Europe Immigration News

The number of overseas nationals residing in Germany grew at the quickest rate in 20 years in 2014 according to figures released by the Statistics Office on March 16. Data shows that in 2014 a total of 519,340 people, equivalent to 6.8 percent of the population, arrived in Germany compared to 2013, which saw 437,000 people coming to the country.

Following a lengthy trial a Greek court has acquitted two of the men who shot and injured 28 Bangladeshi migrant fruit pickers.

On Wednesday 30th July, the court in the city of Patras acquitted two of four defendants in the case which had lasted for over a month. The other two defendants were convicted of firearms offences and given lengthy prison sentences. However, because of the Greek system, the two convicted men were also released pending an appeal.

Eurostat, the European Union statistics agency, reports that the population of the Union grew by 1.7m over the year to January 1st 2014. The population of the union rose to 507.4m, up from 505.7m a year earlier.

Eurostat reports that the population of the 28 countries that make up the current European Union has risen by 100m since 1960.

The population rose slightly because of a greater birth rate than death rate. Eurostat says that about 4,999,200 people died in the EU in 2013 while 5,075,700 were born. This caused the population to grow by a mere 76,500.

The renowned Marxist philosopher Slavoj Zizek has written a piece for the New Statesman magazine blaming the rise of anti-immigrant feeling in the European Union on the failure of the continent's leaders to deal with, or even to understand, the problems facing the continent.

In late May, elections were held around the European Union to elect members of the European Parliament. In many countries, right-wing, anti-immigrant parties did very well.

Matteo Renzi, the recently elected Italian premier, says that Italy may withdraw from the Eurozone due to disagreement over the Union's immigration policy. If this were to happen, the EU's economy would be thrown into chaos.

Mr Renzi says that unless the EU pays for Italy's sea patrols that search for migrants trying to enter Italy illegally, Italy will leave the Eurozone.

Pope Francis I, has refused to meet migrants who have taken sanctuary in a church in Rome. The pope is said to wish to avoid making a 'political gesture'.

The 120 immigrants are said to come from North Africa and Eastern Europe. They were living in a squat outside Rome but were evicted two weeks ago. They then made their way to the historic Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore. They have asked the pope to grant them asylum in the Vatican, according to Roman Catholic newspaper The Tablet.