Some 100 days ago, at the October’s European Council, agreement was reached by the December Council (that is, on Thursday and Friday coming) that ‘concrete proposals’ would be made to avoid another Lampedusa tragedy.
To fill in the Maltese context – we all remember how the government was heavily criticized both locally and abroad for its ‘pushback’ talk and for what was perceived as a threat to repatriate asylum seekers who had arrived by boat the very same day they arrived even before they had a chance to register their application to be considered as refugees.
An injunction was obtained from the European Court and the matter stopped there, in the midst of a very tense parliamentary debate.
Then attention was focused on the October Council and somehow, what to many observers seemed like a watering down of the EU proposals, the Maltese government meekly accepted postponing the ‘concrete proposals’ to the December summit.
This was already a climb down of sorts compared to the fiery language of summer. But it was packaged as showing statecraft.
The EU machine worked its due. On 4 December, the Commission issued a press release entitled “‘Lampedusa follow up: concrete actions to prevent loss of life in the Mediterranean and better address migratory and asylum flows” (http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-13-1199_en.htm?locale=en) in which it proposed “ways to increase solidarity and mutual support in order to prevent migrants’ death in the Mediterranean”.
These were “actions proposed are the result of the work carried out by the Commission chaired Task Force for the Mediterranean (TFM), with the aim to bolster EU’s policies and tools in the short to medium term” as demanded on, among others, Malta’s insistence at the October Council.
The Task Force identified concrete actions in five main areas:
1. Border surveillance to help saving lives
2. Assistance and solidarity
3. Fight against trafficking, smuggling and organised crime
4. Regional protection, resettlement and legal ways to access Europe
5. Actions in cooperation with third countries.
One has to read and digest the entire Commission document to understand all the nuances and hidden compromises involved in the drafting of the document.
But some, at least, of these hidden nuances and compromises were blown sky-high a few days later in an EurActiv report which showed that approval of this document on Friday is far from certain.
Properly speaking, the EurActiv report followed the meeting of the EU’s 28 home affairs ministers that took place on Thursday 5 December. At this meeting, Commissioner Cecilia Malstrom presented proposals contained in the Commission’s Task force for the Mediterranean’s new set of measures aimed at addressing migration flows at the EU’s southern borders.
But EU countries are much more focused on border security aspects than on protecting refugees and asylum seekers, the Commissioner admitted afterwards.
European member states have exercised “heavy influence” in the drafting of the recommendations, said Yves Pascouau, senior policy analyst at the European Policy Centre.
“The TFM is extensive on security issues and cooperation with third countries, but very short on asylum and protection issues,” Pascouau told EurActiv.
Indeed, the 20-page communication dedicates barely a page and a half to reinforcing “legal ways to access Europe”.
The Commission wants to push more member states to engage in resettlement plans, as currently only 11 countries have agreed to participate in the UN programme for Syrian refugees, by offering €6,000 per resettled refugee.
A more controversial measure in the TFM proposes allowing asylum seekers to apply for visas from outside Europe, which would spare them the risk of embarking on dangerous journeys like the one in Lampedusa.
However, Malmström conceded that member states were “less enthusiastic” at this idea of “humanitarian visas”.
The Commission’s recommendation to allow such humanitarian entries into Europe was welcomed by the UNHCR, the UN body dealing with refugees, “as a key area of action to reinforce legal ways to access Europe”.
“This includes humanitarian visas and increased resettlement places for those who are most vulnerable,” said Dan McNorton from the UNHCR. “Creating legal migration alternatives to dangerous irregular movements, including resettlement, access to family reunion options and other methods should be a priority,” he told EurActiv in a written statement.
The lack of interest for the Syrian crisis in particular, was highlighted by the Council of Europe’s Commissioner for Human Rights on Tuesday. Speaking at a press event, the Commissioner said that “the reception in Europe of the Syrian refugee crisis is less welcoming than for previous crises like Afghanistan”, attributing this to the economic difficulties the continent is facing.
“There is a real reluctance in the EU to take in refugees from Syria, the humanitarian approach in this conflict has been overshadowed by things like the chemical weapons deal, which is only a small piece, and the fragile opening with Iran,” Schaake said.
“Extremist grew stronger on both sides, we’ve seen young people on the news joining the jihadists, all this has led people to believe that Syria is a big mess and that there’s no one to align with,” she added explaining that in her own country, The Netherlands, refugees were considered as “a threat” by the government.
That very same day, the Department of Information issued a statement by the Minister for Justice and Home Affairs, which stated: “Home Affairs and National Security Minister Emanuel Mallia said that while the Task Force Mediterranean Communication is a significant step in effectively addressing irregular migration in the Mediterranean, momentum must be maintained. The focus should now be firmly placed on the swift implementation of the actions, with clear timelines.
“Addressing EU Home Affairs Ministers in Brussels at a meeting of the Justice and Home Affairs Council today, Minister Emanuel Mallia welcomed the fact that the TFM has identified more than 30 specific proposals, following an unprecedented exercise that brought together all Member States, Associated Countries, the European External Action Service, EU Agencies, UN organisations and other stakeholders.
“This is the first time that migration in the Mediterranean has been specifically addressed at EU level in a comprehensive approach dealing with all of the causes and effects of the phenomenon. The debate and Task Force had been brought about through the concerted efforts of Mediterranean Member States, including Malta.
“The strong engagement of the government within the TFM resulted in a Communication which takes on board proposals made by Malta, including those which the Prime Minister insisted should be included when he met with EU Heads of State and Government at the European Council meeting on 24-25 October 2013.
“The minister highlighted the importance of particular actions relating to engaging with Libya as a partner as well as the return and readmission of failed asylum seekers to countries of origin, including through efforts aimed at increased recognition of the EU standard travel document (laissez-passer) for repatriation. Minister Mallia also highlighted the importance of relocation of beneficiaries of protection from Malta, which faces disproportionate pressures.
“In this regard, the minister stated that the implementation of the Communication can only be viewed as a success if parallel progress is made in the implementation of all the measures in the five action areas, since there is no one measure that could alone constitute an effective response.”
It is clear here that nothing of what EurActiv reported as a general reluctance to approve the proposals did not percolate at all to the minister or his aides. While he seems to assume the proposals will be accepted and implemented, it would seem, from the report on EurActiv (and on other means of communication) that there is precious little hope of that.
In particular, for example, while the minister highlighted the importance of particular actions relating to engaging with Libya as a partner as well as the return and readmission of failed asylum seekers to countries of origin, including through efforts aimed at increased recognition of the EU standard travel document (laissez-passer) for repatriation, there is very little echo of this in the Commission’s proposal, except a vague and ambiguous sentence which says “other diplomatic and political initiatives should aim to ensure cooperation of countries of transit and of origin in order to dismantle trafficking networks, combat smuggling, and on readmission of irregular migrants”.
So as we move to the December Council, we wait to see what will happen in case, as I suspect, the proposals will be given short shrift by the heads of government, worried by other issues, which for them are more immediate than those of boat people arriving in Malta.
The EurActiv report concludes thus: “However, an EU source told EurActiv that no major breakthrough was expected at the summit meeting.
“The Council will most likely endorse the recommendations but no concrete further orientations are expected to be given in the short term,” the source said, adding that “there will probably be a reference to the next Council in June 2014 to come back on the issue”.