Immigration policy is one of those which generates the most tension in the community club and, on the eve of the meeting of the leaders of the 27, the debate heated up with proposals which increasingly toughen the conditions of migrants: from the imposition of border controls within the Schengen area to the temporary suspension of the right to asylum announced by Poland, following in the footsteps of Finland. And the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, is taking up the challenge. 72 hours before sitting down with the heads of government, he formally proposed to them what he was already defending in the middle of the electoral campaign: the creation of refugee centers outside the borders of the EU.
In a letter sent to capitals, the German company commits to carrying out a review of safe third countries and commits to continuing to explore “ways of progress regarding the idea of developing return centers outside the ‘EU’. Von der Leyen camouflages this measure in a supposedly humanitarian approach to migration so that people fleeing poverty do not throw themselves into the sea. However, he does not mention the need to establish legal and safe routes, which is what he defends for example Spain. What underlies this proposal is that migrants do not reach European soil. “Once someone enters the border, we will not be able to expel them later,” Hungarian far-right Viktor Orbán told the European Parliament last week, where he defended the creation of these centers.
Von der Leyen frames the approach to detention centers outside European territory in the revision of the returns directive demanded by a majority of member states, who have even gone so far as to defend that expulsions of undocumented people be carried out by third parties. countries other than those of origin or transit. This is a point which the President of the European Commission does not reach. What guides the new perspective on detention centers is the immigration policy of far-right Giorgia Meloni. “With the start of operations of the Italy-Albania protocol, we will be able to learn from this experience in practice,” the letter said.
The head of the community government defends agreements with third countries, such as Tunisia or Morocco, which control migratory flows in exchange for compensation of several million dollars. And that leaves black and white the possibility of using visa policy or trade as pressure tools for these countries to collaborate, particularly on returns.
“The EU must be prepared to use its influence not only on visa policy, but also in other areas, such as trade. Extending the current regulation on the generalized system of preferences until December 2027 without readmission conditions, despite the Commission’s proposal, is a missed opportunity which must be corrected as soon as possible”, insists Von der Leyen in reference to the instrument by which the EU provides non-reciprocal preferential access to the Community market for products originating from developing countries and territories through full or partial exemption from customs duties.
The President of the European Commission also pledged to accelerate the implementation of the Pact on Migration and Asylum which the EU accepted a few months ago and which is scheduled to enter into force in the summer 2026. Spain, France and Germany defended the need to accelerate application. There were, however, differences in which games were postponed. While governments like that of Germany are committed to prioritizing issues related to security and border control, the executive of Pedro Sánchez is in favor of the entire agreement being in force at the same time, so that the elements linked to “solidarity”, which is to say the distribution of refugee quotas.
“A rapid implementation of the Pact could help Member States to manage their registration and reception systems more effectively, to better manage asylum procedures for security cases or abusive or unfounded applications (… ), to reduce secondary movements, while introducing elements of the solidarity mechanism”, writes Von der Leyen, who highlights the possibility “of accelerating the application of certain elements of the pact” while maintaining “the balance between solidarity and responsibility”.
