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27 March 2025
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EUROPEAN DEVELOPMENTS
CENTRAL EUROPE
MEDITERRANEAN
NEWS FROM THE ECRE OFFICE
RECENT REPORTS
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EUROPEAN DEVELOPMENTS
CENTRAL EUROPE
- The Austrian government is planning to suspend family reunification for people seeking asylum in the country
- The Czech government has announced plans to tighten its asylum law.
- The two parties that are expected to form the next German government have agreed to a significantly stricter approach to migration.
- The Court of Justice of the EU has ruled that Hungary has to correct the gender status of a transgender man in its asylum register.
- The Swiss government has rejected a proposal to limit the country’s population to 10 million.
The Austrian government is planning to suspend family reunification for people seeking asylum in the country. Announcing the measure on 12 March, Chancellor Christian Stocker told journalists that it was necessary to prevent “further overloading” of Austria’s social services. He also stated that the measure would be temporary and that the integration process for people who were already in the country would be prioritised. Stocker’s claim that the suspension was required to ensure “the quality of the school system” was rejected by the opposition Green party. “What the federal government has presented will not help a single child, a single teacher or a single parent,” said Green party education spokesperson Sigrid Maurer when the proposal was approved by the Council of Ministers on 26 March. Critics have also questioned the legality of the measure which, if approved, could initially last until September 2026. The co-director of Amnesty International Austria, Shoura Zehetner-Hashemi, described it as a “clear violation of applicable international law” while the director of the University of Linz’s Institute for European Law, Franz Leidenmühler, said it had little chance of succeeding as the government’s decision to invoke the EU’s emergency clause had not been justified. “There are a whole series of criteria, none of which are met,” he told the Österreich 1 radio station. The proposal will be now be sent to parliament where it could be adopted “as early as April”.
The Czech government has announced plans to tighten its asylum law. On 12 March, members of the ruling coalition met opposition parties to present a series of measures, including restrictions on the possibility to claim asylum, faster deportation procedures and closer monitoring of asylum applicants, that it would like to enact before the end of April. Despite the government’s desire to ensure a rapid approval, the draft law is already facing significant resistance, including from civil society. Describing the draft law as “hastily drafted” and “even unconstitutional”, the executive director of ECRE member organisation the Organization for Aid to Refugees (OPU), Martin Rozumek, said: “It will not stand up in court, especially in higher courts”. He also criticised the government for including measures that go beyond what is required for Czechia to implement the EU Pact on Migration and Asylum. “In Czechia, many people are held in deportation camps and the proposed law allows virtually anyone to be locked up in such prison-like facilities,” he added. Opposition political parties have rejected the proposal for various reasons, including accusations that it is a political ploy ahead of elections that are due to take place in the autumn.
The two parties that are expected to form the next German government have agreed to a significantly stricter approach to migration. According to information about the ongoing coalition negotiations that was published on 25 March, the Christian Democrat (CDU/CSU) alliance and the Social Democratic Party have agreed on a number of measures, including a “huge” increase in the capacity for detaining people pending deportation, a two-year suspension of family reunification, an expansion of the list of safe countries to which people can be deported and the abolition of mandatory legal assistance. However, disagreements remain on other issues, including the possible outsourcing of asylum procedures. Commenting on the SPD’s apparent rejection of the CDU/CSU’s call for the establishment of deportation centres outside Germany, Wiebke Judith from ECRE member organisation PRO ASYL said: “The SPD must clearly oppose the misguided approach of outsourcing asylum procedures,” adding: “Experts are unequivocal: Such attempts lead to great suffering, are extremely expensive, and are usually doomed to failure”.
The Court of Justice of the EU (CJEU) has ruled that Hungary has to correct the gender status of a transgender man in its asylum register. The case relates an Iranian national “VP” who was born female but who had transitioned and subsequently obtained refugee status in Hungary in 2014. Although Hungary granted VP refugee status on the basis of his transgender identity, he was registered as female in the asylum register. In 2022, VP requested, inter alia, that the asylum authority corrected the register. However, the request was rejected on the ground that VP had not proved that they had undergone gender reassignment surgery. VP then launched a legal action before the Budapest High Court which referred the case to the CJEU. On 13 March, the CJEU ruled, inter alia, that “if the purpose of collecting those data was to identify the data subject, those data would appear to refer to that person’s lived gender identity, and not to the identity assigned to them at birth” and that an EU member state “cannot rely on the absence, in its national law, of a procedure for the legal recognition of transgender identity in order to limit the exercise of the right to rectification”. Commenting on the judgement, lawyer Gábor Győző, who represented VP on behalf of ECRE member organisation the Hungarian Helsinki Committee and the Háttér Society, said: “It is very important and welcomed that the Court not only addressed the specifics of the case, but also assessed the Hungarian legal framework and the protection of the rights of trans people in a broader context. Moreover, this decision also serves as a guideline for all other member states on this issue”.
