EU Summit: the endless argument over migration policy
In addition to anti-inflation measures and the Ukraine war, migration policy is at the top of the agenda at the EU leaders' summit taking place this Thursday and Friday. Eight member states are calling for more restrictive asylum laws and tougher measures to combat illegal immigration, including EU financing for border fences. Others stress the need to continue to offer legal paths for immigration to the EU.
Mafia must not decide who comes to the EU
Delo publishes the demands put forward by Manfred Weber, President of the European People's Party, and Slovenian MEP Romana Tomc:
“We need a fully functional and strengthened border and coast guard (Frontex). The state, not the mafia or NGOs, should decide who comes to Europe and who does not. If we want to maintain freedom of movement within the EU, then we must ensure that its external borders are protected. ... The participation of civil society is welcome, but we need clear rules defined by the EU. We therefore call for the adoption of a code of conduct for NGOs carrying out search and rescue missions.”
Not the time to build walls around Europe
In the aftermath of the earthquake Europe must be generous and take in people from the affected region, NRC Handelsblad warns:
“This humanitarian crisis would be the worst moment to build walls around Europe or start a discussion about large-scale repatriations of migrants. Hopefully, once the first phase of emergency aid is over, EU countries and others will show generosity if Syrian or Turkish victims cannot be accommodated in their own region for the time being. This attitude must also be expected from the citizens. The swift intake of several million Ukrainians fleeing Russian aggression last year should serve as an example.”
Asylum policy remains an embittered issue
This summit won't produce a breakthrough either, the Süddeutsche Zeitung fears:
“EU asylum policy is like a vampire that keeps rising from its coffin because the Europeans lack the strength and the will to finally finish it off. ... The realisation remains that for the foreseeable future any progress on this toxic issue will be minimal, and can only be made if the EU turns its attention outwards, to the refugees' countries of origin and transit. If it were possible to persuade these countries to take back people who are not entitled to asylum using threats, but also incentives, and if at the same time specified quotas of refugees were flown to Europe under UN supervision - then at least a little order would be brought into this chaos.”