Daily Report
Arrivals and Departures
Greek coast guards rescued 120 refugees and migrants in three separate incidents off the islands of Lesvos and Samos, authorities said on Wednesday morning.
The Greek press reports that Turkish observers who have arrived to oversee the implementation of the EU agreement between Turkey and Greece request Greek authorities to share with them a list of persons who are to be returned to Turkey one week prior to the readmission procedure. This is to allow adequate time for necessary checks.
Condition of People
On Wednesday, an increased presence of military forces and Special Police Forces of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia was noticed at the border crossing with Greece.
A group of around 100 to 200 people attempted to remove the border fence on the Greek side of the border using blankets. Tear gas was fired by former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonian police with the aim of dispersing the crowd. This led also to increased presence of Greek Special Forces. No injuries were reported in the clashes.
Critical Developments
In Germany, the coalition government set out details for an envisaged integration law; leaders of the Social Democrats (SPD), Christian Democrats (CDU), and their Bavarian party, CSU, agreed on key issues to be included in a draft which will be decided upon during a government retreat on 24 May. The draft law sets out that asylum seekers’ refusal of integration measures would lead to reduced social benefits. Consequences would also occur if people violate obligations regarding their residency. Moreover, 100,000 so-called 1-Euro jobs for asylum seekers shall facilitate access to the labour market and a “priority review” regulation that prioritized German nationals and nationals of other EU countries over asylum seekers in job applications shall be omitted.
Austrian Minister of Interior, Johanna Mikl-Leitner, announced that by the end of 2019, 50,000 asylum-seekers whose applications were rejected will be returned to their countries of origin. As voluntary returns of people in question is the preferred modality for return, the Federal Office for Immigration and Asylum will pilot a financial support project regarding return and reintegration for Afghan, Moroccan, and Nigerian nationals.