Fifteen European Union countries, led by Denmark and the Czech Republic, are calling for “new solutions” to facilitate the transfer of migrants to countries outside the European Union, including during rescue operations at sea.
These fifteen countries, including Italy and Greece, but not Hungary, want to go further than the migration pact recently adopted by the EU, which tightens immigration controls in Europe.
They are asking the European Commission to “identify, develop, and propose new means and solutions to prevent irregular immigration into Europe,” according to the letter, which was consulted by AFP.
They call for mechanisms to “detect, intercept, and, in case of distress, rescue migrants on the high seas and take them to a safe place in a partner country outside the EU where sustainable solutions can be found for these migrants.”
They cite Italy's recent agreement with Albania to send migrants rescued in Italian waters to this EU candidate country so that their asylum claims can be processed there.
The fifteen countries are also suggesting that it should be easier to send asylum seekers back to third countries to have their claims examined.
Under EU law, an immigrant arriving in the EU can be sent to a country outside the bloc where he or she could have applied for asylum, provided there is a sufficient link with the third country. This rules out a UK/Rwanda model at this stage.
“The application of the safe third country concept in European asylum law needs to be reassessed,” they write.
More generally, these countries want to multiply agreements with third countries along migration routes, citing examples of partnerships already concluded, such as the one with Turkey to hold Syrian refugees in 2016.
“We encourage the establishment of comprehensive, mutually beneficial, and sustainable partnerships with key partner countries located along migration routes,” according to the signatories.
These proposals, aimed at the future European Commission, come less than a month before the European elections, for which polls predict a surge in anti-immigration parties.
The fifteen signatory countries are Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Estonia, Greece, Italy, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, the Netherlands, Austria, Poland, and Romania.
With AFP
These fifteen countries, including Italy and Greece, but not Hungary, want to go further than the migration pact recently adopted by the EU, which tightens immigration controls in Europe.
They are asking the European Commission to “identify, develop, and propose new means and solutions to prevent irregular immigration into Europe,” according to the letter, which was consulted by AFP.
They call for mechanisms to “detect, intercept, and, in case of distress, rescue migrants on the high seas and take them to a safe place in a partner country outside the EU where sustainable solutions can be found for these migrants.”
They cite Italy's recent agreement with Albania to send migrants rescued in Italian waters to this EU candidate country so that their asylum claims can be processed there.
The fifteen countries are also suggesting that it should be easier to send asylum seekers back to third countries to have their claims examined.
Under EU law, an immigrant arriving in the EU can be sent to a country outside the bloc where he or she could have applied for asylum, provided there is a sufficient link with the third country. This rules out a UK/Rwanda model at this stage.
“The application of the safe third country concept in European asylum law needs to be reassessed,” they write.
More generally, these countries want to multiply agreements with third countries along migration routes, citing examples of partnerships already concluded, such as the one with Turkey to hold Syrian refugees in 2016.
“We encourage the establishment of comprehensive, mutually beneficial, and sustainable partnerships with key partner countries located along migration routes,” according to the signatories.
These proposals, aimed at the future European Commission, come less than a month before the European elections, for which polls predict a surge in anti-immigration parties.
The fifteen signatory countries are Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Estonia, Greece, Italy, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, the Netherlands, Austria, Poland, and Romania.
With AFP
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