France, Germany and Italy call for increased return of illegal immigrants and Spain leads the way

The list of European countries calling for tougher action on illegal immigration is growing. A total of seventeen countries, including France, Germany and Italy, have requested by letter that the Community Executive present a new proposal on the return of illegal immigrants, as they believe the current framework is obsolete.

This letter, which was discussed for the first time in a meeting by twenty-seven interior ministers in Luxembourg this Thursday, urges the speeding up of return procedures and the sanctioning of immigrants who do not cooperate with the process. Austria and the Netherlands have promoted the drafting of this letter, in May fifteen European countries – promoted by Denmark – requested that the processing of asylum applications be carried out from centers outside European borders as a way to avoid arrivals. However, this previous text did not have the support of the Franco-German axis.

Spain opposes these proposals and believes that the solution lies in accelerating the application of the reform of the asylum system which was approved a few months ago and whose negotiations lasted six years. “As the President of the Government said, we raise the issue of the importance of implementing the agreement as soon as possible,” Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlasca said upon entering the meeting in reference to the speech. By Pedro Sanchez in the Congress of Deputies the previous day.

The European Parliament gave the final green light to this migration and asylum deal in April, shortly before the end of the European Legislature. After this approval, European countries have two years to integrate this new law into their legal system, but Spain wants to bring this date forward to the summer of next year.

France and Germany have also supported this initiative. German Interior Minister Nancy Fazer said, “For me, the priority is to implement the great European success, that is, the migration and asylum treaty, as quickly as possible.” The new French Interior Minister, Bruno Reteleau, has also advocated for the early implementation “of selection, examination and instruction procedures, especially for asylum seekers”.

But the coincidences end here. Paris and Berlin believe that this is not enough and that new specific legislation on returns is necessary that goes far beyond the rules accepted so far and closes the door to these asylum claims being processed in centers outside the borders of European countries. Italy does not do this in the case of Albania. Retaileu has assured that “no solution should be rejected a priori” and has defended “innovative solutions”.

However, Spain believes it is best to focus on implementing the asylum reform negotiated months ago and rejects the possibility of bringing forward the application of parts of the agreement. “It has to be fully implemented. Cutting it is not the most appropriate condition for its actual effectiveness,” the minister explained. Marlaska has also shown her discomfort over the reintroduction of border controls in the Schengen borderless area, in an apparently veiled gesture towards Germany.

The European Commission supports, but does not require, countries that wish to do so to accelerate the implementation of asylum reform. As the Commissioner for the Interior, Ylva Johansson, recalled, 14 countries have already introduced changes to border procedures. Despite this, the Commissioner has recognized that there may be flaws in the previously agreed framework and that is why he has opened the door for the new College of Commissioners to introduce new initiatives to increase the number of returns, which has yet to complete its The journey has not started. As regards the possibility of setting up centers outside European borders to manage asylum applications from there, the Commissioner reminded that there is still no formal proposal from the Community Executive. “We’re not doing much,” he said. Arrivals have fallen 40% this year, according to European Commission data, although asylum applications have increased.

It is clear that the approval of reforms to the Migration and Asylum Agreement after six years of long negotiations has not managed to calm the waters. The Netherlands’ new far-right government has asked to negotiate an opt-out (exclusion clause) that would allow it not to follow European rules on asylum and Hungary is willing to follow in its footsteps, even if it means reviewing its Treaties will have to be made. Following the United Kingdom’s withdrawal from the Community Club, only Denmark has this possibility.