Mediaboss Marketing

EU chiefs admit less than a third of failed asylum seekers are sent home, creating a pull factor for economic migrants to board smuggler boats

EUROPEAN governments are making the migrant crisis worse by failing to send illegal immigrants home when their claims for asylum are rejected, according to senior figures in Brussels.

Less than a third of those ordered to leaveare actually deported, creating a pull factor for economic migrants to join the tens of thousands of refugeesseeking to reach the EU.

Alamy Live News

An economic migrant who survivesthe journey across the Mediterraneanhas a 73 per cent chance of stayingin the EU even if served with an orderto leave, official statistics show.

The latest figures for migrant arrivals also show a surge in arrivals from countries such as Nigeria, Ivory Coast and Banlgadesh, which have low ratesof recognition of refugee status compared to war-torn Syria.

It suggestsmany people may bemoving for economic reasons, reports The Times.

One EU diplomat working on migration told the paper: The inability of EU governmentsto enforce deportations is the biggest pull factor.

If people know that as illegal immigrants they have a 70 percent-plus chance of being able to stay,even if ordered to leave, then it is hardlysurprising people get into the boats.

David Wood, former director-generalof immigration enforcement at theHome Office, said: In reality thevast majority stay here, regardless ofthe merits of their application.

There were about 2.6 million asylum applications in the EU in 2015-16 withan average success rate of 57 per cent.

A report by the European Commission said governments were left with one millionpeople to deport, but they only hada rate ofeffective return to non-EU countriesof 36.4 per cent.

Getty Images - Getty

The figure falls to 27 per cent when returns to Balkans states are excluded.

In a letter to governments in March, Commission president Jean-Claude Junckersaid: Only athird of those who should be returnedare effectively returned. This is notsustainable.

Yesterday the prime minister of Libya warned Europe will continue to face a terror threat unless it helps stem the flow of migrants through North Africa.

Last month Brussels officials admitted the migrant crisis will rage for decades after the Austrian army mobilised troops and tanks on the border to stop migrants arriving from Italy.

We pay for your stories! Do you have a story for The Sun Online news team? Email us at tips@the-sun.co.uk or call 0207 782 4368 . We pay for videos too. Click here to upload yours.

Read more from the original source:
Weak EU governments 'are fuelling the migrant crisis by failing to send failed asylum seekers home' - The Sun

The EU pledged to help Italy and Greece as well as non-EU member Turkey by relocating 160,000 asylum seekers as the nations call out for support from the 27-member superstate.

But with the deadline looming next month, Brussels have only managed to ferry 26,295 people from Italy and Greece across the bloc, the European Commissions own figures revealed.

Some of those migrants have even been moved into the non-EU states of Norway and Switzerland.

The scheme was pushed through the EU by Angela Merkel, who provoked outrage across the continent with her open door immigration policy which saw almost 900,000 people move into Germany.

GETTY

But the mechanism caused outrage in many countries when it was introduced in 2015, with Denmark, Austria, Hungary and the UK all deciding not to pledge any places.

The shocking figures will also spell bad news for beleaguered French president Emmanuel Macron, who pledged to support his Italian neighbours as they struggle to cope with the effects of the migrant crisis.

As he entered office, he claimed his nation had not listened enough to Italys cry for help on the migration crisis but quickly shut the border to migrants just two months later.

Earlier this week Italian Foreign Minister Angelino Alfano accused the EU of abandoning his country.

Almost 98,000 migrants are believed to have entered Italy from Libya alone in the last year.

Asked if Italy had been abandoned by other European nations, Mr Alfano said: A very clear yes.

1 of 10

GETTY

He added: Italy is contributing, but we cannot cope with this burden alone.

He went on to claim European governments should be looking to Libya as the only solution to decrease the number of migrants reaching Italy.

It comes as Libyan Prime Minister Faiez Sarraj warns migrating terrorists travelling from Libya could cause devastation and affect all of the EU due to free movement.

The head of the UN-supported Libyan government Mr Sarraj said: When migrants reach Europe, they will move freely.

If, God forbid, there are terrorist elements among the migrants, a result of any incident will affect all of the EU.

