The interior ministers of the European Union will meet this Friday in an extraordinary meeting from which no concrete decisions are expected but to «facilitate dialogue» between countries, in an attempt to lower the tension due to disagreements such as the one that led France to recently break with the voluntary relocation of refugees, in retaliation for Italy’s refusal to allow the landing on its territory of migrants rescued by an NGO in the central Mediterranean.
The countries of the European Union note with concern that the numbers of irregular arrivals by routes such as the central Mediterranean or the Western Balkans «are increasing» and «the situation is becoming more complicated», according to European sources, who justify the extraordinary meeting in Brussels as the need to move towards «lasting European solutions» in a matter that has divided the Member States for years.
«Two years ago you couldn’t even talk about migration,» concedes a senior European diplomat to put in value that the Twenty-seven now have a ‘roadmap’ with which to gradually unblock the various elements of the Pact on Migration and Asylum that they have been negotiating without success since 2020 and whose fundamental pillar — the distribution of the weight of the reception of asylum seekers who arrive in the countries on the front line — continues to be a source of friction.
The European Commission has therefore seen an opportunity in the open crisis between Paris and Rome to revive the talks for a long-term solution but to try to build more urgent consensus at the same time around an «action plan» that it presented this week and will defend before the ministers this Friday.
Among the priorities, Brussels has set itself to relaunch the voluntary relocation mechanism that more than a dozen countries – including Spain – backed last June and that France is now abandoning because of its dispute with the Italian government of the far-right Giorgia Meloni.
This platform was designed with the commitment to relocate thousands of migrants arriving first to frontline countries such as Italy or Malta to other countries of the bloc but, in practice, it has barely served for the relocation of a hundred people.
«It’s ironic, we have everything we need at our fingertips but out of reach. It’s like having a parachute and choosing to jump out of the plane without it,» said Tuesday the Community vice president responsible for migration, Margaritis Schinas, in a debate before the plenary of the European Parliament in which he wanted to defend the need to agree on the reform of the Migration Pact.
It has been two years since Schinas presented together with the Commissioner for Home Affairs, Ylva Johansson, a proposal for reform of migration and asylum policy with which to establish a balance between solidarity and responsibility of EU countries that seeks to bridge the gap between the southern countries, more exposed, and others like Hungary that reject any reception.
The Pact proposes binding measures, including a mechanism for the distribution among partners of the reception of refugees that will allow governments that do not want to assume their share to contribute financially, as well as a reinforcement of the control of the external border of the EU and a boost to cooperation with the countries of origin and transit of irregular routes to curb departures and expedite deportations.
ACTION PLAN Meanwhile, the Executive expects the support of the Twenty-seven to the action plan with a score of measures, including reactivating the voluntary relocation platform that, in the eyes of Brussels, can serve as a «bridge» to the permanent mechanism that exists within the framework of the Pact on Migration and Asylum.
Alongside voluntary sharing, the Brussels plan rests on two other pillars: improving coordination in rescue between Member States and with third parties such as NGOs or European agencies, and relaunching cooperation with third countries and international organizations to strengthen border control at migrant departure points and speed up returns.
At this point, the Community Executive draws attention to the fact that most of the people arriving by the central Mediterranean route come from Egypt, Tunisia and Bangladesh, although they arrive from Libya, so that the EU considers them as economic migrants without the right to international protection.
Therefore, Brussels advocates giving more means to the Libyan and Tunisian authorities to curb departures and fight against mafias and seek agreements with the countries of origin to ensure quick and safe deportations of their nationals.
