Brussels is taking a new turn of the screw by tightening its immigration policy. Ursula von der Leyen is ready to study the creation of detention centers for non-EU migrantscopying the model of the agreement concluded by the radical right government of Giorgia Meloni with Albania, which is just getting started.
This was announced by the President of the Commission in a letter to European leaders in which she raised a 10-point action plan to deal with the migration crisis. An initiative which benefits from the support of all the major powers of the EU, with the exception of Spain, and which will be discussed during the European Council which will be held this Thursday in Brussels.
The government of Pedro Sanchez He defends almost alone that the priority should be to put into practice the Pact on Migration and Asylum concluded under the Spanish presidency. And he rejects tougher measures to combat illegal immigration, which benefit from the support of Germany, France, Italy and Poland.
“While the Compact is undoubtedly a tremendous achievement, there is no room for complacency. Driven by several interconnected global crises, Migration will remain one of the most pressing problems this requires our urgent attention,” Von der Leyen said in his letter.
This is why one of the 10 points of its action plan consists of “working to design innovative solutions to combat illegal immigration”. “We must continue to explore possible avenues regarding the idea of develop return centers outside the European Union. With the start of operations of the Italy-Albania Protocol, we will also be able to learn from this experience in practice,” said the Commission President.
In total, 15 Member States (including Italy, Greece, Malta, the Netherlands and Denmark) have already asked Von der Leyen by letter last May to create Non-EU camps for migrants rescued at sea in order to process asylum requests there, without allowing them to enter Community territory. Later, other countries like France and Germany joined us. The idea of expulsion or return centers has just been mentioned by Viktor Orbán’s Hungary and the objective is to have a place to expel irregular migrants whose country of origin does not want to readmit them.
In his letter, von der Leyen also responds positively to the request of 14 member states (including Italy, France and Germany, but not Spain) to tighten the return directive. Concretely, the president proposes to penalize migrants who do not collaborate in their repatriation and to apply an express procedure to those who present a risk to public security.
Von der Leyen also suggests exercising more pressure on countries of origin and transit to accept repatriation irregular migrants. To achieve this, the EU should limit the number of visas for nationals of non-cooperating countries and even suspend the trade preferences it grants to less developed countries.
In addition, the Germans wink at the Polish Prime Minister, Donald Tuskwho is the latest to join the immigration debate by announcing his intention to suspend the right to asylum in response to pressure from Russia and Belarus on their border. “It is our right and our duty to protect Polish and European borders. Your safety will not be negotiated. With no one. This is a task that is not finished. And my government will accomplish this task,” Tusk wrote on his Twitter account.
“Russia and Belarus as proxyare not only engaged in a war of aggression against Ukraine, but are also exerting pressure on the EU’s external borders using people as weapons, thereby compromising the security of our Union. Need a clear and determined European response to deal with these activitieswithout allowing Russia and Belarus to use our values against us,” replies Von der Leyen.
The case of Spain
In her action plan, the president of the Community Executive proposes accelerate the entry into force of the Pact on Migration and Asylumas proposed by Spain, Germany and France. In principle, it was planned that this new set of rules would start to be applied in 2026: Von der Leyen wants to move faster but is not putting a new date on the table either.
Maritime migration routes to Spain are currently recording the highest increase in arrivals: 56% at the end of September compared to the same period of the previous year, combining the Western Mediterranean route and the Atlantic route. “We must deepen the partnership already underway with Mauritania, and we must also see how encourage other partners like Senegal and Mali to work with us on migrationdespite the broader complexity of relationships,” says Von der Leyen.
For the future, the president proposes improving collaboration with Morocco by deploying a liaison officer from the European Border and Coast Guard (Frontex) and developing a plan to combat human trafficking humans by 2025. With Mauritania, Brussels will deepen the dialogue on migration and mobility. Frontex negotiates a collaboration agreement with the Senegalese national policeeven if the Community Executive admits that this country does not collaborate in repatriations, it could therefore tighten the visa policy. With Gambia, the priority is to reestablish charter flights for the return of irregular migrants.
