EU: Covid-19 Does Not Suspend Asylum Rights
by Judith Bergman • May 5, 2020 at 5:00 am
Persons "in need of international protection or for other humanitarian reasons", however, are exempted from these restrictions on non-essential travel from third countries." — European Commission statement, March 30, 2020.
This means that people who apply for international protection cannot be turned away and that the rights of migrants and refugees to apply for asylum cannot be suspended, even in the time of coronavirus.
This policy was on display during the recent crisis on the border between Turkey and Greece, when Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan used migrants -- whom Turkey transported to the border with Greece -- as political blackmail, threatening to unleash a new migration crisis on Europe. At least 14,000 migrants were brought to the border, according to media reports.
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/15976/eu-covid-19-immigration
