The loneliness of the government Pedro Sanchez in the EU regarding immigration policy This was revealed by the meeting of 27 Interior Ministers held this Thursday in Luxembourg. While Fernando Grande Marlaska insisted that the priority must be the “immediate implementation” of the Pact on Migration and Asylum, approved under the Spanish Presidency, the majority of his colleagues (including those from Germany, France or ‘Italy) consider that the Pact is already overwhelmed by the migration crisis and are betting on further toughen the legislation in order to accelerate the expulsions of irregular migrants.
Also the President of the Commission, Ursula von der Leyenwho has just been re-elected for a second term with the support of Spain, is preparing “a new common approach to returns (the euphemism that Brussels uses to talk about expulsions), with a new legislative framework which speeds up and simplifies the process“, as indicated in his government program for the 2024-2027 legislature. Von der Leyen assigned the portfolio of Interior and Migration to the Austrian conservative. Magnus Brunnerwhose country is among those defending a harder line on immigration policy. Replaces the Swedish Socialist Ylva Johansson, which shows the cycle change.
In her mandate letter, von der Leyen tasks Brunner with tripling the number of soldiers in the European Border and Coast Guard to 30,000, as she herself announced in her speech inauguration last July. The objective is “strengthen common borders” and “maintain a firm and fair stance on migration.”
The new immigration commissioner must “develop a new common approach to the return of irregular immigrants, with new and modern rules to speed up and simplify the process, ensuring that the return of those who do not have the right to stay takes place with dignity and that return decisions are mutually recognized across Europe“, the letter continues. Finally, the president asks Brunner to promote reflection on “innovative operational solutions to combat irregular migration.
Although Von der Leyen does not specify it, the “innovative solution” that has the greatest support among member states is the creation of migrant centers outside the European Union to manage asylum applications. This would be an attempt to copy the model of the agreement that the government of Giorgia Meloni with Albania.
Hungary, which holds the current presidency, has gone further and defends the creation of a “deportation centers” in third countries. This would be a solution for irregular migrants whose States of origin refuse to readmit them, who could thus be expelled to third countries with which they have no relationship. Budapest says the plan would reduce the “pull effect” and the number of migrants willing to undertake dangerous journeys to reach the EU.
Meeting this Thursday in Luxembourg, the new Minister of the Interior of France, Bruno Détaileauargued that the EU should punish countries of origin and transit that refuse to readmit irregular migrants, including by cutting development aid.
“We already have tools, but We must move forward in the best use of the (pressure) levers available to us.particularly with regard to readmissions. I am thinking of the visa lever, of development aid and also in the commercial field. We must exclude nothing and use these three levers in a complementary manner to facilitate readmissions,” Retailleau said.
The interior ministers also discussed the letter signed by 14 European countries (including Germany, Italy and France) which proposes concrete measures to strengthen the returns directive. First of all, it would be sanction (how is not specified) to irregular migrants who refuse to cooperate with their expulsion. The second change is to make it easier to expressly deport migrants who pose a serious threat to national security.
The policy of repatriating irregular migrants is one of the great failures of the European Union. According to Eurostat, in 2023 the expulsion of 484,160 people was ordered across the EU, but only 91,465 (18.9% of the total) actually left the community territory. Commissioner Johansson assured that In recent months, yields have increased by 18% on average across the EUeven if he admits that “more must be done”.
The Secretary of State for the Interior of Poland, Maciej Duszcykwho did not sign the letter of the 14, however announced that the reform of the return directive will be one of the priorities of the next Polish presidency, which begins on January 1, 2025.
“There is a wide recognition among the 27 who -in addition to the Migration Pact, which remains the priority- more needs to be done regarding returns policy. We need to work with existing legislation and review the directive to achieve a more harmonized return system, which is also essential to protect Schengen. Several Member States have also called for increased use of Frontex, including on aspects related to returns,” explains a European diplomat.
Faced with the call from the majority of interior ministers to toughen legislation, Marlaska defended that the European Pact on Migration and Asylum already offers sufficient tools. “We have the regulations, let’s implement them. It is an agreement of the entire European Union and always within the framework of fundamental rights, which is evident when these values structure the European Union itself,” said the Spanish representative.
Marlaska expressed concern over the recent reintroduction of controls at the internal borders of the Schengen area by several member states and called for the restoration of the “spirit of freedom of movement”. But the German Interior Minister, Nancy Faesersaid his country would maintain these controls until there were “European solutions” to put an end to irregular immigration.
