Luxembourg, 11/04/2011 (Agence Europe) - In Luxembourg to sound out “the solidarity of the EU”, the Italian home affairs minister Roberto Maroni has not yet managed to convince his opposite numbers to take on some of the migrants who have arrived on the island of Lampedusa in recent weeks, where it is believed that more than 22,000 people have landed since the fall of the regime of Ben Ali and violence in Libya.
After a lengthy discussion, the member states refused to accede to one of Italy's requests, which is to activate Directive 2001/55 on temporary protection in the event of mass influxes. The reason for this refusal, voiced by the 26 and the Commission, is that the migrants who have arrived in Italy are mostly illegal and do not qualify for international protection, which is one of the criteria for this directive to be activated. Although Italy is under “enormous pressure”, as the Home Affairs Commissioner, Cécilia Malmström, said, it is not facing a case of “mass influx”.
The island of Malta, which is also seen refugees arrive from Libya, is in a worse situation. And that is why the EU27 decided on Monday to extend a pilot project already in place for Malta to help it to face the influx of refugees, with the member states committing to take a number of refugees from Malta. Germany said that it was prepared to host around 100 people. Sweden, Belgium, Hungary, Norway and Spain also volunteered. The member states may also, on a voluntary basis, receive people trapped on the borders of Libya, via their reinstallation programmes.
But for the rest, the European response to current and future migratory crises will be based essentially on the Frontex agency and the agreements, notably readmission agreements, to be concluded by the EU with the authorities of the region, including Tunisia, to manage the borders and stem illegal immigration. Agreements, extending those recently concluded by Italy with Tunisia, which the Commission is to draft and put on the table of the European summit of June, with a possible presentation of its intentions on 12 May at a JHA Council which may be held then.
The French minister for the interior said that the European response “has not so far been up to scratch” and that it is vital to revise Frontex, which will logically be done in June of this year, when the EU27 are to agree on increasing the technical, human and financial resources of the agency. In their conclusions, the EU27 also call on the Frontex agency to speed up its discussions with the authorities of the region to conclude agreements on border management and returns of migrants to their own country and to organise joint patrols.
Claude Guéant said that 2 key messages were sent out by the Council on Monday: respect for “right of asylum” for those who are entitled to it and the fact that no “signal must be sent out to suggest that we accept illegal immigration”. On Monday, the ministers' meeting opened against a tense backdrop, due to Italy's announcement that it would temporarily regularise some of these migrants, thus allowing them to move freely through the Schengen area.
Germany, speaking through its new minister, Hans-Peter Friedrich, called on Italy to be vigilant and not to oblige the Schengen members to re-establish border controls. The United Kingdom and Austria were less circumspect, according to one source, strongly criticising the Italian plan. Austria even threatened to re-establish these controls.
On this specific point, in the meantime, France on Monday reiterated its stance in the row between it and Italy over recent days: France does not carry out “systematic controls” on its borders, which is currently prohibited under the Schengen system, but it does carry out “tight and careful checks” at “determined” points, said Guéant, adding that this practice continues to comply with European law. France “stands by the principles; it is drawing the net a little more tightly”, as one source put it. Guéant, who is fully aware that Italy can legally issue residence permits to migrants who arrive on its shores, reiterated that if these people do not satisfy the residence criteria laid down by the Schengen texts, particularly the notion of sufficient resources and justification for their residence, France will continue to send these migrants back to Italy. So far, France has intercepted 2,800 migrants in an illegal situation, returned 1,700 of them to Italy and 200 directly to Tunisia, Guéant said.
The fact remains that the EU27 will have to tackle the “Schengen” issue in June, notably the responses to the “crises” which may be experienced by the free-movement area. This idea was already put forward in January, when all eyes were on Greece and its borders with Turkey. In major cases, it may go as far as to re-establish controls on certain borders felt to be problematic. (S.P./transl.fl)