The European Union should see as a model the agreement signed by Italy with Albania to transfer to the Balkan country people rescued at sea and think of other “innovative” solutions to manage immigration, claim the interior ministers of 15 countries , led by Denmark, in a letter sent Wednesday night to the European Commission.
The current flows of irregular arrivals “are unsustainable”, write these governments, who call on Brussels to engage in various measures to externalize immigration management by signing more bilateral agreements, such as those ‘have signed with Turkey, Tunisia and Egypt, and the designation of “safe third countries” to send there not only migrants rescued when they try to reach EU territory, as Rome and Tirana have agreed to do, but also people with ·rejected asylum applications until they can return to their countries.
In addition to Denmark, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Finland, Estonia, Greece, Italy, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, the Netherlands, Austria, Poland and Romania have signed the letter. Despite the fact that it bears the stamp, above all, of governments belonging to the European People’s Party, some of which are allied with the far right, among the signatories there are others in the hands of socialists or liberals. In fact, the initiative has come from the Danish Executive, led by the social democrat Mette Frederiksen, who, after being re-elected, renounced her partners on the left and now governs in coalition with the right. The Swedish Government participated in the discussions but, due to internal disagreements with a coalition partner, did not sign it.
“Our obligation is to maintain stability and social cohesion, and avoid the risk of polarization of European societies and division” within the EU, states the letter, addressed to the European Commissioner for the Interior, Ylva Johansson, and several senior officials of the Community Executive. Yesterday the Commission limited itself to saying that it analyzes the letter and that it focuses on the application of the new migration pact.
Indeed, the missive arrived in Brussels 24 hours after the EU completed the formal approval of five regulations which, in addition to tightening border controls on asylum seekers, will lead to detentions longer ones – also of families with children – apply for the first time the principle of “compulsory solidarity” to relieve the countries on the front line. So, the rest will be able to choose between accepting to resettle a certain number of asylum seekers or paying 20,000 euros for each one they refuse.
Although the new legislation is “more robust”, this group of countries acknowledges, “more needs to be done” to end the “incentives” for irregular immigration, think innovatively and find together new ways to respond to this issue at scale European, the ministers propose. In addition to expanding agreements with third countries, such as the one signed with Turkey after the migration wave of 2015, when two million people arrived, mostly from Syria, they are considering setting up a rescue mechanism on the high seas.
The aim would be to take the occupants of the boats to a “safe and predetermined” place in a country outside the EU, as the Italian Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni, agreed with her Albanian counterpart, Edi Rama. The initiative reached the courts and has yet to be implemented, but Commission President Ursula von der Leyen concluded that it is “an example of innovative thinking based on sharing responsibilities with third countries” within the law .
The letter also calls for a “more effective” return policy (the current rate does not reach 30%), such as by transferring migrants to third countries “while waiting” until deportation. But the countries of origin often put obstacles in the way of readmitting nationals, so another possibility, they point out, would be to revise the concept of a “safe third country” to send them there. Located in different European geographical areas, they also ask the EU to toughen the response to attempts to instrumentalize immigration, such as those orchestrated by Belarus.
“We reiterate that all the new measures must be applied in full compliance with our international legal obligations, including the principle of no hot-shot returns, as well as the European Charter of Fundamental Rights”, assure the ministers , who urge the Commission to propose the necessary legislative changes to implement the measures they propose.
The fact that more than half of the EU member states endorse these requests gives an idea of ??the direction this policy can take after the European elections in June, a call in which the far-right, on the rise in many countries, campaigns to stoke the fear of immigration. In 2023, the European agency Frontex recorded 380,000 irregular arrivals in the EU, the highest figure since 2017.
