Terrorism, the European Union accelerates rapid repatriations

The guns show no sign of going silent in the Middle East and Europe fears for its safety. The Interior Ministers, meeting in Luxembourg, spoke about anti-terrorism measures, following the events in Arras and Brussels, and decided to speed up the repatriation of migrants who pose a threat. On Friday, the 20th, a meeting will take place with the EU coordinator for repatriation and Member States to understand how to speed up repatriation procedures for people with suspicious or dangerous backgrounds. While we await the approval of the Pact for Migration and Asylum package, which also contains measures for immediate and mandatory repatriation in these cases, we need to take action. In recent years, several agreements have been made with countries of origin – including Iraq, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Senegal – and this year repatriations grew by 20%, but more needs to be done, is the message from the EU Commissioner for Home Affairs, Ylva Johansson.

The Community Executive also put on the table the proposal for a pilot project together with Member States to speed up the implementation of repatriation decisions. The case of the Brussels attacker, Tunisian Abdesalem Lassoued, was “a warning sign”. Especially because he had been in Europe for 12 years and had no right to remain there, given that his asylum request had been rejected by four Member States. Brussels also wants to scrutinize the web with the aim of “stopping those who spread discrimination, disinformation and incitement to hatred, anti-Semitism, Islamophobia and racism”, says the presidency of the EU Council, thanks also to the new rules of the Digital Services Law already activated against the main social platforms. Then there is the front of free movement guaranteed by Schengen, one of the cornerstones of the Union. To date, nine countries have decided on a temporary suspension, reintroducing border controls. The last one was Italy with Slovenia, but the latter also announced a similar measure on the borders with Croatia and Hungary to contain pressure on the Balkan route.

«Schengen is not dead, but it is broken and needs to be repaired», was the lapidary phrase of the Austrian Interior Minister, Gerhard Karner, spoken at a press point with his German counterpart, Nancy Faeser. Minister Matteo Piantedosi assured that the measure is “temporary and proportional” and announced a meeting in Trieste – probably on November 2 – with Slovenia and Croatia “to reach agreement on the methods of implementing collaboration”. The conflict in the Middle East was also at the center of the European Parliament plenary in Strasbourg. With a resolution approved by a large majority, the European Parliament called for a “humanitarian pause” in the conflict in Gaza. In the non-binding text, deputies emphasize that attacking civilians and infrastructure, including United Nations workers, health professionals and journalists, constitutes a serious violation of international law. The European Chamber notes that both the Hamas attacks and the Israeli response risk intensifying the cycle of violence in the region and urges Egypt and Israel to cooperate with the international community to establish humanitarian corridors to the Gaza Strip. Furthermore, from Strasbourg comes the condemnation of the Hamas attacks, which must be eliminated, but also the renewed support for a negotiated solution, based on the coexistence of two States based on the 1967 borders.