Border control

The Turkish Coast Guard has rescued 14 irregular migrants pushed back by Greek authorities off the northwestern province of Çanakkale.

The teams took action upon receiving information that a group of irregular migrants was drifting off Çanakkale's Ayvacık district.

The financing for the renewal of the term of office of 800 fixed-term border guards in the eastern Aegean has been decided by the managing authority of the Migration Ministry.

The move aims to strengthen the operational capacity of the Hellenic Police for the protection and surveillance of the country's external borders.

Today, the European Commission presented a new report on the state of the Schengen area, in which it once again expresses its support for the accession of Bulgaria and Romania to Schengen by the end of the year, BTA reported.

New data published by European border security agency Frontex on Monday showed that detections of irregular border crossings at the EU's external borders reached a total of nearly 80,700 in the first four months of 2023.

The government of US President Joe Biden has requested the deployment of 1,500 additional military personnel along the US-Mexico border because of the migrant flow that is expected from there after the lifting of restrictions against the spread of the coronavirus, reported Reuters and AFP, quoted by BTA.

Austria will maintain its veto on Schengen expansion, which it imposed on Bulgaria and Romania, until it sees a "sustained decline" in the number of asylum seekers, said Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg in an interview cited by Politico.

The Migration and Asylum Ministry and the EU are co-financing the recruitment of 150 new border guards with funds from the Integrated Border Management Fund - Border Management and Visa Instrument (2021-27).

The new guards will bolster the operational capabilities of the police directorates of Rodopi and Kavala in northern Greece.

The last border checks in Croatia have been abolished after the country's accession to Schengen.

Internal border control at Croatian airports for flights from member countries of the free movement area was lifted.

The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, has indicated the strengthening of the Bulgarian-Turkish border as a priority in operational measures against illegal migration.

China will reopen its borders to foreign tourists for the first time since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, allowing all categories of visas to be issued from Wednesday, Reuters reported.

The lifting of this latest cross-border control measure imposed to protect against COVID-19 comes after authorities last month declared victory over the virus.