EU to set up return hubs in third countries
The European Union plans to establish deportation centres in non-EU countries. Representatives of the European Parliament and governments have now reached a deal, although it is not yet clear where the hubs would be located. The measure complements the EU Pact on Migration and Asylum, which will take full effect on June 12. The press assesses the plan in terms of feasibility and compatibility with fundamental rights.
Long way from a solution
The EU should not overstate its claims, comments tagesschau.de:
“At least it should be upfront about the hurdles that still lie ahead – not to mention the astronomical costs. Germany is doing its utmost to find partner states. But there have been no concrete agreements. And even if contracts are signed, the EU Fundamental Rights Agency will be on the lookout to ensure that the planned facilities do not become lawless spaces. ... Even if all this goes ahead, the time will come when every deadline expires – asylum seekers whose applications have been rejected and whose countries of origin refuse to take them back cannot remain in these centres forever. In other words, the EU will have increase the pressure on these uncooperative states. In a nutshell: this resolution is still not a solution.”
Fundamental rights must be upheld
El Periódico de Catalunya explains:
“The Return Regulation and the European Pact on Migration and Asylum mark a new phase in European migration policy. ... Both reforms address the challenges the Union has faced since the 2015 migration crisis, and in particular the fact that only 27 percent of return orders are enforced. … The fundamental question is not whether return decisions should be enforced, but how and with what safeguards. A state governed by the rule of law must both uphold the law and protect fundamental rights. ... The new European migration framework can only be effective and legitimate if this balance is maintained.”
Trumpian to the core
This is a dangerous move, Le Courrier warns:
“These tough new measures are a historical step backwards for human rights. The new regime will make it even more perilous for people forced to flee war, famine or climate change to reach Fortress Europe. ... These new attacks on refugees are the fruit of the alliance of right wing and far-right groups in Brussels. And they illustrate the advance of reactionary and racist politics in the heart of the EU, with the active collaboration of the major centrist parties. This explodes the myth of Europe as a rampart against Trump's neo-fascist regime.”
Risk of injustice and arbitrariness
Le Soir warns:
“The seemingly benign term 'return hubs' is merely a euphemism for prisons where these deportees – who have not necessarily committed any crimes – are locked up. ... How can we ensure that hidden from view, unmonitored, cut off from their home countries and with entirely uncertain or even nonexistent opportunities for appeal, they are not forgotten? The risk of injustice and arbitrariness is very real. And all this for potentially very limited results. The goal is to increase the efficiency of return policy, which is currently lacking. Yet all experts agree that its success can only be achieved through genuine – and currently non-existent – cooperation with the countries of origin.”
A further shift to the right
The EU's asylum policy is moving further and further to the right, says Delo:
“In future, greater emphasis will be placed on the effectiveness of return policies than on the rights of those involved in the proceedings. These people may also be subject to longer periods of detention. The creation of a legal framework for deporting rejected asylum seekers to centres located in distant third countries certainly signals a fundamental shift in European policy. What was once advocated by the hard-line segment of the European right regarding migration issues has now become part of the political mainstream.”
Cause for despair
Apparently there are no more taboos in the fight against migration, the Frankfurter Rundschau observes with consternation:
“Cooperation with the inhumane Taliban in Afghanistan? There is no alternative. Bolstering regimes like Libya's? As long as they take in our refugees. Protecting children and families? Not that important. Forcing people to stay in countries with which they have no connection? Detaining people who haven't committed any crimes? There's no alternative. And last but not least: cooperation with the far-right AfD? Apparently this is no longer a problem for the CDU/CSU. All of this is evident in the decisions of EU bodies. But for those who uphold human rights and the rule of law, this is cause for despair.”