Human migration

Fewer than a third of unaccompanied children succeeded in winning asylum in Greece last year, with the rest of the applications rejected or in limbo, aid agency Save the Children said in calling for better protection of those most vulnerable.

The irregular migrant operations spearheaded by the Interior Ministry in Istanbul have gained significant traction, resulting in the detention and deportation of more than 10,000 illegal immigrants in the last 20 days.

Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya revealed last week that 15,791 illegal and irregular migrants were apprehended across Türkiye in the past month.

More than 300 illegal migrants have been identified as part of the large-scale operation of the Ministry of the Interior, the State Police and the Prosecutor's Office against illegal trafficking, which began yesterday. 15 persons have been detained, more than 19 fast-track proceedings have been initiated, announced the Chief Secretary of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Petar Todorov.

Türkiye has relinquished its position as the country with the highest number of rejected Schengen visa applications in 2021 to Algeria, while topping the list of countries with the most applications, according to data from a Schengen-related news publishing website.

40 illegal migrants were found in a warehouse near Sofia, Nova TV reported. Police detained three persons sympathetic to the organization for the illegal trafficking of migrants.

Photo: Nikolay Hristov, Bulgarian National Radio

With the intensifying efforts to combat illegal migration in Istanbul, security forces have apprehended more than 3,500 individuals in the last six days, while foreigners who live registered in the city stated that they were satisfied with the inspections, local media has reported.

Interior Ali Yerlikaya Minister has announced that the measures to detect and combat illegal migration will continue to intensify following the evening inspections conducted last week.

The fight against irregular migration has been identified as a top priority by the ministry, with efforts being made not only in Istanbul but also across all 81 provinces, Yerlikaya said.

VIENNA - Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer said on Friday Austria, Serbia and Hungary had succeeded in curbing illegal migration, and thanked Serbia for amending its visa regime for Indian and Tunisian nationals, which he noted had resulted in a decline in the number of illegal migrants in Austria.

He was speaking after a Vienna summit of the three countries.

A specialized police operation against illegal migration has been launched across the country, BNR reported.

The police, together with the prosecutor's office, will attack the so-called "Havalari".

Tusk was referring to a law change that would relax visa requirements for citizens from a number of countries including India, Pakistan, United Arab Emirates and Nigeria in order to address shortages in the labour market.