GETTY

Getty Images

1 of 10

Aid workers help migrants up the shore after making the crossing from Turkey to the Greek island of Lesbos on November 16, 2015 in Sikaminias, Greece

Mr Sarraj has since called on the EU to help secure the nations border and asked the UN to lift an embargo which stops Libya from purchasing arms.

The prime minister also said it was time to pressure African nations into taking back economic migrants.

He told The Times: The EU must do more to us help face smuggling.

We cant put the burden on Libya and Italy alone as it is important for all of Europe.

Continued here:
EU has just weeks to relocate 130 THOUSAND migrants as bloc to fail on ANOTHER pledge - Express.co.uk

The debate over the migrant crisis has a new voice: Pope Francis.

Monday the Vatican released a comprehensive policy document urging countries around the world to ban arbitrary and collective expulsions of refugees or migrants, and to expand the number of safe and legal pathways for migration.

The policy document, Responding to Refugees and Migrants: Twenty Action Points, was released by the Vaticans section on Migrants and Refugees, a small department within the Vatican that Francis directly oversees. The document comes in anticipation of talks on immigration and migration at the United Nations scheduled for next year.

The memo also highlighted the importance of social and economic justice for those who have already migrated, including guaranteeing equal access to education for children. It also calls to prohibit exploitation, forced labor, or trafficking and guaranteeing the rights of undocumented workers who need to report abusive employers. Such stipulations reflect Franciss well documented concern for workers issues more broadly.

Francis delivered a message with the documents release last week. "Every stranger who knocks at our door is an opportunity for an encounter with Jesus Christ, the pope said. "This solidarity must be concretely expressed at every stage of the migratory experience from departure through journey to arrival and return.

He was also critical of anti-migration policies enacted in the name of wider security concerns. "The principle of the centrality of the human person, firmly stated by my beloved predecessor, Benedict XVI, obliges us to always prioritize personal safety over national security, Francis said.

Graham Gordon, head of policy at Catholic aid agency CAFOD, said in a statement: The Holy Father is making clear that all countries must step up to the plate and pull their weight. ... This is one of the greatest crises of the century so far. Not for the first time, the Pope is reminding politicians that history will judge whether they rise to the challenge or abdicate their responsibilities.

While the pope did not call out any politicians by name, its difficult to imagine that he was not referring, at least in part, to the strongly isolationist tendencies of Donald Trump. The two clashed earlier this year during Trumps visit to the Vatican and while Trump was on the campaign trail. This summer, shortly after receiving a pointedly given copy of the Popes 2015 encyclical on climate change, Laudato Si, Trump withdrew from the Paris climate accords.

In taking on the plight of migrants so visibly, the Pope may be repeating his previous strategy on environmental issues: a strategy that with the exception of Trumps response has been largely successful in shaping global discourse.

Laudato Si proved enormously influential in raising political goodwill for environmental initiatives, including the Paris accords. The United Nations chief climate change official, Christiana Figueres, referred to it as a "clarion call" for change, and Catholics including CAFODs UK news officer Liam Finn, celebrated it as a sign of Franciss ability to make Vatican documents the subject of international media coverage.

Franciss media popularity and savvy render his public policy positions far more visible than those of, say, his predecessor Benedict XIV. But it remains to be seen how well Francis shapes the political discourse this time.

Go here to see the original:
Pope Francis is becoming the voice of compassion for the world's refugees - Vox

Italy has been on the frontline of the migration crisis, with thousands of asylum seekers continuingto reach its coastline every month.

Nearly 100,000 the vast majority of those coming over to Europe have arrived in Italy since the start of this year. The Italian government can be forgiven forshowing the strain, with foreign ministerAngelino Alfanotelling a German newspaper over the weekend that "we cannot cope with this burden alone". When asked if he felt Italy had been abandoned by other European Union member states, Signor Alfano said: "A very clear yes".

The ideal solution, in his view, would have been if European members had agreed on a way proposed by the Commission to share the migratory burden with each other. But some, like Hungaryand Bulgaria, kicked up a fuss. Instead, Signor Alfano said, the only solution to curbing the number of migrants "is in Libya".

