This immigration policy continues to cause controversy European Union and, despite the recent imposition of harsher language and style, it plays a leading role in fierce debates among European leaders. Extraordinary summit of European leaders What they talked about that took place in Brussels this Thursday strengthen controls at external borders, cooperate more with third countries and send back more illegal immigrants. The draft advocates mobilizing European funds, at the request of certain delegations, for Member States to strengthen their control capacities and infrastructures, surveillance tools and equipment.
A commitment that means funding for some delegations fence construction. “We need money for this, be it fence or border infrastructure, Bulgaria needs help with border surveillance and border personnel, and also when it comes to technical equipment for borders, because it’s a fence only good if there is effective surveillance,” he argued. Austrian chancellor, Karl NehammerAs he warned, he assures himself when he comes to the meeting with a challenge that “when there is secondary immigration, we should not be left alone so that we will not be alone”, which affects not only Bulgaria, but also Italy, France and other border states.
And the thing is, the more active the countries at the forefront of external borders, the “the less other countries will be concerned about possible secondary moves,” there are diplomatic sources to support these arguments. Figures considered by the European Commission confirm a 21% drop in migrant flows on the way to Spain, but not for other entry routes, such as the Western Balkans route, which recorded a 136% increase last year. It came from the Eastern Mediterranean, up 108%, and even from the Central Mediterranean, up 51%.
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“Greece will continue to push the EU to do more to protect its external borders. We expect even more European support. We will continue to ask for more European resources, additional financial resources to protect our borders more effectively. EU builds in Evros “We should use physical barriers, including the fence we build,” said the Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, about the infrastructure they are building on the Turkish border. Also, a precaution Lithuania With the construction of a 480-kilometer fence to the Belarusian border. The three countries – Austria, Greece and Lithuania – are part of the eight-person group, along with Slovakia, Latvia, Estonia and Malta, which wrote a letter to the European Commission earlier this week requesting more funding and protection tools for foreign countries. limits. .
“We don’t just need a material fence. We also need a legal framework that will help us fight not only illegal immigration but also the instrumentalization of immigration,” said the Lithuanian President. Nauseda Gypsy, about the episode they experienced when they recorded mass arrivals from the Belarusian border in 2021. “It’s important to prevent other countries from doing the same in the future,” he guesses. A war in which these countries are not alone. Although Italy’s problem is different, mostly due to irregular migration by sea, the Italian Prime Minister, Giorgia Melonysupported “anything” that helped control irregular migration.
However, not all Member States are so clear on this. “Bulgaria and Turkey are on the table, but that will not be enough, new fences and walls will be needed. Money can be invested in other things. The walls we see do not solve the problem” Luxembourg Xavier Bettlewho think it is “wrong” to finance walls because if they start Europe will turn into a fortress.
state aid
The Twenty-sevens are also scheduled to speak at the summit. business plan Restarting European competitiveness and dealing with the protectionism of third countries such as the United States or China and the revision of state aid rules dividing Twenty-seven. “We maintain an intermediate position. We believe that (state aids) should be made more flexible and reporting thresholds should be raised, but limited on a time and sector basis. Efforts need to be made on green issues in the coming years, and this requires flexibility. But this must be done in a limited time with specific sectors, detailed green sectors”, explain Spanish government sources. The same is demanded by other delegations, who share the fear that any fine-tuning of state aid policy will result in distorting and fragmenting the European market, especially given the different fiscal space available for the 27s. Germany and France.