The debate held here on Wednesday at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE)'s winter session made it clear that the new battle underway in Europe turns around the question of the number and the origins of refugees in a context generally growing more hostile toward migrants.
The stormy debate around the refugee crisis, which reopened here Tuesday at the plenary session of the European Parliament, made clear the stalemate in which the European Union (EU) finds itself, as well as the growing schism between its member states facing a serious threat to the Schengen Zone.
Pope Francis insisted Monday that Europe has the means to welcome refugees without compromising its security or culture, saying the continent bears the "moral responsibility" to care for others who have fled their homes to seek a better life.
Australia has had three terrorist attacks over the past year and this month former prime minister Tony Abbott preached to the Muslim world that it must become “enlightened”. Yet the country sticks out from others fighting Islamist extremism as most of its population strongly support multiculturalism and legal immigration.
Almost a million migrants are estimated to have arrived on European shores by sea alone in 2015, according to the International Organization for Migration, while the European statistics agency Eurostat has counted 980,000 asylum requests across EU member states so far this year.
Austrian authorities on Wednesday warned they were taxed by the large ongoing influx of migrants streaming across country's border with Slovenia.
Tougher German border controls have led to a huge increase in the number of migrants stuck in Austria awaiting onward travel, an allegedly confidential document from the Austrian federal government claimed.
After five years in the international spotlight due to the debt crisis, Greece found itself in a protagonist role in another drama of cross-border dimensions this summer.
French President Francois Hollande and German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Thursday agreed "on common proposals" to help address the refugees crisis, saying they would soon transmit their joint suggestions to the EU.
Italian navy and coast guard vessels carried out at least four rescue operations in the Mediterranean Sea on Tuesday, saving some 600 migrants off the Libyan coasts.
Under pressure from its European neighbors to handle the surge in migrants flows, the French government called for lasting alternatives and to welcome refugees "with dignity."
The brutal murder of two elderly people allegedly perpetrated by migrant in southern Italy sparked anger against the government for what was perceived as a mismanagement of the migration crisis, local media reported on Monday.
In recent days, the leaders of Italy, Germany, and France have traded barbs over the European Union's handling of the growing migrant crisis. And while the debate may ultimately have an impact on the way the EU addresses the issue, some experts say it may also affect the balance of power in the 28-nation bloc.
The Greek ferry "Elefteros Venizelos" brought almost 2,500 new migrants from Syria in the Greek port Pireia on Tuesday, Greek media reported.
At least 25 migrants died when their boat capsized off the Libyan coast on Wednesday with hundreds of people onboard, and some 400 have been rescued so far, Italian reports said.
Britain's three rival groups on Saturday clashed over immigration in southeast England's port town Folkestone, exposing divided public sentiments towards the ongoing Calais migrant crisis.
British Prime Minister David Cameron on Thursday described migrants trying to reach Britain as a "swarm," triggering criticisms from political opponents for his use of "dehumanizing" language over the ongoing migrant crisis.