What was previously unthinkable in the EU is now taking shape. If a few years ago the possibility of creating expulsion centers for migrants outside the community territory was categorically rejected, more and more leaders are pushing in this direction after the far-right Giorgia Meloni took the decision to promote in Albania, despite the rejection of Italian justice. And the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, opened the door wide by proposing to explore “paths for progress regarding the idea of developing return centers outside the EU”. The candidate for Interior and Migration Commissioner, Magnus Brunner, took up the challenge of the proposal, rejected by everyone from the liberals to the left, including the Social Democrats and the Greens, although he limited to migrants whose asylum application has been refused.
“I understand that the concept of hub “return is only valid for people whose asylum application has been rejected”, declared Brunner during the examination that candidate commissioners undergo in the European Parliament and during which he needs the support of two thirds of the group coordinators so that his nomination can take place during the first two votes and simple majority (more if it is that it’s not) during a hypothetical second vote.
“A center of this type must be managed by international organizations,” added the Austrian politician, referring to the United Nations International Organization for Migration, or UNHCR. Brunner thus placed certain limits on these non-EU detention centers compared to those promoted by Meloni, who designed them to bring people rescued at sea to Albania so that they do not set foot on European soil again.
Regardless, Brunner was open to exploring all alternatives. “I have an attitude that is receptive to new ideas,” he defended before the Civil Liberties, Justice and Interior Commission during which social democrats, liberals and the left questioned him about these expulsion centers. In fact, he made this statement in response to MEP Sumar Estrella Galán, who warned that “following in Meloni’s footsteps by ‘locking up asylum seekers’ would mean ‘widening the black hole that exists for migrants’ and refugees.”
“Making countries safe, carrying out summary arrests and expulsions and abandoning migrants in the desert violates our Charter of Fundamental Rights,” Galán recalled after the candidate said the centers “should be based on adequate human standards “. The future head of Home Affairs and Migration of the European Commission has repeatedly reiterated that respect for human rights is “non-negotiable” and has chosen to “clarify” cases in which there have been “abuses », such as that of Frontex.
Despite the limits defended by Brunner, his approach to the migratory phenomenon follows in the footsteps of the hardening towards which the European Union has opted in recent times, and in particular due to the rise of the extreme right, which has taken advantage of the public to make xenophobic and Islamophobic proclamations.
“In order to manage migration, we need a fair but decisive approach. This means being able to decide who stays in the EU and who should leave. We must decide under what conditions someone arrives in Europe. It is we who must decide and not the traffickers. “Those who do not have a residence permit must return,” defended the Austrian.
He also pledged to promote “faster and simpler returns processes” as part of the revision of the Returns Directive in which many governments hope the European Commission will introduce the possibility of creating return centers. expulsion of refugees. Likewise, he recommended imposing “clear obligations of cooperation for people who must return to their country”. 17 European countries recently signed a document in which they recommend sanctioning non-cooperation in matters of returns.
