Communications and Policy

Executive Summary The European project has hit strong headwinds in tackling its most recent challenge. The refugee crisis has made institutional shortcomings and divisions between member states more visible than ever. The skyrocketing number of migrant deaths on European borders showed the world the European Union's failure to find a shared solution to the crisis. Although blamed for reacting too late, European leaders have been working on a solution to the refugee crisis, and the efforts have become more visible since the European Commission published its " European Agenda on Migration " in May 2015. German Chancellor Angela Merkel, on the one hand, has been playing a central role in convincing her European counterparts to formulate a common response. On the other hand, a mainly Eastern European group led by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has been actively opposing nearly every facet of Merkel's plan. In an effort to break the political and institutional stalemate, Turkey was brought into the game and became a key partner in " solving " the problem. Although the EU signed and sealed the deal with Turkey, confrontation between the two opposing factions in Europe persists. The issue has become not only a humanitarian crisis but also another important test for European integration itself after the economic crisis. This paper unfolds the story of the European response to the refugee crisis and the central role Angela Markel has played in initiating this. The German Chancellor has always been a leading figure in the EU; however, her position has become even stronger against the backdrop of the refugee issue. This position, of course, has come with a price.

Since the beginning of the Arab uprisings in 2011 and as a result of growing instability in the region, migration transit through Turkey has become an increasingly pressing issue in Europe. The transit of migrants placed Turkey in a buffer position between the Middle East and Europe, and it soon assumed the role of guardian of the Schengen area, “protecting” it from irregular migration. This, combined with the exponential growth of irregular migration flows – soon dubbed the “migrant crisis” – resulted in migration management becoming a key to the ostensible rapprochement between Turkey and the EU. However, as a result of many paradoxes, migration can also hamper Turkey-EU relations, as is already becoming obvious as relations took a turn for the worse since the summer of 2016. - See more at: http://www.iai.it/en/pubblicazioni/migration-paradox-and-eu-turkey-relations#sthash.Y9nkvPDz.dpuf

Libya is a major transit and destination country for international migration. UN agencies estimates 571,464 migrants, refugees and asylum seekers in Libya in 2021; among these, 3,934 people are held in detention. We aimed to describe morbidities and water, hygiene, and sanitation (WHS) conditions in detention in Tripoli, Libya. We conducted a retrospective analysis of data collected between July 2018 and December 2019, as part of routine monitoring within an Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) project providing healthcare and WHS support for migrants, refugees and asylum seekers in some of the official detention centres (DC) in Tripoli. MSF had access to 1,630 detainees in eight different DCs on average per month. Only one DC was accessible to MSF every single month. The size of wall openings permitting cell ventilation failed to meet minimum standards in all DCs. Minimum standards for floor space, availability of water, toilets and showers were frequently not met. The most frequent dise...