Rescue groups warn of ‘unfathomable death toll’ at sea as Pope Francis to say Europe should welcome refugees – live | Migration

Belgium to move ahead with denying shelter to single male asylum seekers

Belgium’s government has said it will forge ahead with plans to deny shelter to single male asylum seekers, despite a court decision ordering it to halt the controversial policy.

The government announced the move last month, describing it as a temporary measure to make space for families and children as the country readies for a potential increase in asylum seekers.

The idea of leaving single men to fend for themselves was swiftly slammed by opposition politicians and lawyers who accused the government of turning its back on international commitments.

Rights organisations and aid groups also weighed in, warning that the policy would force asylum seekers to sleep on the streets in freezing temperatures, increasing their risk of physical and mental harm.

This week the government reiterated its plans to move forward with the policy despite the court ruling. “Just because the council of state says so, it doesn’t mean that it would suddenly be possible to give these people spots,” the state secretary for asylum and migration Nicole de Moor told Politico. “There are no extra spots.”

Last year male asylum seekers accounted for 71% of claims across the EU, according to the EU’s Agency for Asylum. The reasons given for their prevalence in the system vary, including the fact that the costs and extreme dangers of the route to Europe mean that families often send males first.

The Paris public prosecutor’s office said today that far-right leader Marine Le Pen and 24 others should stand trial over alleged misuse of EU funds, Reuters reports.

EU using aid to stop migration rather than poverty, report says

Ashifa Kassam

A report published this week by Oxfam found that the EU is increasingly using foreign aid to externalise its borders rather than promote development and eradicate poverty – a finding that suggests the EU is falling short of international standards on aid funding.

“European aid is being used as a tool to stop migration instead of what it is meant for: stopping poverty,” Stephanie Pope, Oxfam’s EU migration expert, said in a statement.

The report delved into 16 programs related to migration in Niger, Libya and Tunisia, finding that six of them potentially breach the OECD’s standards on foreign aid. In total, the funding provided for these six programs was around €667 million.

Of the eight activities analysed in Niger, for example, only one supports safe and regular migration. In a country where up to 40% of people live in extreme poverty, “aid is being rerouted to slam the brakes on migration to Europe,” said Konate Papa Sosthène, the country director at Oxfam Niger.

The report also noted that transparency was limited when it comes to how the EU spends aid funds, with explanations often plagued by an absence of clear definitions.

“When it comes to migration, in many cases, we are in the dark about how EU taxpayer funds, meant to combat poverty, are actually being used,” said Pope.

Ahead of Pope Francis’ trip to Marseille today, a number of organisations have reiterated their call for more assistance for rescue efforts at sea.

“Last month, we witnessed firsthand the lack of resources to save lives in the central Mediterranean,” said Jérôme, a deputy search and rescue coordinator onboard civil rescue ship Ocean Viking.

Speaking at a press conference, he said that “in 36 hours of nonstop operations, we rescued 623 people.”

“It was clear that there were more people at risk of losing their lives than we could assist,” he said, adding: “The work we do is vital, but we cannot do it alone.”

Sophie Beau, co-founder of SOS MEDITERRANEE, said that “the unfathomable death toll in the Mediterranean this year could have been prevented if the political will was there.”

Citing the pope’s upcoming visit, she also called “for global sea rescue missions and an end to the harassment of humanitarian Search and Rescue organisations.”

Diane Taylor

The Bibby Stockholm, a UK barge that briefly housed asylum seekers, has had “satisfactory” test results for legionella, after tests initially found the presence of the potentially deadly bacteria, the Guardian has learned.

The British Home Office, which hopes to hold hundreds of people seeking asylum on the barge in Portland, received the most recent legionella results on 4 September and government sources said they were not planning to make the results public. The Guardian obtained the results in freedom of information data from Dorset council.

In these most recent results, all the water samples tested for legionella were deemed “satisfactory”, although some of the bacteria were identified in two of the samples. In three previous sets of tests, at least some of the samples tested were found to be “unsatisfactory” for legionella.

Read the full story here.

