Eurotopics: Asylum – EU Summit Seeks Consensus

At their summit in Brussels, the 27 EU heads of state and government are seeking a common course on migration policy. The member states are currently at odds over whether tighter measures such as border controls and the outsourcing of asylum procedures are needed, as well as over the legitimacy of unilateral measures by individual states. Opinions among commentators also diverge.

Use momentum to move forwards

The Kleine Zeitung (Austria) stresses the need for unity:

“The reaction of the EU countries is what it always has been: a complete mess, leaving a pathetic impression. … The momentum for making real progress on the asylum issue is now greater than ever. The trick is to separate regular from irregular migration and find an efficient way out of the current misguided asylum policy that doesn’t leave the field to the populists, who would prefer to scrap the whole system. The more countries that try to go it alone, the more difficult this becomes. The border controls in half of Europe, even if they often only exist on paper, are an expression of helplessness. The asylum problem is simply passed on to the country next door, rather than a common solution being sought.”

Bring stragglers up to speed

The EU needs a unified approach to refugee policy, Le Figaro (France) urges:

“Italian Giorgia Meloni is emerging as a role model: the Germans, French, Swedes and even British Labour Prime Minister Keir Starmer are closely observing the start of her Albanian experiment: the launch of reception centres for the processing of asylum claims. … Spain’s Socialist PM Pedro Sánchez is the only exception. But for how much longer? Arrivals of illegal immigrants, which dropped by 60 percent within a year in Italy, have risen by the same amount in his country. This should prompt the EU to overcome its weakness: its difficulties in moving forward together in order to be effective.”

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Tough border controls are not inhumane

Die Welt (Germany) sees things finally moving in the right direction:

“EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has announced an offensive to persuade countries of origin to take back more migrants. At the same time, EU member states are keeping close tabs on Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s initiative, which involves relocating asylum procedures to Albania. The first migrants are now arriving there. Ten years after the refugee crisis, the EU is beginning to understand that tough border controls and consistent asylum procedures are not inhumane. On the contrary, they offer protection to those who really need it. Only in this way can the right to asylum gain acceptance.”

The figures tell a different story

There is no migration crisis, El País (Spain) emphasises:

“There is no urgency or exceptional situation: according to Frontex data the influx of irregular migrants to the EU is gradually decreasing. … The figures tell one story, but the political narrative is going in the other direction, dictated by the far-right. … Europe is far from having a migration crisis, but the political winds are shifting and the harsh discourse is gaining ground, despite the fact that Europe needs migrants as much as it needs food. … We used to discuss rights and economic reasons, now the migration debate is all about security. … Open borders are no longer a symbol of freedom, but of insecurity.”

An act of panic

Europe is acting out of panic, La Vanguardia (Spain) fears:

“Schengen is mortally wounded. Detention camps are an act of desperation. … The fear of migrants has led to the rise of far-right parties in Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Austria, the Netherlands, France and Spain. … Europe has entered a state of panic because it is unable to emotionally accept the presence of those seeking new horizons to escape poverty, persecution and war.”

Where there’s a will, there’s a way

Outsourcing asylum procedures is not the solution, writes the Irish Examiner (Ireland):

“Investing in measures that ensure effective access to asylum and provide dignified reception and integration within the EU would make a difference. … The Ukrainian humanitarian crisis demonstrated that the EU migration challenge is not a numeric issue. The EU has been able to host more than four million refugees from Ukraine when there is cohesive political will.”