislative changes that removed the automatic suspensive effect in appeals against expulsion orders have raised serious concerns about the risk of refoulement.
Reception conditions
- Very low occupancy: Reception centres continued to operate at minimal capacity in 2024.
- Restricted access and poor conditions: NGOs remained barred from accessing reception centres and no activities were provided to residents beyond internet access.
Detention of asylum applicants
- Quasi-automatic detention under the Dublin Regulation: The detention of 83 people who were awaiting Dublin transfers in 2024 indicated a pattern of automatic detention without individual assessment.
- Limited access for NGOs: NGOs continued to be denied entry to detention facilities.
- ECtHR rulings: Seven new judgments in 2024 found violations of the European Convention on Human Rights in connection with detention in transit zones.
Content of international protection
- Citizenship trends: Although the number of naturalisations remained steady, the number of rejected citizenship applications fell dramatically from 119 in 2023 to 42 in 2024.
- Family reunification progress: In 2024, 16 individuals from seven families were reunited with relatives who are international protection beneficiaries in Hungary.
- Limited transparency in security-based decisions: In 2024, courts began annulling protection withdrawal decisions based on classified information that was not shared with applicants. Despite a partial disclosure by one security agency, the Hungarian Helsinki Committee noted that the standard of revealing the “essence of the grounds” remained unmet.
Temporary protection
- Key temporary protection statistics: At the end of 2024, 39,168 people held temporary protection (TP) in Hungary. In addition, there was a slight increase in the number of registrations in 2024 (8,070). (NB/ Ukrainian-Hungarian dual nationals are excluded from TP statistics but still receive related services).
- Exclusion of third-country nationals: Third-country nationals with permanent residence in Ukraine remain excluded from TP. In addition, stricter border controls further hinder access, including for eligible individuals without valid documents.
- Restriction in access to accommodation: Since August 2024, only vulnerable TP holders from war-impacted Ukrainian regions qualify for state-funded shelter. As a result, an estimated 3,000 people lost access to it.
- Barriers in access to education and healthcare: A lack of Hungarian language support continued to hamper school integration in 2024 while healthcare access remained problematic due to uninformed providers and confusion over TP card validity extensions.
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.
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NEWS FROM THE ECRE OFFICE
The updated AIDA Country Report on the Netherlands provides a detailed overview on legislative and practice-related developments in asylum procedures, reception conditions, detention of asylum applicants and content of international protection in 2024. It is accompanied by 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 update on 2023 are set out below.
Asylum procedure
- Statistics: In 2024, there were 32,175 first applications for international protection (down from 38,377 in 2023). The overall recognition rate at first instance was 75.3% (24.9% refugee status, 46.8% subsidiary protection and 3.7% humanitarian protection).
- Growing backlog and pilot procedures: The backlog of asylum-related cases continued to grow in 2024 and there were more than 50,000 open cases as of February 2025. The number of cases that exceeded the 21-month time limit for a decision also increased. Pilot procedures implemented by the Immigration and Naturalisation Service (IND) to increase the speed and efficiency of decision-making have created problems, with applicants from certain countries receiving their decisions much faster and complicated requests being subject to long delays. The procedures have also resulted in less predictable interview and decision dates.
- Extension of the time limit to issue an asylum decision: The time limit for decision-making was extended for a third time (from six to 15 months) in December 2023. Preliminary questions on the conditions required for EU member states to adopt these measures have been referred to the Court of Justice of the EU.
- New credibility assessment: A new “credibility assessment” for asylum claims, which was introduced in July 2024, has raised concerns about a possible excessive burden on applicants. The new assessment requires applicants to provide “objective evidence” that is authentic, original and fully supports the facts underlying their claims. If such evidence is not provided, applicants must meet the five criteria included in Article 4(5) of the Qualification Directive.
- Safe countries of origin: India, Georgia, and Trinidad and Tobago were removed from the Netherlands’ list of safe countries of origin in 2024.
- Safe third countries: Rwanda and Jamaica were removed from the Netherlands’ list of safe third countries in 2024 while Chad, Ethiopia and Ghana were added to it.
Return decisions
- Return decisions: In 2024, the Council of State ruled that in cases in which an asylum application has been rejected on the grounds that the applicant could not prove their nationality, the alleged country of nationality may also serve as the country of return, even if it has not undergone a refoulement assessment.
