2023-09-05 07:29:40
► What factors explain the increase in asylum applications within the EU?
The number of asylum applications in EU countries increased by 28% in the first half of 2023 compared to the same period last year, according to figures published on Tuesday 5 September by the EU Agency for asylum. 519,000 requests were registered in the 27 member countries, plus Switzerland and Norway, also covered by the Agency. This considers that “applications could exceed one million by the end of the year”the highest figure since the 2015-2016 period marked by the influx of Syrian migrants.
In the first half of 2023, applicants are primarily Syrians, Afghans, Venezuelans, Turks and Colombians. Ukrainians are not included in these figures because they have another status, temporary protection. Germany is the country that received the most applications: 30% of the total, and nearly twice as many as Spain (17%) and France (16%).
This increase is explained by the deterioration of the political and economic situation in the countries of the South, according to Catherine Wihtol de Wenden, author of a Atlas des migrations and professor at Sciences Po: “This summer we have seen the multiplication of political crises in Africa, and a deterioration of the political context in many countries. As labor immigration is closed in Europe, except in Germany, many migrants also try their luck with asylum. »
► How is the EU coping with this increase in demands?
The EU has been trying since 2020 to adopt a pact on asylum and migration, which aims to harmonize European policies in this area. This pact includes a section intended to limit the influx of applicants, thanks to increased filtering at borders, the development of readmission agreements in the countries of origin for those whose right to asylum has been rejected, and a strengthening of the development aid in the countries of departure.
It also aims to set up a solidarity mechanism, with an obligation for EU states to receive a certain number of asylum seekers or, failing that, to make a financial contribution to the host countries. It is a matter of not leaving the burden solely to the countries of arrival of migrants.
The ambition of the European Commission is to obtain approval of this pact in 2024. However, the course of this text is proving chaotic: on June 29 and 30, during a European Council devoted to the migration policy of the EU, Hungary and Poland blocked the adoption of the conclusions.
► Why is the adoption of this pact blocked?
Poland and Hungary oppose solidarity measures that would force them to take in migrants in the name of defending their sovereignty. Poland also argues that it is already one of the main host countries for Ukrainians within the EU. On the eve of the general elections on 15th October next, Warsaw is reluctant to compromise on this subject.
If the discussion around this pact is slipping, it is also because it carefully leaves aside the main problem, that of labor immigration. “The pact only puts back on the table old recipes which we already know have no effect, estime Catherine Wihtol de Wenden. If we want to reduce the number of asylum applications, the priority should be to reopen labor immigration, which we need, as we know full well. »
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