Every Monday, the CERESE publishes assessment of the previous week’s news by the Research Trainees:

I like the decision of an Italian court to return 12 asylum seekers who had been moved to a reception center in Albania. These individuals were transferred as part of an agreement signed in November 2023 to offshore the management of asylum claims from Italy to Albania and to detain the asylum seekers in two newly established hot spots. Despite strong protests from the Italian government, the court based its decision on a previous ruling of the European Court of Justice, which prohibits the transfer of migrants and asylum seekers to “unsafe third countries”. This development proves hopeful for the protection of human rights and respect for the European ideal.

I dislike the modification of history textbooks in Türkiye, which renames Central Asia to Turkestan. Historically, the ‘Turkestan Autonomy’ with its capital Kokand was made up of lands belonging to modern Central Asian states and declared its independence during the Russian Civil War. This development is a rather worrisome act by Ankara, reaffirming Türkiye’s regional aspirations by using the linguistic similarities between itself and that region to imply that the latter is part of the sphere of influence of the former.

The aforementioned opinions are those of their respective authors and they do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of the Institute of International Relations or its Researchers.