2024-04-23 14:37:21
It is already clear that the flow of people to Europe will steadily increase due to climate change. Politicians in Brussels are looking for solutions, but finding them is extremely difficult. There are more and more proposals for Europe to contribute more to solving the problems of the countries from which they are fleeing, but we are not omnipotent here either. It is becoming unpopular for politicians to defend the rights of migrants, it is constantly repeated that migrants who have arrived in Europe are not integrated, they form into closed groups, which supposedly causes security problems.
Arminas Lydeka, a member of the European Affairs Committee of the Seimas, is convinced that migration will be the biggest challenge that will await this year within the European Union and in the member states.
“We see a change in the political agenda in Portugal, where a new government has been formed, in Sweden, Finland, where political parties that strongly spoke out against migration joined the ruling coalitions. The most striking example is the Netherlands, where there is no way to form a new government after the elections, because the winning party of Geert Wilders strongly opposes the entire migration policy and proposes to fundamentally change the Dutch approach to migration. This country has always been an example for the entire European Union, the most tolerant state, the most respectful of human rights, a state that respects every person and has created a stable political system due to the respect for every person, even if he is a visitor without a clear reason from a third country”, – in the program of “Žiniai Radio” “Can the European Union do this?” he points out.
The European Union’s promise of economic success, which attracts migrant flows, is largely conditioned by Europe’s commitment to human rights principles, which are still on the agenda of the European Commission. Pijus Petrošius, a researcher at the Vilnius office of the International Organization for Migration, emphasizes that many countries see illegal migration flows as a major challenge.
“The European Union does not see migration as a big evil. No country is against legal regular migration. It does not speak, because the Community is facing a labor shortage, there is a need to attract qualified specialists from other countries. The sentiment also comes from those countries that are the biggest builders of borders in the European Union, such as the aforementioned Wilders’ party. The fundamental problem that is being addressed is the control of illegal migration flows. Historically, since 2015, the Community has been externalizing migration management in transit countries. We have seen this in recent months in bilateral agreements with Mauritania, Egypt, Tunisia last year. During the development of bilateral partnerships, efforts are being made to strengthen migration management systems in transit countries, thus managing migrant flows,” says the expert.
The solidarity mechanism is also important, designed to ease the burden of the asylum system of the border countries of the European Union, Italy, Greece, Spain, Cyprus. P. Petrošius is convinced that cooperation between European Union countries can become the key to successful management of migration processes. Collectivism is necessary for problem solving.
Vanesa Cherneva, an analyst at the European Council on International Relations, tells Bulgarian National Radio that migration is no longer seen as the European Union’s problem no. 1. “In fact, migration seems to have taken second place. Our survey was conducted in 12 countries of the European Union. The poll covers nearly three-quarters of the electorate and shows that in only two of these countries, Germany and Austria, migration is perceived as the biggest crisis or the biggest risk. In all other cases, the emphasis is different. For the French and Spanish, for example, it is climate; for Italians and Greeks it is inflation; for the countries of the eastern part of the continent – the Baltic countries and Poland – it is a war.
In general, the question of migration should be looked at more differently. We asked people if they are more afraid of immigration or emigration – whether it is a bigger problem that unfamiliar people and cultures are pouring into their societies, or that many of their own people are leaving the country. In some countries, the latter problem is actually a much bigger concern,” she told Bulgarian Radio.
A. Pike does not agree with this point of view. He claims that the issue of migration has been particularly highlighted in recent years, the mere fact that it remains at least one of the main issues in many countries implies that it is necessary to solve the issue of migration.
“The actualization of migration has clearly increased. Emigration and immigration are indeed related, but it is viewed very differently in countries where people still leave for wealthier countries, such as Bulgaria or Romania, where the number of departures is significantly higher than the number of returns or arrivals, and in countries where people only arrive. such as the Netherlands, Germany, Sweden,” the member of the Seimas points out.
A. Lydeka emphasizes that there is still a lack of a clear understanding of when a person can be turned away, denied entry, as well as how those people can be returned to their country of origin. The European Union also seeks to solve the migration problem by providing support to those countries that do not manage their migration policies.
“In general, migration is neither good nor bad. It has many positives, many negatives. The essential thing is for it to be managed, for everyone to recognize the principle of the rule of law, for the legal rules of the game to be equally understood, who can come, when, on what basis, which country must accept, how the asylum application must be formalized, whether there is a basis for it. Of particular importance is the establishment of return procedures. The European Union and the member states themselves do not have very clear defined legal regulations on how the procedures should be carried out. As for the Migration and Asylum Pact, which has been discussed for several years, the European Commission has prepared guidelines, the European Council has discussed and made decisions more than once, and now the European Parliament has voted and made decisions. The pact consists of several specific documents. One of them is about return procedures. I look at this with the hope that the procedures will be defined more specifically in the new European document and they will start to be implemented”, emphasizes the politician.
However, the return policy continues to raise many questions for human rights activists, who say it can undermine Europe’s most important value – helping the weaker.
2024-04-23 14:37:21