Topics : Migration, Union Européenne, UE, elections, asylum, European Parliament, European Council,
Less than a year remains in the European Parliament and Council to agree on a new asylum and migration system. Otherwise the disagreement will be an electoral issue.
The situation is dramatic in all respects. If we don’t measure the urgency now, when will we? The words of Sophie in ‘t Veld, a liberal Dutch MEP, can be translated into all the languages of the European Union. From Lampedusa to rue de la Loi, women, men and children seek asylum without necessarily finding refuge. Many Member States are toughening their tone, and often their policies. And all are looking to Europe for a “common response”. Which exists, on paper: a Pact, proposed in the fall of 2020, which aims to reform the European asylum and migration system. Or a set of legislative texts, which form a whole, based on greater solidarity between capitals, together with a better assumed responsibility.
Last week, Parliament agreed on its negotiating position on the various proposals. Which provide in particular for a mandatory solidarity mechanism, in the event of a “crisis” situation, approved by the Commission: when a country is faced with a significant migratory flow, it can seek help from others. Which will pass, mainly, by the relocation of migrants or, alternatively, by human, financial or logistical means. A reform of the Dublin rules is also on the table: it plans to add, at the sole point of entry into EU territory, other criteria to determine which Member State can take charge of the application for asylum, in particular the existence of a family, cultural or educational link with a country. Finally, so-called “filtering” procedures are planned at the borders.
« A responsibility to voters »
The Parliament and the Council have undertaken to complete the negotiations and move on to the final votes under the Belgian presidency, at the beginning of 2024. A tight timing because the Twenty-Seven have not yet adopted their own negotiating posture. And are not about to do so, fear several European sources, worried to see Sweden, which holds the rotating presidency, procrastinate. « They will accelerate », assured, before the MEPs, Nicole de Moor. The Secretary of State, and with her the Belgian diplomacy, is busy pushing the file. Because, in the unanimous opinion, for lack of agreement before the end of the legislature, everything will have to start over, or almost. But, above all: “In a year, we will be preparing the elections, this Pact will have to be done. We have a responsibility towards the voters, ”insists the CD&V representative.
Between the lines of this debate, but also of all those who appear, every week, on Parliament’s agenda, every month in the discussions at the Council of Ministers of the EU, and, every quarter, at the European Summit, a Fear, little expressed but strongly felt by elected officials, of seeing migration impose itself on the electoral agenda. A stone… in their own garden: national policies all show at least flaws, at worst violations of human rights. The reception networks are saturated in Belgium, the Netherlands and Austria; Italy sabotages the work of NGOs that save lives at sea; Sweden is closing its borders, Hungary, Bulgaria, Croatia and Greece are turning back migrants… Enough, legitimately, to call into question the action of the parties in power.
Migration, a polarizing theme
But there is another electoralist factor, a deleterious one: the far right brandishes the migration issue, like a scarecrow in front of the citizens. A fertile ground: in a study carried out in ten European countries, the Midem research center (University of Dresden) highlights the extremely polarizing side of the theme. It is, with the climate, the theme that most divides society. “Refugee movements serve as a pretext to develop narratives that reinforce the fears and discontent of the population towards migrants,” explains Hans Vorländer, its director. Not without success, “since we see the extent to which confrontation and brutality on these issues are increasing, both in the streets and in parliaments, in political speeches. With, as a result, a hardening of positions and policies.
“Before, it would have been unimaginable to build walls at the borders, to tolerate concentration camps for migrants in Libya, protests Sophie in ‘t Veld. Have we lost our moral compass? People are drowning in the Mediterranean and it seems that everyone is indifferent. The first quarter of 2023 was the deadliest in these waters since 2017: 441 people lost their lives in three months. “An intolerable situation, denounces the director general of the International Organization for Migration, Antonio Vitorino. With more than 20,000 deaths on this road since 2014, I fear that these deaths have normalized. »
Reception crisis: In Brussels, a new occupation set to last
Commuters entering the capital by car via rue de la Loi could not have missed the banners on the building that adjoins the CD&V headquarters since the beginning of the week. A hundred Afghan, Palestinian and Eritrean asylum seekers took possession of the premises as part of an occupation managed by the Stop the Reception Crisis collective.
This collective, already behind the squats in Schaerbeek this fall and Saint-Josse at the end of winter, is trying to draw media and political attention to the lack of reception places in the Fedasil network. In an interview with Le Soir , Fanny François, acting director , confirmed that more than 3,000 people, only single men, were on a waiting list.
The occupation of the rue de la Loi is less talked about than the previous ones because the Brussels police very quickly announced that they would not intervene. Not yet, in any case. Negotiations are underway with the owner of the building and the Brussels Region. The collective hopes to be able to stay in the premises until the start of the work, which is not expected for several months.
no discussion
No discussion has yet taken place between the collective and the Secretary of State for Asylum and Migration, Nicole de Moor. A list of the 95 residents who normally all have an annex 26, proving that they are entitled to reception by Fedasil, has been drawn up. So far, however, nothing is changing.
In the Office of the Secretary of State, it is recalled that the government has taken measures to speed up the exit of asylum seekers from reception centers: « This will free up places for people on the waiting list and for the new asylum seekers who continue to arrive every day. People occupying buildings are not given priority. This would not be right with those who have waited longer. Every day we invite people from the waiting list for a place at Fedasil. We are also working on prevention campaigns to reduce the influx, and on the return of people who do not obtain a right of residence. »
Inside the building on rue de la Loi, people no longer believe in the promise of places, some say they have been living on the street for months. The different communities are spread over the three floors. Bracelets were distributed so as not to let intruders settle. Guard tours at the entrance are also organized. Ultimately, the collective Stop the reception crisis plans to let asylum seekers manage themselves. Other initiatives of this style in buildings with a symbolic location are planned in the weeks or months to come.
Le Soir, 28 avr 2023
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