Magnus Brunner, EU migration commissioner, today on his upcoming trip to Libya: "I know there will be some criticism about getting involved with authorities, which are a bit dodgy - to be diplomatic. But we have to get involved."

Been reporting on migration and asylum since 2012. It's easy to get lost in the details, to forget the backstory, the historical context, the leaked documents, and the political shifts over the years. Here's an explainer, a sample of what I hope you find interesting. euobserver.com/migration/ar...

EU commission is helping Germany tweak its laws so that police can more easily turn people back at its Schengen border. Notes new Schengen border code allows for a so-called 'transfer procedure' that can be used with neighbouring countries to carry out refusal entries. Schengen pushbacks?

Trying a new format, bringing together our archives that traces the story over the years. Here is our first attempt. This one on Tunisia with my first story dating back to 2021. eu-tunisia.euobserver.com

EUobserver is soon turning 25. Blessed to have been part of this since 2012 - thanks to all our subscribers. @euobserver.com join.euobserver.com

Court upends Greek attempts at returning refugees to Turkey

EC likely to review Frontex mandate when it comes to deporting people to [most probably] prison detention camps in third countries [aka return hubs] for rejected asylum seekers issued with a return order

Leaked draft bill on returns is a regulation. From the leaked draft = "the proposal introduces the possibility to return third-country nationals who have been issued a return decision to a third country with which there is an agreement or arrangement for return ('return hubs')".

"I've been polling for a decade and a half, I've run data campaigns and strategies across over 12 federal and national elections across the world. I have never seen public opinion across so many Western countries unilaterally skeptical about immigration ever," James Kanagasooriam at Focaldata.

EU commission does an about turn on the safe country of origin concept in APD. In January, they apparently said there could be no exceptions. Yesterday at the ECJ hearing on Albania-Italy deal, they changed their tune. "It was very strange," says Dario Belluccio, one of the lawyers at the hearing.

A new study shows that "offering a discount significantly increases the odds of people paying for subscription" on paywalled news sites (like ours). Here's a little natural experiment: the first 10 people to use the discount code Bluesky25 get 25% off a yearly membership. euobserver.com/register

Excellent analysis by @nikolajnielsen.bsky.social of Tusk's challenge to the EU's Migration Pact, which the Commission appears to condone

Polish EU prez yesterday appeared to suggest there is a need to revisit the EU's pact on asylum and migration. Not sure if the interpretation was correct. But given Poland's stand on the pact, perhaps? "Many member states can already see that there is a need to have the issue discussed," Siemonia

Safe-third country concept now up for debate. Asylum working party in the council on Wednesday to discuss: removing connection criteria; suspensive effect of appeal [article 68a APR], restrict movement of asylum seekers, and notion of 'effective protection' [article 57 APR].

Migrant instrumentalisation debate in Finland. 1. Russia is using migrants to destabilise Finland. 2. Finland closes land border, creates Act to suspend asylum protection. 3. Act can only be implemented when Russia uses migrants to destabilise Finland. 4. Act has never been implemented.

When rescuers arrived at Seifalla's body on the afternoon of 29 December 2024, animals had already gotten to him. "This is also something that could have been avoided if the border police did not prevent us from reaching the location." euobserver.com/migration/ar...

The European Union Border Assistance Mission in Libya is getting a revised operational plan. Point cited on today's council agenda (Political and Security Committee). Behind closed doors of course.

EU bubble double speak. Poland opposes EU asylum migration pact. Poland is also helm of EU presidency. So how will the Polish prez convince Warsaw to implement it? Response from Polish presidency/interior ministry = move forward with "complementary" policies to make it "more implementable".

Free article. euobserver.com/migration/ar...

EU policy lingo is shifting the word "instrumentalisation" of migrants to "weaponisation" of migrants. The shift is not incidental. One senior diplomat told reporters today that weaponisation "gives a rather large tool of means that can be used in order to fight it.”

IOM data brief #migrant 2024: A. Arrivals [188k] to Europe are down by 32% compared to last year (292k). B. Central Mediterranean (CMR) route still main entry point to Europe with 36% of landings, down 60% compared to last year. C. Western (WMR)& Eastern (EMR) routes almost same as last year.

EU commission communique on hybrid threats suggests its okay to suspend the right to asylum along the Polish and Baltic borders with Russia and Belarus, as well as condoning pushbacks. Although couched in legalise, the document, published today, sets a new right-wing tone for this commission.

At the end of September 2024, Syrians, Colombians and Venezuelans had the largest share of first instance pending #asylum cases (101,000, 97,000 and 86,000, respectively) in the EU +

Yesterday, Rob Bauer, Nato admiral and chair of the military committee, weighed in on Israel's war in Gaza amid accusations of Western hypocrisy by some over Ukraine. Why all out military and moral support for Ukraine but only tepid pressure on Israel? His responses were revealing.

Ibad Bayramov, the son of a detained dissident in Azerbaijan, is pressing for his father's release - a prof. at London university LSE. Gubad Ibadoghlu's crime? Investigating corruption in the petro-state's fossil fuel industry. "They are now basically using COP to silence [critics]," Ibad tells me.