EU leaders push on security and border control in the first EU – Arab League meeting

On February 24th and 25th, in Sharm el-Sheikh, European and Arab League leaders took part in the first League of Arab States-European Union summit, presided by Donald Tusk, president of the European council and Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, Egyptian president. At the summit, several high-level EU leaders including German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Italian and British prime ministers, Giuseppe Conte and Theresa May, were present. Migration was one of the main topics that was discussed, with the EU interested in giving the Arab League a bigger role in curbing migration. The two blocs have agreed to hold the summit every three years in rotation, with the next gathering due in Brussels in 2022.

News Highlights: European Parliament approves border funding, France equips Libyan coast guard, Testimony on organ trafficking in Egypt

In this week’s News Highlights:  Sudan student rallies ramp up as more arrests take place; UN Security Council discusses Eritrea – Djibouti relations; UNHCR reports on plans for refugees in Ethiopia; the UN reports high levels of violence in South Sudan;  More refugees flown from Libya to Niger; France provides equipment to Libyan Coast Guard; the consequences of economic crisis in Libya; testimony on organ trafficking in Egypt; LIBE Committee votes to increase border management funding; EU’s migration policy aids human trafficking, states article; Sea Watch 3 vessel still blocked in Sicily; documentary on Mediterranean Sea boats is nominated for Oscar; and the Council of Europe reports on refugees camps conditions in Greece.

News Highlights: Protests in Sudan, EU reportedly negotiating with Egypt on migration, asylum-seeker to sue UK government

In this week’s news highlights: Protests in Sudan intensify; Canadian Supreme Court to hear case on human rights abuses in Eritrea; Eritrea and Kenya sign agreement; refugees at high risk of being kidnapped for ransom in the Horn of Africa, new report shows; protest during Ethiopian-Eritrean border opening; new president of Somali Puntland region; fewer migrant arrivals via sea in 2018, but deaths remain high; EU negotiating migration agreement with Egypt: report; Italian mayors defy certain new immigration rules; deal enables migrants to disembark in Malta; asylum-seeker to sue UK government for funding Libyan detention centres; “unimaginable horrors” in Libya: UN report; and EU’s EUBAM Libya mission mandate extended to strengthen borders “in cooperation with Libyan authorities”.