The European Commission explained on Tuesday 24 July its views on the solutions adopted by the European Council at the end of June to respond to the migration challenge and which aim to establish controlled centres in volunteer Member States as well as landing platforms for migrants in North African volunteer safe countries (see EUROPE 12052, 12051).
His proposals - contained in documents of reflection - arrive in a context a little appeased with Rome. The Italian government seems committed, Monday, July 23, to put an end to its systematic refusal to land migrants in its ports after receiving assurances of action from the Commission.
On Tuesday, the European institution said it was ready to coordinate actions between Member States concerning controlled centres.
The idea is to intervene quickly when a boat carrying migrants arrives in the waters of a Member State, for example from Italy. The Commission would contact other Member States and organise with the voluntary countries - France and Spain have been inclined up to now to take care of rescued migrants - the transfer of migrants in care. On this basis, Italy can temporarily land these people on its territory time to organize transfers.
Any operation, in Italy or in a controlled centre set up elsewhere in the EU, will in any case be entirely covered by the European budget. Member States volunteering to host these people could thus receive €6,000 per migrant for transfer fees. Member States will also be able to receive money for infrastructure development.
It is the member countries that will decide the form of these centres and their nature, closed or open.
The scheme proposed to the Member States by the Commission would in any case be that of rapid initial identification of the profiles of rescued persons once landed in a European port. In 72 hours, reinforced teams of European experts (from the EASO office or the Frontex agency) would check whether a migrant can be transferred to another Member State to see his asylum application processed, if he can be redirected in the asylum system of the country. Otherwise, this person will quickly be directed to closed centres to return if he can not claim to remain in the EU.
In any case, the Commission wants this solution to be valid only this summer, the real solution to come from the European reform of the asylum system currently in limbo in the Council of the EU (see EUROPE 12034). Nevertheless, it wants volunteer countries to test these controlled centres and, in particular, an asylum pre-procedure that would not exceed four to eight weeks.
Landing platforms. The other track, on which the national ambassadors to the EU (Coreper) will be on Wednesday, July 25, is the installation, in safe third countries that would voluntary, of landing platforms of migrants rescued in the waters of this third country or international waters.
The idea of the Commission is to encourage North African countries to establish search and rescue areas and maritime rescue coordination centres with the support of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the United Nations' International Organisation of Migration (IOM).
These two organisations "will help to ensure that landed persons can receive protection, if they need it, including by being referred to resettlement programs, or, if they do not need protection, 'they can return to their country of origin", according to the Commission.
These platforms, the form of which will depend on the host third countries, should not in any case constitute a factor of attraction ('pull factor'). Not all landed persons in need of international protection will be resettled to the EU and these reception points should be established "as far as possible from the starting points of irregular migration", insists the institution. European.
The Commission does not provide any amount, but also offers financial and operational support to these countries for landings and "post-landing activities" as well as to "contribute to border management by providing equipment, training and other forms of support".
These avenues are to be discussed on July 30 in Geneva at a meeting organised by UNHCR, IOM and potentially interested third countries, with the Commission.
To date, no North African country has shown an interest in these landing platforms.
See Commission documents on: - 'controlled centres': https://bit.ly/2A5G36l ; - landing platforms: https://bit.ly/2LJkNo. (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)