Juan Fernando López Aguilar, chair of the European parliament’s civil liberties committee, has criticised the European Commission’s response to the crisis in Lampedusa.

Speaking to the Guardian, the Spanish socialist said that it was “the right thing” for senior commission figures to travel to the island last weekend but that he was “puzzled and shocked” by statements made during the trip.

Ursula von der Leyen seemed to be “Melonised”, he said, in reference to the commission president and Italian prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, who made a joint appearance with her in Lampedusa on Sunday.

“The only way forward is long-term a strategy which is consistent not only with EU values, but also with EU law and international law – including international humanitarian law and maritime law when it comes to search and rescue,” the committee chair said.

López Aguilar was particularly critical of Von der Leyen’s decision in Lampedusa to refer to the EU’s controversial deal with Tunisia.

The memorandum of understanding, aimed at reducing migrant flows to Europe, was signed when Von der Leyen, Meloni and the Dutch prime minister, Mark Rutte, visited Tunisia in July. But parliamentarians and a number of EU governments have raised concerns about the deal.

“Whenever there is an agreement between the European Union and a third party, which is the case of Tunisia, there has to be a procedure, there has to be a mandate of the council, there has to be a legal standard, there has to be an involvement of the European parliament,” he said.

“Otherwise,” he added, “there is no legal basis.”

Lisa O’Carroll

What is the controversy over the EU migration deal with Tunisia?

The EU’s deal with Tunisia to combat people-smugglers moving migrants across to Italy in often life-threatening conditions has been mired in controversy since it was signed in July.

The journey from Tunisia to Italy has become the most popular route for people-smugglers operating in Africa.

The original EU deal on the table envisaged a wide-ranging economic and security package including €900m (£775m) in support of the country’s economy, €150m to develop a wider business partnership involving the development of renewable energy including solar and wind and the €105m to assist on stemming migration.

No money has been given to Tunisia yet but the EU over the weekend said it was accelerating operations and the refitting of 17 Tunisian ships was under way for search operations.

But deal is controversial: many have expressed concern over the decline of democracy after the Tunisian president, Kais Saied, partly suspended parliament in 2021 and sacked the prime minister.

He also refused entry to a group of MEPs who had wanted to visit the country to meet political counterparts and civil society representatives.

Read the full explainer here.

Giorgia Meloni, who initially depicted herself as the “underdog” who had fought against the odds to become Italy’s first female prime minister, has morphed into one of Europe’s most powerful politicians.

Ask many Italians what they think of her now, and gone are the references to her past links with neofascism or her vitriol towards immigrants, LGBTQ+ people or anyone else who challenged her self-declared Christian, patriotic vision of Italy.

“She has softened over time,” said Matilde Palazzo, a small business owner in Rome. “Yes, she is surrounded by some questionable characters but people have noticed something else – after years of useless governments they are seeing some stability. I even have leftwing customers who tell me: ‘All in all, I quite like her.’”

Still, as her popularity transcends the borders of her far-right base, Meloni’s apparent metamorphosis has not been clear-cut, leaving many struggling to decipher who she really is.

Meloni has struck a reassuring, pragmatic tone in the rest of Europe and beyond. She has been unwavering in her support for Ukraine, while positioning herself as an advocate of large deals in Africa, be it on energy or, more controversially, immigration.

The prime minister “plays the moderate but winks at those who are not moderate at all”, said Alessandra Laterza, the owner of Le Torri, a bookshop in Tor Bella Monaca, a deprived district on the outskirts of Rome.

Read the full story here:

Pope Francis will arrive in Marseille this afternoon, where he is set to reiterate a message of tolerance and welcome to refugees.

The religious leader is scheduled to hold an interfaith prayer at a monument dedicated to those who have died at sea, the AP reports.

The pope’s office said ahead of the trip that Francis will pray with members of organisations “dedicated to the pastoral care of seafarers, migrants, and refugees”.

On Saturday, he will meet with bishops and young people from North Africa, the Middle East and southern Europe, and also hold a private session with the French president, Emmanuel Macron.