Hotspot camp

A hotspot camp is a refugee camp designed as the initial reception point for refugees on the borders of the European Union.

History

Originally established in 2015, the intention of the hotspots was to coordinate receiving, identifying, and registering refugees on the external borders of the EU. ^{[1] [2] [3]}

In some facilities, people are first identified through personal information by law enforcement personnel, also collecting other data including fingerprints and photos. ^[4]

Locations

As of 2022, there were five hotspot camps in Greece, on the islands of Chios, Kos, Leros, Lesvos and Samos off the Turkish coast, and five in southern Italy, in Lampedusa, Messina, Pozzallo, Taranto and Trapani. ^{[1] [5] [6] [7]}

See also

• Reception and identification centers in Greece

Bibliography

• Lauren Martin, Martina Tazziol, eds., "Governing Mobility Through The European Union's 'Hotspot' Centres: A Forum", Society and Space, 2016
• Alessandra Sciurba, "Categorizing migrants by undermining the right to asylum. The implementation of the 'hotspot approach' in Sicily", Etnografia e ricerca qualitativa10:1:97-120 (January-April 2017) doi : 10.3240/86889 full text

Notes

1. Maria Margarita Mentzelopoulou; Katrien Luyten (June 2018). "Hotspots at EU external borders" (PDF). European Parliamentary Research Service PE 623.563.
2. "European Court of Auditors | Special report 06/2017 EU response to Refugee Crisis – hotspots". op.europa.eu. Retrieved 10 February 2025.
3. "Migranti, dal summit Ue primi accordi: gli hotspot aperti da novembre" [Migrants, first agreements from the EU summit: hotspots open from November]. www.repubblica.it. 2015-09-24.
4. "Hotspot - Enciclopedia". Treccani (in Italian). Retrieved 10 February 2025.
5. "Hotspots at EU external borders: State of play | Think Tank | European Parliament" . Retrieved 6 February 2025.
6. "FRA work in the 'hotspots' | European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights". fra.europa.eu. 6 December 2016. Retrieved 6 February 2025.
7. "La creazione di hotspot extra-Ue per valutare le richieste di asilo può violare il diritto di accesso al territorio dei rifugiati" [The creation of extra-EU hotspots to assess asylum requests may violate refugees' right to access the territory]. www.eunews.it. 2022-08-30.