The Swiss government has rejected a proposal to limit the country’s population to 10 million. On 21 March, the Federal Council said that the proposal, which was made by the right-wing Swiss People’s Party (SVP/UDC/PPS), would damage Switzerland’s prosperity, economic growth and security and recommended to legislators and voters to reject it. The government statement came after an SVP/UDC/PPS initiative gathered more than 114,000 signatures requesting a plebiscite on the issue. The SVP/UDC/PPS, which is currently the largest party in the Federal Assembly, had argued that “uncontrolled migration” was overwhelming the country’s infrastructure and causing rent inflation. ECRE member organisation the Swiss Refugee Council denounced the SVP/UDC/PPS initiative for aiming to “radically limit access to protection and asylum in Switzerland”. “The initiative would therefore not only have far-reaching consequences for the economy and prosperity; it would also, and above all, seriously endanger refugee women, children and men seeking protection in Switzerland,” it wrote in a press release. The initiative will now go to parliament which will have more than a year to debate the issue while no date has been set for the national vote.
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EUROPEAN DEVELOPMENTS
MEDITERRANEAN
- International Organization for Migration (IOM) data reveals that 2,452 people lost their lives in the Mediterranean in 2024
- The Cypriot government has refused to investigate recent pushbacks despite a journalist’s offer to present key evidence.
- The Greek Council of State has annulled a ministerial decision characterising Türkiye as a ‘safe third country’ for people seeking asylum from five countries while the European Court of Human Rights has condemned the Hellenic Coastguard for the causing the death of an Iraqi minor.
- The Italian government is exploring the possibility of converting its detention facilities in Albania into repatriation centres.
- A search and rescue NGO has alleged that Undersecretary of State Alfredo Mantovano has admitted that Italian secret services authorised the use of spyware surveillance to monitor its members.
- The Maltese prime minister has announced that he plans to prioritise reforming human rights conventions during his country’s presidency of the Council of Europe.
New data has revealed that 2024 was the deadliest year on record for people on the move. According to the data, which was published by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) on 21 March, of the 8,938 recorded fatalities worldwide in 2024, at least 2,452 occurred in the Mediterranean. Although there were 233 fewer recorded deaths in the Mediterranean in 2024 compared to the previous year (3,155), the IOM stated that “the large number shows the need for adequate search and rescue systems as well as the need for safe and regular migration routes as alternatives to this risky journey”. There have been 343 recorded deaths in the Mediterranean in the first three months of 2025 and 31,724 since the IOM began collecting data on them in 2014. The IOM also acknowledges that the actual number of deaths and disappearances is likely to be much higher, as many more have gone undocumented.
The controversy surrounding a recent shipwreck and accusations of pushbacks in Cyprus has continued to grow. On 20 March, Minister of Defence Vasilis Palmas rejected the accusations levelled against the government about the recent incidents that resulted in the deaths of at least seven people and the forced return of 80 others. “These allegations made against the competent authorities of the republic do not exist”, Palmas said whilst also ruling out any investigation. Palmas also said that his country was not “an unfortified democracy” but one with bodies and institutions that “absolutely respect maritime law and international law”. Meanwhile, journalist Constantinos Constantinou, who had revealed the evidence that had led to the pushback accusations, has released a statement in which he countered Minister of Justice and Public Order Marios Hartsiotis’ claim that the evidence was “of dubious quality and origin” and contained “inaccurate facts”. Constantinou clarified that all of the material that he had shared – with the exception of one photograph whose validity was uncertain – definitively related to the incident in question. He also expressed his readiness to testify and to present all of the evidence if the Attorney General were to appoint an investigative committee.
