Central Europe Pursues Military Cooperation as Response to Migration
Defense ministers from six Central European countries promised closer cooperation over the migration crisis, including using armed forces where necessary.
The Central European Defence Cooperation – made up of Austria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia and Slovenia – met in Prague on June 19 to discuss collaboration over the future of migration to the bloc.
They are pushing for asylum applications to E.U. countries to be processed in transit centers outside the bloc.
The group, which includes two countries being sued by the European Commission for refusing to participate in the E.U.’s internal resettlement mechanism, said this would allow countries to have control over who is entering their borders.
Austrian defense minister Hans Peter Doskozil said the countries’ defense cooperation would include a joint military drill in the coming months.
Starbucks Will Employ 2,500 Refugees in Europe
Starbucks will employ at least 2,500 refugees in eight European countries as part of a plan to hire 10,000 refugees in 75 countries worldwide by 2022.
The company will partner with the International Rescue Committee and local NGOs in France, the U.K., Austria, Switzerland, Spain, Portugal, Germany and the Netherlands to implement the hiring plan over the next five years.
Additionally, at least 1,000 refugees will be hired in Starbucks coffee shops across Canada.
Starbucks’ hiring plan was “proving that businesses like ours can use its scale to make a positive impact in people’s lives,” Martin Brok, president of Starbucks Europe, Middle East and Africa, said in a statement.
Report: Refugees in South Africa Unable to Renew Documents
Somali refugees in South Africa are being turned away when they try to renew their registration documents, GroundUp news reports.
Refugees must travel to the city in which their asylum application was processed, meaning that many are traveling long distances only to be sent away by offices of the Home Affairs department.
Other refugees and asylum seekers face long waits at the Home Affairs office, according to GroundUp.
One refugee said he traveled four times in one month from Pretoria to Cape Town to renew his documents but was repeatedly told to come back by immigration officials.
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