Latest news bulletin | October 16th – Evening
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00:00Many member states are preparing to tighten their migration policies and Brussels is in
00:04line with this new reality.
00:06The EU summit this week will be the place to discuss the details of how.
00:15The first asylum seekers from Italy that will have their applications processed in Albania
00:20arrived via ship to the Albanian port of Schengen.
00:24The ship carried 16 men who were rescued at sea after departing from Libya.
00:30The men will undergo health screening and identification procedures and will then be
00:34transferred to a camp in Jadr, a few kilometres away from the port.
00:40Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Maloni formally opened the two centres on Friday, where Italy
00:46plans to process thousands of asylum seekers.
00:51Although the centre in Jadr has the capacity for 3,000 migrants, it will start with 400
00:57and increase to 880 in a few weeks.
01:01The centres will only house adult men, families will not be separated and women, children
01:07and vulnerable people will be accommodated in Italy.
01:20Member states seem to be further tightening their migration policies.
01:23The subject is high on the agenda of the European Council.
01:29In a letter to capitals, Ursula von der Leyen proposed to speed up returns and open detention
01:34centres in third countries.
01:38The Commission President is thus in line with the request of 15 member states to transfer
01:43asylum seekers to safe third countries.
01:49Seventeen countries also called for an accelerated expulsion of foreign nationals whose asylum
01:54application is rejected.
01:58With the return hubs, there's a key question is whether the EU member states will find
02:04willing partners in order to establish those return hubs and more than that, also to figure
02:12out ways to get countries of origin and transit to comply in terms of readmission.
02:19In France, the new interior minister who has made immigration his priority wants to regularise
02:24undocumented migrants but in small numbers and gradually.
02:29In Poland, Donald Tusk is considering temporarily and partially suspending the right of asylum
02:35to combat illegal immigration.
02:38Russia and Belarus are accused of orchestrating the influx of migrants using the Polish border
02:44to destabilise the EU as a hybrid attack.
02:49Warsaw believes migrants are weaponised in this way.
02:55On the other hand, fundamental EU values are at stake.
03:03This is extremely problematic.
03:04The right to asylum is a fundamental right that cannot be suspended even in times of
03:09politically declared crisis.
03:12It is protected under EU law and international law but also by the Polish constitution which
03:18shows that this is not a migration issue alone but it's a broader rule of law issue.
03:25While Hungary or Italy have been marginalised in the past for their hardline migration policies,
03:30the rest of the member states now also seem to be converging in this direction.
03:36President of the European Commission has endorsed return hubs outside of the European Union
03:44for rejected asylum seekers.
03:46Ursula von der Leyen sent a seven-page letter to EU leaders on Monday outlining several
03:52proposals to curb the number of asylum applications, including the controversial return hubs.
03:58The letter is very clear on what are considered the priority areas for action, but now of
04:03course it is for the leaders to discuss the way forward based on the letter that the president
04:10has sent.
04:12In the letter, von der Leyen said the EU will be able to learn lessons from the criticised
04:17Italy-Albania asylum processing deal.
04:21She previously described the offshore processing as out-of-the-box thinking but humanitarian
04:27organisations fear it may set a dangerous precedent.
04:49In the letter, von der Leyen also pushed for designating safe third countries at an EU level.
04:55This would speed up deportations and avoid disagreements between member states.
05:03It comes ahead of a two-day summit in Brussels where migration is set to dominate talks.
05:15The Spanish government is considering setting up an emergency reception centre for migrants
05:20at a disused airport south of Madrid.
05:23The proposal was met with condemnation from the town's mayor.
05:39UN Refugee Agency data shows that roughly 43,000 people immigrated to Spain in the last
05:45year by sea.
05:53The announcement coincides with a controversial offshore migrant processing centre in Albania
05:59opening its doors and processing the first round of migrants rescued at sea by Italian
06:03ships.
06:09Recently appointed NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte reaffirmed the alliance is ready
06:14to protect its territory and make further investments in its development.
