Refugee crisis

As humanitarian support to refugees from Ukraine enters its third year, 19 humanitarian organizations and the UN in Bulgaria are appealing for US$ 38.6 million to support 70,000 refugees from Ukraine in Bulgaria in 2024.

The controversial trial of 24 aid workers who helped dozens of migrants and asylum seekers land safely on the shores of Lesvos at the peak of the refugee crisis is set to begin on the eastern Aegean island on Tuesday.

"Bulgaria is expected to receive 11 billion euros through the EU for the next 7 years", announced on Nova TV the European Commissioner for Jobs and Social Rights Nicolas Schmit. He clarified that it is about signing the Partnership Agreement and that a year has passed.

Ljubljana – All but one parliamentary party welcomed Slovenia’s offer to accept Ukrainian refugees, although there was some scepticism whether the country has the capacity or would even need to take in between 180,000 and 200,000 as suggested by Interior Minister Aleš Hojs. The opposition also raised unequal treatment of refugees depending on their origin.

European Union justice and home affairs ministers are meeting Tuesday to discuss the Taliban's takeover of Afghanistan and the flow of refugees and migrants it is expected to produce.

The meeting comes the day after the last U.S. forces flew out of Kabul's international airport, ending America's longest war.

The journey of a 3.5-meter-tall puppet en route to the U.K., prepared as part of a project titled "The Walk" that is sharing the life story of Little Amal, a 9-year-old Syrian refugee, will begin in the southeastern province of Gaziantep.

Since the onset of the Syrian refugee crisis, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has avoided developing a long-term strategy to help or integrate these refugees in Turkey. Instead, he has used them as bargaining chips with the European Union. In his latest attempt to weaponize these refugees, Erdogan is no longer halting their attempts to reach Europe.

The Public Supervisory Authority (Ombudsman) has said that most of the refugees rushing to the Turkish-Greek border are non-Syrians living in Turkey.

The authority conducted a field research on the refugee crisis on the border between Turkey and Greece, two weeks after Ankara announced that it will no longer prevent migrants from trying to reach Europe.

Greece's decision to suspend new asylum applications for a month is unlawful and shameful, Turkey's interior minister said on March 3.

"According to a statement highlighted by the UNHCR, the 1951 Geneva Convention and the EU refugee law do not allow such a decision, either," Suleyman Soylu said on Twitter.

The UN High Commissioner for Refugees on Tuesday urged European Union countries to give more resources and support to Greece as it faces a new wave of migrants and refugees from Syria and other parts of the Middle East.