Reception conditions
- Reception conditions: In 2024, less than half of asylum applicants and beneficiaries of international protection who had not yet been offered housing were accommodated in regular Central Agency for the Reception of Asylum Applicants (COA) reception centres. All other people stayed at COA-managed emergency locations or crisis emergency locations and/or temporary reception locations managed by municipalities. Various reports have shown that the majority of (crisis) emergency locations still failed to meet the obligations under EU law, including inadequate facilities, lack of privacy, tranquillity and suitable nutrition; inadequate sanitary facilities or problems with healthcare accessibility. There were also significant differences between different (crisis) shelters.
- Ter Apel: No asylum applicants were forced to sleep in the open air outside the Ter Apel reception centre in 2024. However, the centre was almost continuously over capacity. On numerous occasions in April, May and September 2024, applicants had to sleep in container cabins. In September, applicants only avoided having to sleep outside because a neighbouring municipality provided a sports hall as a temporary shelter for one night.
- Reception of vulnerable people: NGOs have reported that some vulnerable people were accommodated in (crisis) emergency locations in which their (medical) needs could not be met. In 2024, there was a 65% increase in the number of children who were being accommodated in (crisis) emergency locations compared to the previous year.
- Reception of unaccompanied minors: Reports of overcrowding in the facilities for unaccompanied minors in the Ter Apel reception centre continued in 2024. The Minister for Asylum and Migration expressed her concern about the shortage of structural reception places for unaccompanied minors.
- Enforcement and Supervision Location: In 2024, the Council of State ruled that although the placement of individuals in the Enforcement and Supervision Location (HTL) does result in a restriction of freedom of movement, it does not constitute a deprivation of liberty.
Detention of asylum applicants
- Statistics: 4,400 asylum applicants were detained in 2024.
- Shortage of staff: In 2024, a shortage of staff in detention centres resulted in detainees having to spend increased time in their cells on numerous occasions. There was also a short period when no new detainees were accepted.
Content of international protection
- Family reunification: A stricter policy for family reunification with adult children came into effect in July 2024. In November 2024, the Council of State ruled that (1) contrary to the IND’s policy, a broken family tie between a parent and child may be restored; (2) a family tie to may be considered broken if a young adult child has been living separately for a long time and has been proven to ‘shape’ their life independently; and (3) the mere fact that a family member has entered and is staying in the Netherlands is not a ground to reject an application for family reunification. In addition, there was a significant backlog of applications for family reunification in 2024 (applications filed in November 2024 are not expected to be processed before February 2027).
- Permanent asylum permit: In December 2024, the government published a draft legislative proposal to abolish the permanent asylum permit.
Temporary protection
- Reception capacity: The initial/general reception centre (HUB) at Utrecht Central Station was permanently closed in February 2024. If a displaced person reports to a municipality and no reception place is available, the municipality must contact the Regional Coordination Centre for Refugee Distribution (RCVS). If no reception places are available in the region, the RCVS must submit a request to the Coordination of Information Ukraine (KCIO)/National Centre for Refugee Distribution (LCVS). However, NGOs have received reports that municipalities have refused reception to displaced people without first contacting these bodies. As registration in the Personal Records Database (BRP) is not possible for people who have not been able to find a municipality in which they can be accommodated, they could be left without immediate access to temporary protection.
- Access to asylum: Following a moratorium on returns that existed between February 2022 and February 2023, unsuccessful asylum applicants were not forced to return to Ukraine. Although this measure was not formally extended in 2023, the government has not yet taken any measures relating to forced returns to Ukraine.
- Financial contribution to municipal shelter: As of July 2024, adult beneficiaries of temporary protection who have income from work or receive benefits or an allowance from the government are required to contribute financially to their shelter in a municipality. The new measure is subject to a six-month run-in period.
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.