There have been two significant rulings in favour of people asylum in Greece. On 21 March, the Greek Council of State annulled a joint ministerial decision designating Türkiye as a “safe country” for refugee applicants from Syria, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Somalia. As a result, people from those countries who apply for asylum in Greece will no longer face automatic returns to Türkiye. The case was brought by two ECRE member organisations, Refugee Support Aegean (RSA) and the Greek Council for Refugees. RSA told ECRE: “This decision comes as a self-evident and resounding response from justice, putting a stop to the long-standing and systematic violation of our country’s obligations through the denial of protection to refugees”. Elsewhere, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has condemned Greece over the death of an Iraqi minor, who was shot by the Hellenic Coast Guard near Symi in August 2015. The court ruled that coastguard officers had failed to prioritise protecting the lives of passengers during the operation, consequently breaching the right to life under Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights. Commenting on the ruling, Marianna Tzeferakou, an RSA lawyer who was involved in the case, said: “This decision is not about an isolated incident”. “Other pending cases before the ECtHR concerning coastguard operations, including pushbacks, as well as the ongoing investigation before the Greek prosecutorial authorities regarding the deadly shipwreck off Pylos, highlight the same fundamental violation by the Greek authorities,” she added.
The Italian government is exploring the possibility of converting its detention facilities in Albania into repatriation centres (CPRs). On 24 March, Minister of the Interior Matteo Piantedosi said: “The Albanian centres could help strengthen the repatriation system for irregular migrants who have no right to remain in Italy”. He added that that they could be turned into CPRs at no additional cost as they were already set up for deportations. Later on the same day, however, Piantedosi seemed to contradict his earlier statement when he said that the centres could not be transformed into CPRs as “one already exists within a multipurpose facility”. “We only need to activate it as soon as possible,” he added. Critics have raised doubts about the feasibility of the government’s plans to repurpose the two centres, not least due to the need for an amendment to the Italy-Albania Protocol. The government is reportedly preparing an “Albania Decree” to be discussed at a cabinet meeting on 28 March.
The search and rescue NGO Mediterranea Saving Humans has alleged that Undersecretary of State Alfredo Mantovano has admitted that Italian secret services did in fact authorise the use of spyware surveillance to monitor its members. In a press release issued on 26 March, the organisation said that it had been considered a “threat to national security”. The Italian government had previously denied any involvement in the phone hacking scandal.
The Maltese prime minister has announced that he plans to prioritise reforming human rights conventions during his country’s presidency of the Council of Europe (CoE). Robert Abela made the announcement during a meeting on migration issues with leaders from 14 EU member states that took place before the latest European Council meeting on 20 March. He said that his proposal had been received with interest and that it was intended to reflect current migration realities. “Our country always was, is and will be at the forefront of strengthening human rights,” he said, adding: “But only where this is deserved”. His remarks have sparked controversy and criticism. A government source expressed surprise at Abela’s proposal, noting that its content had not been included in the priorities for Malta’s CoE presidency that Minister for Foreign Affairs Ian Borg had presented in February. The chair of the centre-left Momentum party, Arnold Cassola, described Abela’s declaration as “very serious” and linked it to “moves that right-wing governments in Europe are undertaking to ride roughshod over human rights provisions when tackling the migration issue”. He also called for clarification from the prime minister but none was provided. The Daphne Caruana Galizia Foundation described the proposal as a “new low” for Malta while ECRE member organisation the aditus Foundation said that it was “extremely worrying and embarrassing” that the incoming CoE chair would opt for “populism, exclusion and sheer obliviousness”. In a press release issued on 25 March, the aditus Foundation called on Malta to “use its leadership of the Council of Europe to strengthen respect of this valuable instrument, instead of killing it to suit populistic and very dangerous agenda”.
Related articles
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NEWS FROM THE ECRE OFFICE
The updated AIDA Country Report on Bulgaria 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: The overall decline in arrivals from Türkiye led to a 45% decrease in registered asylum applications (12,250 applicants in 2024 compared to 22,518 in 2023). The in-merit recognition rate stood at 61%, down from 2023 and 2022, but in a context of reduced absconding compared to previous years. Almost all positive decisions (99%) granted subsidiary protection rather than refugee status.
Asylum procedure
- National context: The political and constitutional turmoil in Bulgaria during 2024 significantly affected the asylum system due to a lack of political support and engagement, and subsequent underfunding.
