European Migration

Tomorrow, EU migration ministers will meet at an emergency meeting to discuss the latest plan from the European Commission to reduce the number of persons entering Europe.

The Greek government is operating “a two-tier refugee response” - one for Ukrainians and one for all other refugees according to a new briefing by the Greek Council for Refugees, Oxfam and Save the Children. 

This month, the European Court of Human Rights' (ECtHR) issued a seismic ruling in the case of A.R.E. v. Greece, condemning, for the first time ever, Greece for its “systematic practice of pushbacks”. This landmark verdict exposes not only Greece’s, but also Europe’s failure to handle migration fairly at its borders.

The case in question centres on A.R.E., a woman who entered Greece to seek asylum in 2019. Instead of examining her asylum application as required by international and European law, the Greek authorities forcibly returned her to Turkey after holding her in a police station where her phone, shoes, and money were taken from her. 

In response to the proposals from the Greek government to install floating barriers in the sea to deter migrants and refugees, Evelien van Roemburg, Oxfam's Europe Migration Campaign manager, said:

"This is an extremely worrying development that would be a violation of the basic human right for people to seek protection and put even more lives at risk.

"People would be forced to make more dangerous crossings through deep and treacherous waters.


 

In Ventimiglia, near the border between Italy and France, refugees and other migrants are living rough, without access to the most basic services. The French police meet children with abuse, and send them back to Italy in violation of French and EU law. Stranded, hundreds of people are unable seek even basic support.