The European Union on Thursday approved a migration pact that could put thousands of asylum seekers, including children, behind bars, POLITICO reports.
The migration pact, endorsed by EU ambassadors, is seen by non-governmental organisations and left-wing politicians as a human rights violation because it proposes to detain unaccompanied minors deemed a security risk. Under the pact, migrants would be imprisoned in detention centres for up to six months in some cases. Catherine Woollard, Director of the European Centre on Refugees and Exiles, said:
The theory is that by making people suffer with hostile policies you create a deterrent and fewer people will arrive. But in practice people will still arrive because they have no choice, so there’s no deterrent effect – just the suffering.
Ukrainian refugees will be exempted from restrictions under the EU’s Temporary Protection Directive, under which they enjoy freedom of movement. Some activists speculate that this migration deal is aimed at asylum seekers from Africa and the Middle East.
Two diplomats said there was plenty of emotion, including applause, when ambassadors approved the pact, a process that has been under discussion since 2016 as the bloc’s migration crisis rages in recent times.
When a preliminary agreement was reached in December, Cornelia Ernst, a MEP from Germany’s left-wing Die Linke party, wrote on website X that the pact was “a dramatic day for the rights of people seeking protection in Europe”.
But this rightward shift is unlikely to solve Europe’s migration problems, as it will either see many migrants imprisoned indefinitely, which is difficult for many on a continent that aspires to be a beacon of human rights, or it will have to find a way to increase the number of migrants returning to the country they left (currently around 20 per cent and considered the Achilles’ heel of the bloc’s approach to migration).
A shift to the right on migration can also be seen at the national level in Europe. In December, the French parliament passed a law containing so many tough measures that Marine Le Pen called it an “ideological victory” for her anti-immigration platform. The country’s Constitutional Council later condemned several articles, including measures to restrict access to social benefits and impose immigration quotas.
Polls for the upcoming European elections show the rise of right-wing parties opposed to migration. The right-wing group Identity and Democracy, which includes Alternative for Germany, is expected to come in third place, according to POLITICO polls.
Since the EU adopted the Refugee Return Directive in 2008, the push for faster deportations has intensified. As part of the Migration Pact, the Commission has also appointed a return coordinator. And return remains a key issue.
The most critical issue for member states will be implementation. “It is now a matter of making the paper reality work in practice,” said one EU diplomat, who was granted anonymity to speak candidly about the deal. The pact will now go to the European Parliament for a vote and approval.
