The migration court in Sweden ruled that family members of Eritreans residing in Sweden no longer have to obtain IDs or passports for family reunions. The ruling was issued after the court decided that the Eritrean authorities placed undue demands on the refugees, such as paying 2% tax and signing an ‘apology letter’.
In this week’s news highlights: Dutch parliamentarians express their concern over the influence of the Eritrean regime and ask the government to close the Eritrean embassy; European Union sets June 2018 deadline for divisive relocation quota vote if no compromise is found; migration needs long term solutions, says European Commissioner; businesses in Eritrea close in what activists say is a move to control people; Human Rights Watch fears mistreatment of activists in Sudan; more clashes in the Oromia region of Ethiopia; and UN Refugee Agency wants to move 5.000 – 10.000 people out of Libyan detention centres in 2018.
In a debate in the Dutch parliament on Wednesday 20 December, a motion has been issued by parliament members to close the Eritrean embassy. The Dutch parliament and government have debated multiple times in the previous years over intimidation, threats, 2% diaspora tax and the role of the embassy and Eritrean government in the Eritrean diaspora community in the Netherlands. The recent report on the 2% diaspora tax in Europe has further fueled the concerns, and it is now supported by recordings from the Dutch radio programme Argos that show the coercion in action.