After the head of the Italian interior ministry's immigration department visited Italy's Lampedusa on November 29, some 56 migrants were apprehended overnight upon their arrival to the island.

Germany's interior minister has outlined a law to speed up the return of failed asylum seekers to their countries. However, conservative opposition lawmakers say it doesn't go far enough.

Two senior Home Office officials have admitted that their department does not know what has happened to 17,000 people whose asylum claims have been withdrawn, as they are questioned on the government's controversial asylum policy.

Four migrants died after reportedly being thrown out of a speedboat immediately before reaching the Spanish coastal town of Cadiz. An inquiry has been launched into the incident.