Refugee

Bulgaria's Interior Minister Tsvetlin Yovchev said he was surprised by the claims in the Human Rights Watch report on the country's immigration policies. 

The report, which will be officially released next week claims that the Bulgarian border police was forcefully pushing back into Turkish territory asylum seeker and was beating and abusing them. 

From Human Rights Watch

HRW is also to officially present a report on Bulgaria's immigration policies on April 29 in Sofia.

BELGRADE - Serbia's asylum policy still does not comply with the EU standards, and its priorities should be the adoption of a new law on asylum and the provision of capacities to meet the housing needs of asylum seekers, it was concluded on Wednesday in the panel discussion titled "Asylum in Serbia - problems and perspectives".

2,055 asylum requests registered in Serbia

BELGRADE -- A total of 2,055 people requested asylum in Serbia in the first three months of 2014, and most of them - 947 - were Syrians.

This data was revealed on Tuesday by Executive Director of the Serbian Asylum Seeker Relief Center Radoš Đurović.

BELGRADE - A total of 2,055 people requested asylum in Serbia in the first three months of 2014, and most of them - 947 - were Syrians, the executive director of the Serbian Asylum Seeker Relief Centre Rados Djurovic said on Tuesday.

Serbia has no plans to strip refugees of status - official

BELGRADE -- Refugees in Serbia will have the same status as before, despite an initiative to abolish it, says the director of the Fund for Aid to Refugees and IDPs.

Austria will receive an extra 1000 Syrian refugees in addition to the quota of 500 announced in August 2013, according to Interior Minister Johanna Mikl-Leitner.

Bulgaria's Government approved the spending of another BGN 35 M on dealing with the refugee crisis, reports Sega daily.

Thus the total sum would reach BGN 62 M. 

The new sum includes the completion of the construction of the 35 km fence at the border between Bulgaria and Turkey, as well as improvements of the living conditions in the refugee centers and their expansion. 

This is a summary of what was said by UNHCR spokesperson Melissa Fleming at the press briefing, on 15 April 2014, at the Palais des Nations in Geneva.

The quoted text may be attributed to Fleming.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) on Tuesday urged the Greek government to review a measure regarding the prolonged detention of migrants for whom a return order has been issued.