Human migration

A Turkish Foreign Ministry official has argued Bulgaria has been exaggerating the impact of the migrant crisis, Today's Zaman reports.

The challenges, problems and opportunities created by the refugee crisis will be the focus of the 15th meeting of the Transatlantic Council on Migration which will take place on Jan. 17-19 in Berlin with the participation of politicians, heads of organizations and researches from around the world.

Asylum seekers returned to Hungary "run a considerable risk of being subject to human rights violations” - and deportation to Serbia.

This is due to the changes introduced in Hungary in the asylum law and practice in recent months, Council of Europe (CoE) Commissioner for Human Rights Nils Muiznieks said on Wednesday.

During a parliamentary question and answer session on Wednesday, Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov stated that the closing of borders is necessary in order to halt the refugee influx.

Borisov added that the Bulgarian government has always maintained a firm stance on the refugee crisis.

Ankara is planning to offer Syrian refugees work permits in order to encourage fewer of them to migrate to Europe, Turkish EU Minister Volkan Bozk?r said Jan. 11, amid pressure from the EU to reduce the flow of migrants from Turkey. 

Forty-six migrants or refugees have been reported dead or missing in the Mediterranean in the first six days of 2016, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) has reported.

Asylum-seekers could be deported if they're found to have participated in a string of New Year sexual assaults in Cologne, Germany's justice minister said Jan. 7.

Deputy Minister of Migration Policy Giannis Mouzalas stated that from those who enter Greece through Turkey 50% are illegal immigrants and 50% are refugees, while two months ago the ratio was 80% refugees and 20% illegal immigrants.

The EU has invited officials of Denmark, Sweden and Germany to an emergency meeting on Wednesday after the two Scandinavian countries tightened border checks in a bid to cope with the worst migration crisis in Europe since WWII.

Two Turkish airline companies have temporarily halted flights to Russia after experiencing problems in acquiring visas for their flight crews.