EU south hails new migration pact but traps remain

Southern European member states such as Greece and Italy rushed to welcome the new EU migration pact, but there are still questions about whether the new rules will ease the burden of first-line countries.

In addition, the vague activation of emergency measures due to the so-called “weaponised” migration, which will be defined as such by national governments, raises eyebrows and may be exploited politically, MEPs warn.

The new deal, which was sealed after years of negotiations, was hailed by southern EU member states’ governments.

In Rome, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said, “Italy does not feel alone” anymore, while in Athens, the government described it as an important European response to Greece’s effort to “implement a strict but fair policy on the migration issue”.

For leftist MEP Kostas Arvanitis (EU Left), the European Parliament’s progressive forces had set clear lines without an objection from the centre-right to Spanish MEP and head of the LIBE committee Juan López Aguilar.

However, according to Arvanitis, Aguilar made concessions in the negotiations with member states, especially regarding “weaponised” migration and mandatory relocation to finalise the deal within Spain’s EU Presidency.

“For reasons related to Spain’s internal political scene, Aguilar took a long step back; the Spanish Presidency is celebrating that it closed the deal, while for the right, as in Italy and Greece, the deal moves within the framework of the narrative of their governments”, Arvanitis told Euractiv.

Arvanitis said the provision that EU member states – and not EU institutions with experts – will define when there is an attempt of “weaponised” migration by outside countries gives floor to member states to “erase the crimes of the past and the crimes that are committed in the time of crisis”.

“The issue is European, not national. That’s why I want to have a European confirmation that a member state is in crisis. This is something Aguilar did not do”, Arvanitis said.

The so-called instrumentalisation or weaponised migration indicates a situation where a country or a non-state actor facilitates the arrival of migrants in the EU territory.

In the past, eastern European countries accused Russia and Belarus of weaponising migration. Greece said the same in 2020 when it accused Turkey of unilaterally opening its borders to Greece to allow refugees and migrants seeking refuge to reach the EU.

A source from the European Parliament who took part in the talks commented that the initial EU Parliament proposal provided that activating the crisis mode should be done by EU institutions, not member states.

However, this changed during the negotiations with member states.

“The new pact provides that EU member states will define an emergency situation like this as they wish […] this gives them the floor to escalate the crackdown against people in need, could be exploited politically and put the EU acquis at risk”, the source told Euractiv.

Mandatory relocation forgotten

At the beginning of the negotiations three years ago, EU southern countries insisted on mandatory relocation to ease their burden.

The EU Parliament’s position was the same, especially regarding crisis periods.

However, the European Commission’s proposal prevailed: There is no mandatory relocation, but instead, if other member states do not accept refugees, they must provide first-line countries with financial or material assistance.

“The Baltic countries threatened with veto over weaponised migration, why didn’t Greece do the same with mandatory relocation”, Arvanitis wondered.

Local reports in Athens suggested that the new migration pact hides some dangers for first-line countries, pointing out the scenario where EU countries do not accept refugees but prefer to support them financially.

“In such a scenario, first-line countries will end up in a worse situation than now […] as refugees will remain in the south and politically, according to the new deal, Europe’s north will be in line”, an EU Parliament source told Euractiv.

The new migration pact also provides rapid expelling of either illegal migrants or people whose asylum request was rejected to the countries of origin or transit.

However, for Athens, the situation in this topic is getting more complex as the transit country is Turkey and critics suggest that quick returns need Turkey’s political will.

The Greek-Turkish relations are calm but have always been fragile and could change overnight.

In a 2016 EU-Turkey migration deal, Ankara committed to stopping people from travelling irregularly from Turkey to the Greek islands.

In addition, anyone who arrives on the Greek islands irregularly from Turkey could be returned there.

Earlier this month, a European Commission report on the state of play between EU-Turkey relations showed that returns of irregular migrants to Turkey must improve.

The report noted that Turkey remains an important transit country for irregular arrivals into the EU via the Western Balkans and Eastern Mediterranean routes, with a 34% increase in the first ten months of 2023 compared to the same period in 2022.

The EU report acknowledges that with Turkey, the pace of returns has been slow since 2016 and called on Ankara to stick to its commitments.

Turkey has been hosting for years millions of refugees from Syria and gets EU financial support, keeping a severe headache away from EU capitals.

(Sarantis Michalopoulos | Euractiv.com)

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