“Immediately mobilize substantial EU funds and assets to support Member States in strengthening their border protection capacities and infrastructure, surveillance tools and equipment, including aerial surveillance”. European Union leaders, after a long night of negotiations, gave the green light to the construction of walls to deter migrants. Despite Germany’s opposition (in form rather than substance, to be honest) and the Commission’s assurances that EU resources since Brussels will only be used to finance cameras and equipment, not concretely bricks or the like. At the summit, a divided Europe emerged over how to face economic challenges, but not with a hard punch against incoming migration.
Castle Europe
The opening part of the outcome document of the summit states that “The European Union is determined to ensure effective control of its external land and sea borders”. To do so, it “reaffirms support” to Fronte, the European border and coast guard that has been taken by storm as the management of the funds at its disposal and the condoning of Greece’s pushbacks at sea. Frontex is asked not only to fulfill its “main task” (protecting external borders, combating cross-border crime and intensifying returns), but also to work within the framework of agreements for “cooperation” between EU countries and third countries. border management.
Visas and duties in return for repatriation
Then there is the returns section, where EU leaders accept the Netherlands’ proposal to “impose restrictive measures on visas against non-cooperative third countries” to take back illegal immigrants to the EU. Among the levers that will be used to steer these third countries towards more lenient advice is trade: the results of the summit make no mention of it, but in recent weeks 27 countries have already agreed on a measure that would allow a trade suspension. Subsidized taxes on exports to the EU to non-cooperating trading partners on returns. But how to solve the problem of international laws prohibiting repatriation to unsafe countries to which the EU is bound? In the results, the solution appears to be entrusted to the European asylum agency EASA, which will have to “provide guidelines to increase the use of the concepts of safe third countries and safe countries of origin”. These concepts have always been a legal headache. The impression is that the EU wants to expand the list of safe states to send migrants back to their countries.
Walls
Finally, the problem of the walls. Building barriers at EU borders is certainly nothing new: In 2018 InfoMigrants calculated that these structures around the continent had already reached 1,000 kilometers. But Brussels has always refused to finance “barbed wire and walls,” to use the words of Ursula von der Leyen a year ago. Since then, however, the Commission chairman seems to have lost the support of a significant part of his party, namely the EPP, on immigration. And yesterday’s summit affirmed a defeat to the EU executive leader in this sense: the results of the summit are a clear demand for Brussels to fund its “border protection infrastructures”, as demanded by 11 other countries, including EPP chief Manfred Weber, Austria and Viktor. Orban’s Hungary is also Denmark’s centre-left government.
At his press conference, von der Leyen implied that EU funds would not go directly to walls or barriers, but to “cameras, roads patrolled along barriers, watchtowers, vehicles”. The goal is to “have a functioning border, to show that we have operating procedures at the border,” he added, because walls alone are “not enough.” But beyond rhetoric, the decision taken in Brussels is pleasing to states that may have more resources to close borders, especially along the Balkan route.
joke for italy
For Italy, the EU agreement on immigration policies cannot be considered a major diplomatic success. Despite the support of popular leader Weber and some EU governments, the results of the summit do not mention the creation of a code of conduct for NGOs, one of the main pillars of the ‘manifesto’ with which Meloni approaches the summit. And the reference to the word “solidarity” is completely missing when it comes to managing the arrivals: on the eve of the summit, Italy relaunched its proposal for “forced resettlement” of asylum seekers among member states. But in Brussels everyone turned deaf ears. As a matter of fact, although the final text “recognises the peculiar nature of the maritime borders”, which is underlined as a step forward by Italian circles, it is added that this recognition is also valid “in terms of the protection of human life”, and an enhanced cooperation in search and rescue activities is added. Solidarity yes, but to save drifting boats. Paradoxically, if land walls work, their numbers could increase, forcing migrants to seek alternative routes in the Mediterranean.
Source: Today IT
Karen Clayton is a seasoned journalist and author at The Nation Update, with a focus on world news and current events. She has a background in international relations, which gives her a deep understanding of the political, economic and social factors that shape the global landscape. She writes about a wide range of topics, including conflicts, political upheavals, and economic trends, as well as humanitarian crisis and human rights issues.
