Deportation camps outside the EU gained support among member states. international

The idea of ​​creating deportation centers outside the EU is gaining momentum. A large majority of countries of different political colors support the idea – still very preliminary – of sending asylum seekers to these camps, which the new European Commission has opened to explore as part of the reform of the regulation on deportations. Spain is, for the moment, the only partner that clearly stands against the measure, which is supported by Denmark, Austria and Italy.

Rome has already opened extermination camps in Albania, an experience that some partners see as a model to follow. Others, such as Ireland, France or Luxembourg, are more pragmatic: they are not opposed to the formula, but they want to see how it will be developed and how much it will cost. Olaf Scholz’s government in Germany, with serious problems within the coalition, is becoming increasingly politically weak and while the immigration debate has hardened in recent times at the rate of the rise of the extreme right, it has so far no clear and There is no unified situation. About controversial centres.

The shift in the immigration debate, which will be debated at the leaders’ summit in Brussels this Thursday, is clear. It is also the reality that today only two major EU states, Spain and Germany, are governed by social democracy. But even a centre-left executive does not guarantee a less harsh policy on migration: Denmark is the country that led the proposal to explore the idea of ​​deportation centers in May, which was joined by fifteen countries. , and one of the most difficult is the immigration issue—a socialist coalition government.

The idea of ​​deportation camps for asylum seekers to wait there for a response to their case – which was already on the table years ago and was withdrawn due to serious legal doubts – is just another example of how the situation The stance of member countries on the immigration issue is becoming increasingly strict. For everyone this is a big debate with serious electoral implications, although everyone is mindful of their own reality. But beyond the political debate the reality is this: according to the European border agency (Frontex), irregular arrivals into the Community area have fallen by 42% in the first nine months of the year, although arrivals on Spain’s Canary Islands route have increased.

For those countries that support “innovative solutions” – the euphemism now used in community clubs to talk about models such as Italy in Albania or the European adaptation of these areas – these ideas are among the sources of increasing emigration. Are one. One experienced diplomat comments, “The Albania model has financial costs and complex logistics, the question is whether it works and whether it provides benefits beyond visible outsourcing.” “We still have to see what model is on the table, what types of centres, for which asylum seekers, for how long and what will happen to them after that if the response to their case is negative and they are deported to their country. Can’t be done original,” says another.

The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, stressed in a letter sent to member states to open the debate at the summit this Thursday that Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s model will serve to teach “practical lessons.” , To implement it at European level, with different realities, there must be legal changes to avoid problems with Community law, in line with the Commission proposal, European sources point out. The design of the reform will be in the hands of the new commissioner of Austria, one of the hardline immigration countries – who will hold the interior portfolio.

Human rights organizations have warned about the enormous risks this measure poses, which could lead to new human rights violations. The Albania model, which involves transferring asylum seekers rescued from the sea to one of the camps run by Italian staff, is highly controversial. But that Balkan country’s prime minister, Edi Rama, has acknowledged that other governments have approached him about setting up their centers there. “It is impossible to adequately assess the vulnerabilities of people when they are on board a ship at sea. To do this correctly, you need resources that are only available on the ground,” says Juan Matias Gil, head of search and rescue for Doctors Without Borders.

At the moment, far-right Meloni has called for a mini-summit on the sidelines of the EU heads of state and government meeting in Brussels to talk about migration and innovative solutions, at which, according to Danish diplomatic sources, a dozen countries will be present. . Netherlands, a country with a coalition government in which the extreme right participates. The Italian Prime Minister had organized such a meeting a year ago at the Grenada Summit, in which von der Leyen also participated.

The immigration debate is expected to become more difficult. Member states are having difficulty agreeing on the conclusions of this Thursday’s summit, not least because of the controversial “innovative solutions” that, although they are on the table, have not yet been written down. A group of countries including Spain, France and Germany want to speed up the implementation of the rules making up the migration pact. Others want to move one part forward, something that could unbalance the system designed as a whole. There are also countries, such as Poland and Hungary, which refuse to mention the migration deal they have already spoken out against.