European Council on Refugees and Exiles (ECRE) Press Releases

• Published on July 3, 2025 - 18:36 GMT

  MEDITERRANEAN: More deaths and rescues ― German government to stop funding ‘civil fleet’ ― Spanish police investigating murders of ...

  There have been more deaths and NGO-led rescues along the Mediterranean migration routes. The German government has announced that it is cancelling the funding that it has been providing to search and rescue NGOs since 2022. Spanish police have launched a …

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• Published on July 3, 2025 - 10:16 GMT

  AIDA Country Report on Serbia – Update on 2024

  |Published on: 3rd July 2025|Categories: News| The updated AIDA Country Report on Serbia provides a detailed overview on legislative and practice-related developments in asylum procedures, reception conditions, detention of asylum applicants and content of …

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• Published on June 26, 2025 - 23:58 GMT

  EU EASTERN BORDERS: Baltic countries and Poland call on EU to increase focus on eastern border ― Estonian NGO helps to relaunch ...

  The Baltic countries and Poland have called on the EU institutions to increase their focus on the bloc’s eastern border. An NGO in Estonia has relaunched a helpline to provide mental health support for Ukrainians living in Ukraine and elsewhere in Europe. …

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• Published on June 26, 2025 - 23:58 GMT

  Philip Rudge – A Tireless Campaigner for Refugee Rights in Europe

  By Martin Barber and Jeff Crisp We were both working at the British Refugee Council (BRC) in 1984, when Philip Rudge arrived to set up the office of the modestly-named European Consultation on Refugees and Exiles (ECRE) on the top floor of 3-9 Bondway, in …

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• Published on June 26, 2025 - 23:58 GMT

  AIDA Country Report on Ukraine – Update on 2024

  |Published on: 26th June 2025|Categories: News| The updated AIDA Country Report on Ukraine provides a detailed overview on legislative and practice-related developments in asylum procedures, reception conditions, detention of asylum applicants and content …

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• Published on June 26, 2025 - 23:57 GMT

  EU EXTERNAL PARTNERS: European Parliament committee probes human rights in EU-Southern Neighbourhood deals ― EU approves €4 ...

  The European Parliament (EP) Subcommittee on Human Rights has organised a public hearing on the human rights implications of the EU’s memoranda of understanding (MoU) with its partners in the Southern Neighbourhood. The EP has approved €4 billion in macro- …

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• Published on June 19, 2025 - 15:26 GMT

  OP-ED: The fall of the Dutch government – that took longer than expected

  By Michiel Kruyt and Femke de Vries On 3 June, the Dutch government collapsed. Geert Wilders, leader of the far-right Party for Freedom (PVV), walked out of the four-party coalition over a created dispute on asylum policy, effectively bringing down the …

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• Published on June 19, 2025 - 15:26 GMT

  ECRE Comments Paper: Proposal for a Return Regulation

  ECRE has published a comments paper on the European Commission’s (EC) proposal for a Regulation establishing a common system for the return of third country nationals staying illegally in the Union, commonly referred to as the Return Regulation. The …

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• Published on June 19, 2025 - 15:26 GMT

  AIDA Country Report on Egypt

  ECRE has published the first AIDA report on Egypt. It was researched and drafted by Refugees Platform in Egypt and edited by ECRE, and it uses the AIDA methodology which was developed by ECRE. The report introduces the asylum context in Egypt, the …

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• Published on June 19, 2025 - 15:26 GMT

  MEDITERRANEAN: More deaths of people on the move ― NGO blames Italian policies for hindering civilian search and rescue operations ...

  The Central Mediterranean route has continued to claim the lives of people who try to make the dangerous crossing between North Africa and Europe. A new NGO report has blamed measures introduced by the Italian government for hindering the activities of …

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• Published on June 19, 2025 - 08:13 GMT

  ATLANTIC ROUTE and SPAIN: Major fall in irregular arrivals on Canary Islands ― NGO estimates at least 1,865 deaths on migratory ...

  There has been a significant decrease in the number of irregular arrivals on the Canary Islands. An NGO has estimated that at least 1,865 people died or went missing on the various migratory routes between Africa and Spain in the first five months of 2025. …

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• Published on June 18, 2025 - 16:21 GMT

  AIDA Country Report on Belgium – Update on 2024

  |Published on: 18th June 2025|Categories: News| The updated AIDA Country Report on Belgium provides a detailed overview on legislative and practice-related developments in asylum procedures, reception conditions, detention of asylum applicants and content …

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• Published on June 17, 2025 - 10:12 GMT

  AIDA Country Report on Germany – Update on 2024

  |Published on: 17th June 2025|Categories: News| The updated AIDA Country Report on Germany provides a detailed overview on legislative and practice-related developments in asylum procedures, reception conditions, detention of asylum applicants and content …

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• Published on June 13, 2025 - 12:48 GMT

  CENTRAL EUROPE: Court rules Germany’s pushback policy unlawful ― Hungarian government postpones vote on controversial anti-NGO law ...

  A German court has ruled that the new government’s policy of turning away undocumented people at the border is unlawful. The vote on a controversial legislative proposal aimed at severely curtailing the activities of NGOs in Hungary has been postponed. A …

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• Published on June 13, 2025 - 00:08 GMT

  AIDA Country Report on France – Update on 2024

  |Published on: 12th June 2025|Categories: News| The updated AIDA Country Report on France provides a detailed overview on legislative and practice-related developments in asylum procedures, reception conditions, detention of asylum applicants and content …

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• Published on June 12, 2025 - 14:18 GMT

  MEDITERRANEAN: EU court rules in favour of parents on the move ― Italian Senate approves controversial security law ― Italy ...

  The Court of Justice of the EU has ruled that helping minors under one’s care to enter the EU is not a crime. The Italian Senate has passed the government’s controversial security law. Italy has ended its contracts with the Israeli cyber company Paragon …

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• Published on June 10, 2025 - 22:17 GMT

  AIDA Country Report on Ireland – 2024 Update

  |Published on: 9th June 2025|Categories: News| The updated AIDA Country Report on Ireland provides a detailed overview on legislative and practice-related developments in asylum procedures, reception conditions, detention of asylum applicants and content …

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• Published on May 23, 2025 - 01:13 GMT

  EU EASTERN BORDERS: Anti-NGO law proposed in Hungary ― Poland extends controversial asylum law ― Return-focused reception centre ...

  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 …

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• Published on May 22, 2025 - 16:03 GMT

  AIDA Country Report on the Netherlands – Update on 2024

  |Published on: 22nd May 2025|Categories: News| 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 …

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• Published on May 21, 2025 - 15:00 GMT

  Proposed reform of the Safe Third Country concept

  Background The 2024 agreement on the Asylum Procedures Regulation (APR) in the Pact on Migration and Asylum included a review of the Safe Third Country (STC) concept due to disagreements among EU member states. The European Commission has completed the …

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