European Council on Refugees and Exiles

Turkey's Foreign Ministry on Aug. 22 denied claims made by U.K. media outlets concerning the establishment of an asylum processing center in Turkey for Afghan asylum-seekers.

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The Greek government dismissed on Wednesday a report in The New York Times newspaper that it was holding illegal migrants who cross the border from Turkey at a secret "black site" where they are denied access to lawyers and cannot file asylum claims.

Tens of thousands of migrants are now waiting on Turkish border and at Aegean Sea ports, hoping to enter Europe.

Both Greece and the EU have said that they will not allow them to cross the border, and Greece has tightened security in border areas, sending in more army and police units. Greece has accused Ankara of using refugees for "blackmail" purposes.

Switzerland has rejected a refugee relocation program proposed by the European Union to relieve the burden on frontier countries like Italy and Greece, local media reported on Sunday.

In a report , Tomáš Boček, Special Representative of the Secretary General on Migration and Refugees , acknowledges that Bulgaria's efforts to address the challenges posed by the high number of migrant arrivals and refugees, but he underlines his concern about the difficulties they face in entering Bulgarian territory, especially on the border with Turkey, and for obtaining international protec

Around 5800 refugees have attempted to cross the Bulgarian border illegally since the beginning of the year. This was made clear by a presentation of Deputy Director of the Border Police Stoyan Ivanov, during the conference "The Refugee Crisis and the Development of the Migration Processes". For 2016, border pressure was about 7 times higher - over 40,000 impeded attempts to enter Bulgaria.

Greek asylum service employees on short-term contracts have launched a two-day strike to protest what they say are months-long delays in their salary payments.

Their union says they have not been paid for two or three months. A statement says several employees living in rented accommodation face the threat of eviction, having fallen behind in their rent payments.

A left-wing consensus and changes made to the country's bailout program helped Portugal's economy to rebound, Secretary of State for Defense Marcos Perestrello has said.

At this point, there is no increased migratory pressure on the Bulgarian-Turkish border'', Tsvetan Tsvetanov, chairman of the parliamentary committee on internal security has said, according to BNR.

He welcomed the fact that Turkey fulfils its commitments agreed a year and a half ago with the European Commission.

The reception center for migrants in Sid, northwestern Serbia, is closing, while migrants currently staying in downtown Belgrade will soon be relocated.