Migration: in Brussels, extraordinary advice to forget the “Ocean-Vikings” crisis

Send a message of unity from Europe and finally end the devastating sequence of divisions over migration. This is the challenge of the extraordinary council of twenty-seven interior ministers, which meets on Friday 25 November. It comes two weeks after a major diplomatic crisis between France and Italy over hostingOcean-Viking and its 234 passengers. A crisis that, however, allowed the new far-right government of Georgia Mellon to put the topic on the continent’s political agenda.

According to the border and coast guard agency Frontex, almost 280,000 irregular arrivals have been recorded in Europe since the beginning of 2022. Although about three million people enter the continent regularly each year, the phenomenon remains measured and far from 2015 and 2016, when more than a million migrants arrived there irregularly.

Despite this, on some migration routes, growth rates are high, after two years, declining, especially with Covid-19. In the south, almost 90,000 people – a 59% increase – braved the waves of the Mediterranean to reach European shores, while 130,000 made their way to the Balkans – a 168% increase year-on-year.

In this context, all member states of the European Union (EU) want to resume discussions. “Whether it’s Belgium, the Netherlands, Austria, Germany, Central European countries and even the Baltic countries, everyone is now worried about this issue.notes the diplomat in Brussels. It becomes necessary to find a long-term European solution. » And it is not the only subject of the Mediterranean route that concerns Italy. “We must seize the moment to activate the political momentum to finally reach a pact on asylum and migration.”A European official is judging. This pact, which was published in 2020 and which includes around ten legislative texts, was approved in both the Council and the Parliament within two years.

defensive measures

On Monday, the commission published an action plan of about twenty measures, mostly inspired by its pact, in preparation for the meeting of interior ministers. While the Commonwealth’s executive has repeatedly reminded Italy that it must respect international law and welcome passengers rescued at sea, it has assured Rome, and Europe more broadly, of stronger support against illegal immigration. “The climate on these issues is intensifying across Europe today”observes Damien Carré, an environmentalist MEP who specializes in this topic.