European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, left, and European Council President Charles Michel, left, attend a media conference at the EU summit in Brussels on Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024. Photo Credit: AP
EU leaders called for urgent new legislation to step up and speed up the return of migrants after a Brussels summit on Thursday (17 October), which made clear a rightward shift in the bloc’s rhetoric.
The 27 European leaders said their day-long talks included an “intense” discussion on migration – an issue that has heated up the political agenda after hard-right gains in many countries.
“The European Council calls for resolute action at all levels to facilitate, enhance and accelerate returns from the EU,” they wrote in the summit conclusions, calling on the European Commission to submit new legislation.
New ways to prevent and combat irregular migration should also be considered, with the text making clear reference to controversial proposals to create return centers outside the EU, which are not explicitly mentioned.
EU chief says such a move would not be “minor” but has been discussed Ursula von der Leyen Told in a press conference.
Currently, less than 20% of people ordered to leave the bloc have returned to their country of origin, according to EU data.
Italy’s far-right Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni hosted a dialogue on migration ahead of the main event with 10 like-minded countries, including Denmark, the Netherlands, Hungary and Greece.
Von der Leyen was also present, pointing to the growing influence of immigration supporters.
But differences remained over next steps, with no concrete plans outlined in the final text. A previous attempt to reform migrant return rules in 2018 failed due to disagreements.
‘innovative solution’
While some countries poured cold water on more radical ideas, von der Leyen acknowledged that “open questions” remained over the creation of so-called “return hubs” – an issue fraught with legal and ethical concerns.
Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said such plans created more problems than they solved and noted the need for regular migration routes amid workforce shortages and a growing population.
“Orderly and responsible migration is a response to the demographic challenge facing Europe,” he said.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Berlin prioritizes the prompt implementation of a landmark migration deal struck this year, which toughens border procedures and gives countries the ability to take asylum seekers from “frontline” states or provide funding and resources. Is required.
“If we all come together and follow our rules, we will already be far ahead,” he said.
Others say the package, scheduled to come into effect in June 2026, falls short.
The call to speed up returns echoes a call by most states earlier this year for the EU to seek “innovative solutions” to deal with migration.
In a letter this week, von der Leyen promised action and said the bloc would take lessons from Italy’s deal with Albania to send some migrants for processing.
On Thursday the EU chief said other ideas discussed at the summit included reviewing the concept of “safe third countries” – countries to which asylum seekers can be legally sent back – and “stranded “This includes working with UN agencies to help migrants return to their countries. Of origin.
Italy is pushing to ease the return of Syrian refugees, amid fears that Israel’s war in Lebanon – where many Syrians fled their country’s civil war – could trigger a new migrant wave towards Europe.
new air
The general hardening of tone comes despite a more than 40 percent drop in incidents of irregular border crossings into the EU this year after reaching a nearly 10-year peak in 2023.
“A new wind is blowing in Europe,” Dutch politician Geert Wilders said at a meeting of the far-right Patriots for Europe group in the European Parliament in Brussels.
Far-right parties, often riding on anti-immigrant sentiment, performed strongly in European Parliament elections in June, topping recent national and regional votes in Austria, Germany and the Netherlands.
France also leaned to the right after the parliamentary elections in July.
Germany tightened border controls in September in response to several suspected Islamist attacks.
And this month Poland said it would partially suspend asylum rights, accusing Russia and Belarus of sending migrants to the border to destabilize the country – a strategy the leaders confronted in their summit conclusions. Vowed to do.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky also attended the meeting to present Kiev’s “victory plan” to defeat Russia. EU leaders also discussed the conflicts in Gaza and Lebanon.
published – October 18, 2024 11:20 am IST