Brussels takes another turn of the screw in tightening immigration policy. Ursula von der Leyen is willing to study the creation of migrant holding centers outside the EUcopying the model of the agreement closed by the radical right government of Giorgia Meloni with Albania, that is just starting to get going.
This was announced by the President of the Commission in a letter to European leaders in which she raised a 10 point action plan to confront the migration crisis. An initiative that has the support of all the EU majors except Spain and that will be discussed at the European Council being held this Thursday in Brussels.
The Government of Pedro Sanchez He defends almost alone that the priority should be to put into practice the Migration and Asylum Pact that was closed under the Spanish presidency. And it rejects tougher measures to combat illegal immigration, which do have the support of Germany, France, Italy or Poland.
“While the Compact is undoubtedly a tremendous achievement, there is no room for complacency. Driven by several interconnected global crises, Migration will continue to be one of the most pressing problems that requires our urgent attention,” Von der Leyen says in her letter.
For this reason, one of the 10 points of its action plan consists of “working on the design of innovative solutions to counteract illegal immigration.” “We must continue to explore possible paths forward regarding the idea of develop return centers outside the European Union, especially in light of the new legislative proposal on returns. With the start of operations of the Italy-Albania protocol, we will also be able to draw lessons from this experience in practice,” says the President of the Commission.
A total of 15 Member States (including Italy, Greece, Malta, the Netherlands and Denmark) already asked Von der Leyen by letter last May to create Non-EU camps for migrants rescued at sea in order to process asylum applications there, without allowing them to enter community territory. Later, other countries such as France and Germany joined in. The idea of deportation or return centers has just been raised by Viktor Orbán’s Hungary and the objective is to have a place to expel irregular migrants whose country of origin does not want to readmit them.
In her letter, Von der Leyen also responds positively to the request of 14 Member States (including Italy, France and Germany, but not Spain) to tighten the return directive. Specifically, the president announces a new legislative proposal that will allow criminal sanctions for migrants who do not collaborate in their repatriation and apply an express procedure to those who pose a risk to public safety.
Von der Leyen also proposes exercising more pressure on countries of origin and transit to accept repatriation of irregular migrants. To achieve this, the EU should limit the number of visas for nationals of non-cooperating countries and even suspend the trade preferences it grants to less developed countries. At the same time, the list of countries considered safe to expel irregular migrants will be expanded.
Furthermore, the German winks at the Polish Prime Minister, Donald Tuskwhich has been the latest to join the immigration debate with the announcement that it intends to suspend the right to asylum in response to pressure from Russia and Belarus on their border. “It is our right and our duty to protect the Polish and European borders. Your safety will not be negotiated. With nobody. It is a task that has not been completed. And my government will complete this task,” Tusk wrote on his Twitter account.
“Russia, and Belarus as proxyare not only engaged in a war of aggression against Ukraine, but are also putting pressure on the EU’s external border using people as weapons, undermining the security of our Union. Need a clear and determined European response to address these activitieswithout allowing Russia and Belarus to use our values against us,” Von der Leyen responds.
The case of Spain
In her action plan, the president of the community Executive proposes accelerate the entry into force of the Migration and Asylum Pactas Spain, Germany and France have proposed. In principle, it was planned that this new package of rules would begin to be applied in 2026: Von der Leyen wants to go faster but does not put a new date on the table either.
The maritime migration routes to Spain are currently recording the greatest increase in arrivals: 56% at the end of September compared to the same period of the previous year, combining the Western Mediterranean route and the Atlantic route. “We must deepen the partnership already underway with Mauritania, and we must also see how give incentives to other partners like Senegal and Mali to work with us on migrationdespite the broader complexity of the relationships,” Von der Leyen maintains.
Looking to the future, the president proposes improving collaboration with Morocco by deploying a liaison officer from the European Border and Coast Guard (Frontex) there and developing a plan to combat human trafficking in 2025. With Mauritania, Brussels will deepen the dialogue on migration and mobility. Frontex is negotiating a collaboration agreement with the national police of Senegalalthough the Community Executive admits that this country does not collaborate in repatriations, so it could tighten the visa policy. With Gambia, the priority is to reestablish charter flights for returns of irregular migrants.
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