Ursula von der Leyen bets on continue to tighten EU migration policy if he is confirmed for a second term at the head of the European Commission. In a letter addressed to the heads of State and Government of the 27, the German declares itself open to exploring the creation of migrant centers outside the European Union to manage asylum applications, as requested by countries such as Italy, Poland, the Netherlands, Austria and Greece.
It would be treated to replicate at European level the agreement closed by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni with Albania. The president of the community Executive also undertakes to continue strengthening agreements with countries of origin and transit -such as Turkey, Tunisia, Mauritania, Egypt, Lebanon or even Libya- in order for them to be the ones to stop the departure of migrants to Europe.
In this sense, Von der Leyen admits that one of the central pillars of her first term, the European Pact on Immigration and Asylum (which has only just been adopted and has not even begun to be implemented) will be insufficient to resolve the challenges facing the EU.
[Túnez, Mauritania, Egipto y ahora Líbano: la UE avanza en externalizar el control migratorio]
“The agreement on the Pact is not the end of the reflection on the tools at our disposal. Many Member States are studying innovative strategies to prevent illegal immigrationprocessing asylum applications further from the EU’s external borders. There are ongoing reflections on ideas that will certainly deserve our attention when it is launched our next institutional cycle“writes Von der Leyen in her letter on the occasion of the European Council being held this Thursday and Friday in Brussels.
The President specifically cites the migration agreement with Turkey as a model to follow. She also advocates that the EU should invest in the asylum systems of transit countries and strengthen cooperation on repatriationsFinally, Von der Leyen advocates working with non-European countries considered safe when it comes to managing asylum applications. A reference to the agreement signed with Italy by Albania.
“The Commission will continue to support these reflections, always taking into account international law, and with full awareness of the need to work on paths that are also acceptable to our partners and that allow us to find sustainable solutions for the migrants themselves,” concludes Von der Leyen.
The German’s letter is actually a response to the letter sent to her in May by a total of 15 countries demanding “new formulas and solutions” to cope to the “strong increase in irregular arrivals” to the EU.
These Member States asked Brussels “security agreements and transit mechanisms” based on “models such as the Italy-Albania protocol.” The objective would be to “detect, intercept or, in case of danger, rescue migrants on the high seas and take them to a predetermined and safe location in a partner country outside the EUwhere lasting solutions can be found for these migrants.
In order to accelerate the expulsions of migrants who do not have the right to asylum, these countries are also committed to creating “return centers” in partner countries outside the EU. Irregular migrants would be transferred there while waiting for their countries of origin to accept their readmission.
The letter was signed by Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Greece, Italy, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, the Netherlands, Austria, Poland, Romania and Finland. Spain is the only frontline country on the EU’s maritime border that did not sign the letter, which also did not have the support of France or Germany.
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