- Access to the territory: In the context of increased border controls by Bulgaria, Greece, Türkiye and the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex), the number of “prevented entries” reported by the Bulgarian authorities decreased significantly in 2024 (70% reduction to 52,534). However, monitoring shows that many people were pushed back at the border or apprehended after an irregular border crossing. In parallel, there was a 41% increase in the number of people officially apprehended at the border with Türkiye, seen as a direct consequence of the presence of Frontex staff. In previous years, the numbers were notoriously low due to widespread pushbacks.
- Access to the asylum procedure: Asylum applicants continued to be deprived of direct access to the asylum procedure when apprehended at the border. Only 2% of those apprehended gained direct access to registration and accommodation without first being taken to and detained in a deportation centre. Such practices do not affect those who manage to reach the registration facilities independently.
- Quality of the asylum procedure: While the average length of the asylum procedure remained under six months and several improvements were observed in its overall quality, notably regarding safeguards, applicants from Afghanistan and Türkiye continued to face discriminatory treatment.
Reception conditions
- Reception conditions below basic standards: Reception conditions in Bulgaria have been gradually deteriorating for over 10 years due to a lack of funding. In 2024, reception centres failed to provide essential services such as access to adequate food, hot water and clean functioning sanitation facilities, protection from vermin infestations and subsequent health issues, etc. in many cases. The personal allowance foreseen in EU and national law has not been provided to asylum applicants since 2015. Safety in reception centres continued to be seriously compromised by the presence of smugglers, drug dealers and sex workers.
- Lack of access to healthcare: As in previous years, asylum applicants faced significant barriers in accessing consistent healthcare in 2024 due to Bulgaria’s chronic shortage of general practitioners. Due to budgetary constraints, the asylum authority was unable to cover necessary medical expenses as provided by law; these were usually covered by the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and civil society.
- Reception of unaccompanied minors: Thanks to collaboration with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the International Organization for Migration, and funding from the EU’s Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund and the Swiss asylum authority, the two existing safe zones were maintained and a third one opened in 2024, with overall better conditions compared to the general reception centres.
Detention of asylum seekers
- Length of detention in detention centres: Against the backdrop of decreased arrivals and asylum applicants, 99% of third country nationals who applied for international protection in a police detention centre were released on average one day before the statutory deadline. In 2024, building on progress since 2022, no registration or protection status determinations were conducted from detention centres.
Content of international protection
- Improved access to residence permits: Following years of significant difficulties for beneficiaries of international protection (BIPs) who found themselves stuck in a ‘Catch 22’ situation in which they were unable to access identity documents, the relevant law was amended in October 2024. As a result, BIPs were able to register a municipal address to obtain civil registration and a national identity number and thus a valid identity document.
- Inclusion policies: 2024 was the 11th year of Bulgaria’s “zero integration” policy at the national level. At the local level, only two municipalities signed integration agreements with new BIPs in 2024.
Temporary protection
- Statistics: 27,775 Ukrainians registered under the temporary protection (TP) scheme in Bulgaria in 2024 and there were 60,864 TP holders in Bulgaria at the end of the year.
- Reception conditions: There was still no food assistance for TP beneficiaries and newly arrived displaced people from Ukraine continued to be accommodated in a former detention centre in which no food, medical aid, social assistance or information is provided.
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
March
February
ECRE Member Organisations
March
February
Others
March
February
- Alarm Phone, Abandonment and punishment: how France treats victims and survivors of tragedies at sea
- Asylum and Migration Working Group (TAI), Oltre la frontiera : L’accordo Italia-Albania e la sospensione dei diritti
- Collective Aid, Bulgaria Needs Assessment
- Democratic Lawyers of Switzerland, Legal Centre Lesvos, and Samos Volunteers and the, Expert Opinion: No Returns to Greece – Dublin Returnees Face Real Risk of Inhuman or Degrading Treatment
- Doctors Without Borders (MSF), Trapped between borders: The life-threatening consequences of increased militarisation and violence at the Poland-Belarus border
- EU Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA), Planned return hubs in third countries: EU fundamental rights law issues
- European Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex), 2024 in brief
- European Court of Auditors, Special Report 05/2025: Cohesion’s Action for Refugees in Europe – Increased flexibility but insufficient data hinders future assessment of effectiveness
- European Parliament, Planned revision of the EU Return Directive
- European Parliament, Community sponsorship schemes under the new pact on migration and asylum: A common EU approach?