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RECENT REPORTS
ECRE
May
April
ECRE Member Organisations
May
April
Others
May
April
- Access Centre for Human Rights and CIVICUS, Voices of Refugees: Syrian Refugees’ Right to Peaceful Assembly in Lebanon
- Collective Aid, Lines That Hurt: An Advocacy Report Across Borders
- Council of Europe, Measures to prevent and detect vulnerabilities to human trafficking – Evaluation Report: Cyprus
- Council of Europe, European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT): 34th General Report
- Europe Must Act, Growing Hostility Against Asylum in Europe
- European Parliament, Key challenges faced by LGBTI asylum applicants in the EU
- 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
- International Organization for Migration, Missing Migrants and Countries in Crisis – IOM Missing Migrants Project 2024 Annual Report
- Mental Health Foundation, The mental health of asylum seekers and refugees in the UK
- Mobile Info Team et al., No Beds, No Lights, No Rights: New Findings on Greece’s Illegal Use of Police Stations to Detain Migrants
- Platform for International Cooperation on Undocumented Migrants, Criminalisation of migration and solidarity in the EU – 2024 Report
- University of Oxford, Asylum accommodation in the UK
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UPCOMING EVENTS
ECRE
ECRE Member Organisations
- 23 May, Online, LGBTIQ+ Refugees and Asylum Seekers in the Czech Republic, Afghan LGBT Organization and Minorities Organization
- 23 May, Online, Les approches sensibles au genre de la traite des êtres humains : Renforcer le soutien aux femmes et aux filles demandeuses d'asile, France terre d’asile
- 27 May, Family reunification for unaccompanied children within the European Union: The Dublin III Regulation - Challenges and opportunities, Global Family Reunification Network (FRUN)
- 12 June, Online, 55 ans de dictature : après la chute du régime Assad, quelles perspectives pour l'avenir des Syriens ?, Forum réfugiés
- 21 September, Ghent, Refugee Walk, Flemish Refugee Action
Others
- 5 June, London, Navigating Financial Regulations & Unlocking Opportunities for Forcibly Displaced Communities, DLA Piper and United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR)
- 6 June, Brussels, Film Screening: In the Shadow. Women on the Move (Deadline for registrations: 29 May)
- 12 June, Brussels and Online, Civil Society Defending Democracy, Group of the Greens / European Free Alliance in the European Parliament
- 30 June – 1 July, Vienna, Inaugural Conference: Migration in times of Polarization, Vienna Centre for Migration and Law
- 6-8 October, Florence, Effective Migration Governance: Policy Impacts and Trade-Offs, European University Institute (Deadline for applications: 8 September)
- 20-21 November, Vienna, Fachkonferenz : Flüchten – Ankommen – Bleiben, Integrationshaus
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OPEN JOB VACANCIES
ECRE
ECRE Member Organisations
- Finnish Refugee Advice Centre, Oikeustieteen korkeakouluharjoittelijoita, 23 May
- Kids in Need of Defense, Case Manager – Europe, Prague
- Safe Passage, Immigration Lawyer/Immigration Caseworker Supervisor, London, 15 June
- SOLIDAR, Expert(s) to draft a policy paper on realising fair working conditions for migrant workers, 25 May
- Voicify, Secretary General, Brussels 31 May
Others
- Boat Refugee Foundation, Medical Volunteer, Lesvos
- Collective Aid, Lesvos Programmes Manager, Lesvos
- Conciliation Resources, Gender and Peacebuilding Advisor, Nairobi, 2 June
- Europe Cares, Volunteers, Lesvos
- I Have Rights, Project Coordinator, Samos, 31 May
- Islington Law Centre, Children’s Rights Immigration Litigation Solicitor, 16 June
- Latin American Women's Aid, Counsellor – Spanish speaker, London, 30 May
- Migrants' Rights Network, Legal Expert – Criminal Law
- Mobile Info Team, HR Officer, Thessaloniki
- MV Louise Michel, Chief Engineers
- Oxfam Belgium, Director of Programmes, Brussels or Ghent, 31 May
- Radboud University, Postdoctoral Researcher (Social Network Resources and the Labour Market Inclusion of Disadvantaged Groups), 3 June
- Radboud University, Postdoctoral Researcher (RUNOMI Research Programme on Labour Migration), 4 June
- Samos Volunteers, General Volunteers, Language Teachers, Psychologists, Logistics Officer, Community Centre Officers, Communications Officer and Project Manager, Samos
- SolidariTee, Volunteers
- United Nations Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA), Deputy Director of Education (Curriculum & Teaching), Amman, 1 June
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ONGOING CAMPAIGNS
ECRE Member Organisations
Others
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CALLS FOR PAPERS, PROJECT PROPOSALS, UNIVERSITY COURSES etc.
Call for Inputs
Call for Nominations
Calls for Papers
Calls for Scholarships
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