06:18He confirmed the alliance is ready to protect its territory and make further investments
06:22in its defence.
06:26He said NATO stands ready to confront any enemy and was ready to do whatever is necessary
06:31against future attacks.
06:34Rutte also stated that the alliance will continue its support for Ukraine against Russia following
06:39their full-scale invasion as a top priority.
06:48The majority of Montenegro's population still identifies as Montenegrin, about 41%, according
06:59to the country's latest census results revealed on Tuesday.
07:04This is a decrease from the country's last census held in 2011 when 45% identified as
07:10such.
07:12The latest census was held in December last year and shows a 4% increase in those who
07:17identify as Serbs compared to the last census, now sitting at 33%.
07:23The small Balkan country's ethnic make-up has long been a sensitive issue as census
07:28results often play an important political role in the region.
07:33Montenegro was the last state to split from former Yugoslavia, separating from Serbia
07:38in 2006.
07:40Census results continue to have influence on both pro-Serbian and pro-Montenegrin political
07:45goals.
07:47Moldovans will vote twice on Sunday, first in the country's presidential election and
07:58then in a long-anticipated referendum on EU membership.
08:03Around 5.6 million ballots were printed on Tuesday for the election and referendum.
08:10For the first time, they will not only be available in Romanian, but also in five languages
08:16of ethnic minorities – Russian, Ukrainian, Gagauz, Bulgarian and Romani.
08:22The outcome of the referendum will determine whether EU accession will be a constitutional
08:27goal.
08:29A yes could lead to further tensions between the pro-Western leadership and the Moscow-leaning
08:33breakaway region of Transnistria in the country's east, where pro-Russian separatists rule.
08:40Incumbent President Maya Sandu, a vocal supporter of Moldova's EU membership, is leading the
08:45presidential race according to recent polls, as well as a yes outcome in the referendum.
08:55Sweden's gang violence has become so severe that its homicide rate linked to gang warfare
09:00is now one of the highest in Europe.
09:03Journalists spoke with a young man who wishes to remain anonymous.
09:08After starting as a drug dealer, he now commits other crimes advertised on encrypted messaging
09:13systems.
09:15For example, in Malmö, 30,000 people were killed, 800,000 in Malmö, 500,000 in Stockholm,
09:25and 500,000 in Norrköping.
09:27They are bigger people, and they are capable of doing things back at you.
09:33I have never killed anyone, I have killed many.
09:38Criminals have turned to minors, who face the prospect of juvenile justice rather than
09:42life sentences in the adult system for contract killings.
09:45You recruit children because they are not able to think what is right or wrong at that
09:52age, and then it is easy to manipulate them with money or other things.
09:58For example, you buy them clothes in the beginning, and then they think,
10:02he was still nice and stood up for me.
10:04That's how it started.
10:08Escalating gang violence is fuelled by arms and drug trafficking,
10:11which flood Sweden's major ports.
10:13Since 2013, the number of fatal shootings in the country has more than doubled,
10:18according to official statistics.
10:21Much of the violence takes place in larger cities,
10:24but has begun to spread to smaller towns.
10:33The 2024 Lumière Festival in Lyon has kicked off,
10:37bringing together iconic stars to celebrate the art of cinema,
10:41with restored classics and retrospectives.
10:45Euronews Culture caught up with several A-listers' attendees
10:48to ask what movie first inspired them to pursue a career in filmmaking.
10:57My favourite film is certainly Le Chantant sous la pluie,
11:00which is a film of great spectacle,
11:03both in its banal vision, its technicolor,
11:07and its choreography and music.
11:13Beber and the Omnibus, which fascinated me,
11:16because I was a kid, and this kid who did the 400 shots,
11:19really gave me, it's the magic of cinema,
11:22it's the first time it really touched me.
11:26It's a film that represents heritage, because it's the Dolce Vita.
11:32Now in its 16th edition,
11:34the festival celebrates the rich history of cinema
11:37and offers a program that blends restored classics
11:40and tributes to iconic film stars.