Continue reading here:
As Italy bears the brunt of the migrant crisis, has it been left by the EU to fend for itself? - Telegraph.co.uk

But it doesn't show any signs of stopping.

Since 2015, Europe has scrambled to cope with the arrival of around 1.5 million people by sea.

In an effort to stem this flow, many European countries have tightened their policies and borders. In 2016, the European Union forged a controversial "one in, one out" deal with Turkey to stop the tide of migrants and refugees fleeing to the continent from the Middle East. And, this year, Italy has adopted an aggressive approach to halting migration across the Mediterranean from North Africa, backing the Libyan coast guard's rescue efforts and cracking down on nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) operating off the country's coast.

Here's what has been happening in the Mediterranean:

Why are NGOs suspending migrant search-and-rescue (SAR) operations in the Mediterranean?

What is the Libyan coast guard doing?

What assistance is Italy providing to the Libyan coast guard and why?

What restrictions has Italy imposed on NGOs?

In late July, Italy's Parliament passed a controversial "code of conduct" for NGOs operating search-and-rescue missions in the Mediterranean. Among the measures are:

Ban on entering Libyan waters except in situations of grave or imminent danger

Ban on phone calls to help migrant departures

Ban on transferring rescued migrants to other vessels

Commitment to allow armed police onto vessels to monitor activities

Three of the eight humanitarian groups operating in the Mediterranean agreed to the terms, while Doctors Without Borders refused to sign, saying it could increase deaths at sea. The mayor of Catania, Italy, told CNN that he believes the code of conduct is behind the recent drop in migrant arrivals there; critics say it is too early to tell.

What is happening to migrant arrivals in Italy?

How is that affecting migrant arrivals elsewhere?

Why has the Italian government shifted its strategy on refugees?

Italy's beefed-up approach to tackling the flow of migrants into the country followed local elections in June, which saw a wave of anti-immigrant mayors and local councilors ushered into office. Critics say the result has left the governing center-left party reeling, forcing Italian leaders to seek short-term solutions at the cost of migrants' lives.

"Our goal is to govern the migration flows," the Italian interior minister, Marco Minniti, said in an August news conference. "A big democracy, a big country, doesn't endure migration's flow, but tries to govern them."

What is happening to migrants intercepted by the Libyan coast guard?

What is the EU's strategy to address the refugee crisis, and how has it changed?

Since the height of the crisis in 2015, governments across Europe have sought to fortify their countries' borders. In February 2017, EU leaders outlined plans to stem the flow of migrants traveling across the Mediterranean from Libya to Italy, and boost the ability of the EU to send people back.

What about the anti-immigrant patrols in the Mediterranean?

An anti-immigrant vessel has underlined just how fraught the debate on refugees has become in Europe. The Defend Europe group deployed its C-Star vessel to the Mediterranean this summer, vowing to stop the "invasion" of refugees attempting to sail to Europe.

"It's created pressure, pressure for the NGOs as we were here, always watching them, documenting them and basically paralyzing them. We've seen it, I think during our operation time, the whole thing has turned against the NGOs. They've lost most public support; many have given up," Martin Sellner, one of the group's leaders told CNN. "We came and they went so definitely a success."

Though the C-Star has been allowed to continue operating in Libya's SAR zone, the Libyan Navy's Qassem told CNN that the coast guard would not work them directly.

"They combat immigration through a spiteful, racist standpoint," Qassem said. "We don't work with racism."

What is happening to the charities that are continuing their missions?

The Spanish aid group Proactiva Open Arms is among several NGOs that have continued to conduct rescue operations in the Mediterranean despite restrictions. Its crew recently reported that the Libyan coast guard fired warning shots while the vessel was in international waters.

"They were warned and told that they could be detained. We gave them a chance to leave and they did," Libyan navy spokesman Qassem told CNN. "They have to respect our sovereignty. They consider themselves above the law and Libyan sovereignty."

CNN's Lorenzo D'Agostino, Sarah El Sirgany, and Saskya Vandoorne contributed to this report. Graphics by CNN's Henrik Pettersson.

See more here:
Europe's migrant crisis isn't going away, but it is changing - CNN