Brussels.
Finally movement in the EU refugee policy. More pressure is right. What now urgently has to follow, what must not happen.
And yet it moves: the European Union wants to Asylum and Migration Policy tackle some particularly pressing problems and thus end the scandalous deadlock on one of Europe’s biggest political construction sites. More protection at the EU’s external borders, more deportations: the summit decision by the heads of state and government is not yet a breakthrough for a sustainable asylum system. But it is a signal that deep rifts can also be overcome in the Union.
It can hardly be communicated anymore: while a new wave of refugees is putting a massive strain on the European asylum system, fewer and fewer rejected asylum seekers who actually have to leave the continent again are actually being deported. The simple execution of the law is blocked, among other things, because the countries of origin refuse to readmit their citizens, often on the grounds that they are not their nationals.
Rejected asylum seekers: More pressure on countries of origin is right
The fact that the European Union now wants to try to get these home countries to cooperate with greater pressure is correct – the threat of visa difficulties, trade hurdles or the reduction of Development Assistance can be an effective lever. The approach is not new. So far, the only thing Europeans have lacked is determination. If the conditions of the crisis year 2015 are not to be repeated, the gangs of traffickers the craft can be laid more purposefully. Increased border protection in Eastern and Southeastern Europe can contribute to this. The fact that the EU does not specifically want to invest money in fences, but wants to invest more in border infrastructure in order to enforce the applicable law against illegal migration, is therefore no cause for alarm.
There can be no question of a fortress Europe. The right to asylum remains untouched. Experience with border fences in Poland, Hungary or Bulgaria shows that such structures can be acceptable as an emergency solution. But their impact is limited. How could it be otherwise when even the Mediterranean refugees can’t stop? No, neither deportation nor increased border protection alone will solve the problem.
The big hit: This is what a new asylum system in Europe could look like
To do this, the EU needs the strength to make a big splash: with a asylum system, which makes dangerous sea crossings superfluous because migrants can already apply for asylum or refugee protection in the EU outside of Europe. With fast track procedure at the external borders, which are immediately followed by repatriation in the case of futile applications. A system in which recognized asylum seekers are distributed to all EU countries in solidarity. And finally a system that gives migrants from Africa or Asia the chance of legal residence in Europe, even outside of the right to asylum.
Deterrence and isolation alone are not a concept. However, the summit resolutions are a first step that shows that things have started to move. He takes at the same time Pressure from the migration debate, in time for the European elections next year. However, the next steps will only succeed if EU politicians are honest: The situation in Germany and other Union states is now so tense because, in addition to the asylum seekers, millions of people have come to us. Taking care of them as well as possible is a moral duty. But one group must not be played off against the other. Anyone who needs protection in Europe with good reason must continue to receive it, regardless of their region of origin.
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