- European Parliament, Displaced Ukrainians: Challenges and outlook for integration in the EU
- European Union Agency for Asylum, Practical Guide on applicants with diverse sexual orientations, gender identities, gender expressions and sex characteristics
- Europe Cares et al., Monthly Report: Paréa Lesvos – January 2025
- Europe Must Act, Housing in Europe: A Camp is Not a Home
- Human Rights Watch, Ship of Humanity: Witness to Rescue in the Mediterranean
- ILGA-Europe, Annual Review of the Human Rights Situation of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex People in Europe and Central Asia
- Protect Not Surveil, Stopping the Unfettered Expansion of Europol’s Digital Surveillance Powers Against Migrants
- Protecting Rights At Borders, Reshaping Europe’s Space: Does the Schengen Border Code’s Reform undermine people (on the move)’s fundamental rights?
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UPCOMING EVENTS
ECRE Member Organisations
- 10 April, Brussels, Intervision Training: Respect for the principle of non-refoulement at the border, ECRE and NANSEN
- 12 May, Brussels, 100 Boats – 100 Million People, Arbeiterwohlfahrt (AWO) Saxony-Anhalt
- 16-17 May, Athens, Crossing Borders – Building Futures: Restorative Justice for Children and Young People on the Move, European Forum for Restorative Justice
- 25 April, Glasgow, Refugee Festival Scotland 2025, Scottish Refugee Council
- 21 September, Ghent, Refugee Walk, Flemish Refugee Action
Others
- 31 March, Online, Applying for EU funding opportunities as an at-risk researcher, Inspireurope+
- 1-2 April, Online, Annual Conference on European Immigration Law, Academy of European Law (ERA)
- 10 April, London, One year on from the EU’s Asylum and Migration Pact: Critical Reflections, University of East London
- 7-11 April, Turin, Making Finance Work for Refugees, Displaced, and Host Communities, International Labour Organization
- 25 April, Online, Migration Communication Strategies: Effective Approaches to Depolarise the Debate, European University Institute
- 30 June – 1 July, 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
- 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
- Bulgarian Helsinki Committee, Expert on Project Management, 28 March
- Fenix – Humanitarian Legal Aid, Interpreters, Remote
- Jesuit Refugee Service Europe, Communications Officer, 31 March
- Kids in Need of Defense, Case Manager – Europe, Lublin
- Red Cross EU Office, Head of Social Inclusion and Migration Unit, Brussels, 13 April
- Safe Passage International, Policy and Public Affairs Manager, London, 30 March
Others
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- Doctors Without Borders (MSF), Emergency Coordinator, Brussels, 6 April
- Doctors Without Borders (MSF), Travailleur.euse social.e, Marseille, 31 March
- The Lebanese Center for Human Rights, Social Worker, Lebanon, 31 March
- Boat Refugee Foundation, Medical Volunteer, Lesvos
- Europe Cares, Volunteers, Lesvos
- I Have Rights, Volunteer Caseworker, Samos
- I Have Rights, Volunteer Interpreters (Arabic, Dari, Farsi, Kurmanji and Turkish), Remote
- MV Louise Michel, Chief Engineers
- Samos Volunteers, General Volunteers, Language Teachers, Psychologists, Logistics Officer, Community Centre Officers and Communications Officer, Samos,
- Rainbow Migration, Legal Officer, London,
- Right to Remain, Senior Legal Education Officer, London, 6 April
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ONGOING CAMPAIGNS
ECRE Member Organisations
- Arbeiterwohlfahrt (AWO), AWO gegen Rassismus – AWO für Vielfalt!
- 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
- Estonian Refugee Council, Three Years Too Many
- Flemish Refugee Action, Stop de harde aanpak van mensen op de vlucht
- Jesuit Refugee Service, Our shared humanity
- Passerell, CHARTER UP!
- Refugees Welcome Italia, Accoglienza Famiglia Afghana
- Safe Passage International, End Channel Tragedies: Share a Message of Solidarity and Call for Change
- Safe Passage, Say no to the hostile environment
- Together With Refugees, The Fair Begins Here Promise
Others
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CALLS FOR PAPERS, PROJECT PROPOSALS, UNIVERSITY COURSES etc.
Call for Applications
Call for Nominations
Call for Submissions
Calls for Papers
Calls for Scholarships
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