Written by Violette Seldubuisson,
Reviewed byRachel Ducept,
Translated by Lucas Décorne.
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Published on November, 20th, 2022.
The end of the three weeks of wandering of the 234 passengers of the “Ocean Viking” is not without reminding the difficulties of the European migration policy. Between repeated pushbacks, wall construction, and diplomatic tensions, this one seems to be in crisis. A sophisticated situation, as the rate of asylum applications has peaked across the EU since 2015.
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A major humanitarian crisis
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Crossing the borders of Europe is becoming an increasingly difficult exercise. However, faced with inhuman conditions reserved for migrants in transit countries, as is the case in Libya, they try as much as they can. Makeshift boats, dangerous roads, little food, these populations often find themselves exposed to these dangers. According to the “Missing Migrant Project,” 25,261 people have gone missing in the Mediterranean Sea since 2014. The IOM also states that 203 people have died in the English Channel since 2014.
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A heavy report, but it does not end there. Once arrived, conditions are not better. In Belgium, the federal agency in charge of receiving asylum seekers has been condemned 4,500 times since the beginning of the year for failing to provide shelter to migrants. The reason is that its 32,000-seat network is saturated, forcing migrants to sleep outside. This is not an isolated case in the Member States. NGOs regularly denounced life in camps or on the streets.
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Why is this happening?
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For many observers, this is a political crisis due to structural causes, specific to the European Union.
Despite the will to apply a common immigration policy, the reality is quite different. The legal uncertainty surrounding the Dublin III regulation and the Law of the sea is creating a tug-of-war between member countries. This framework provides for processing of asylum applications in the first gateway countries into the EU and the obligation to “disembark in a safe place”. NGOs denounce the arbitrary application of national policies. The turning down to host the “Viking Ocean” thus illustrates the volunteer of Giorgia Meloni to impose her ideas. The same problem exists in Hungary, where Viktor Orban is defying Brussels by refusing to soften his policies.
The outsourcing of migration policies raises questions and concerns among NGOs. The EU is asking Frontex to build a “Fortress Europe” by making retention agreements at its borders with its neighbours, such as Turkey.
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Is reform a solution?
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Faced with its observation, a reform has been proposed. In 2020, the European Commission presented the “European Pact on Migration and Asylum”. Then, in 2022, the European Union Agency for Asylum was created. This reform emphasizes a common and comprehensive framework for migration policy and aims to standardize legislation. This echoes the numerous demands of NGOs, which plead for a more supportive and humanitarian system. However, political tensions between countries are preventing an agreement from being reached and the reform process has stalled. In addition, the NGOs are concerned about several provisions made by the EU. Both regulations concerning “filtering” and “Eurodac” seem very restrictive to them. The database planned with “Eurodac” alarmed Amnesty International about the development of a “powerful tool for mass surveillance”.
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While all these proposals seem to be a step forward, the problem of their arbitrary application persists, and civil society deplores the adoption of security measures rather than human ones. The challenge for the European Union seems more significant than ever.
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Violette Seldubuisson