Poland is among 15 countries that have signed a letter calling for greater action to prevent migrants from reaching the EU’s borders.
News that Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Greece, Italy, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, the Netherlands, Austria, Poland, Romania, and Finland signed the letter comes just two days after the EU presented its New Pact on Migration and Asylum.
Four years in the making, the pact aims to spread responsibility for the processing, evaluation, and reception of migrants. Its core points include tightened entry rules, increased screening, better health and security checks, and free counseling services.
However, for some, the pact has not gone far enough, and fifteen nations are now calling for “complementary efforts” aimed at stopping migrants from reaching Europe’s borders in the first place.
Addressed to high-ranking European Commission officials, the letter suggests that non-member states that find themselves on migratory routes are incentivised to accept large numbers of refugees themselves.
“The EU and its Member States should enhance their contribution to equal, constructive and broad partnerships with key countries, especially along the migratory routes, by changing our focus from managing irregular migration in Europe to supporting refugees as well as host communities in regions of origin,” reads the letter.
Among the points raised by the letter, signatories propose that migrants rescued at sea are brought to “a predetermined place of safety in a partner country outside the EU.” It also suggests finding “a safe third country alternative” while cases are processed.
“It is vital that those with no right to stay in EU Member States are returned swiftly, not only to minimize the negative consequences for the Member States of housing rejected asylum seekers, but also to reduce the incentives for those seeking to enter the EU irregularly,” continued the letter.
Migration has continued to top the agenda of many EU countries; according to data, less than one-third of refugees that were ordered to leave the EU in 2022 and 2023 actually did so.
Although the new pact has pledged to explore a “safe third country policy," signatories of the letter hope that it will add pressure on the EU to deliver on its promise. According to some political analysts, the letter’s timing is a clear sign that many nations feel frustrated by the pact.
Four years in the making, the pact aims to spread responsibility for the processing, evaluation, and reception of migrants. Its core points include tightened entry rules, increased screening, better health and security checks, and free counseling services.
However, for some, the pact has not gone far enough, and fifteen nations are now calling for “complementary efforts” aimed at stopping migrants from reaching Europe’s borders in the first place.
Addressed to high-ranking European Commission officials, the letter suggests that non-member states that find themselves on migratory routes are incentivised to accept large numbers of refugees themselves.
“The EU and its Member States should enhance their contribution to equal, constructive and broad partnerships with key countries, especially along the migratory routes, by changing our focus from managing irregular migration in Europe to supporting refugees as well as host communities in regions of origin,” reads the letter.
Among the points raised by the letter, signatories propose that migrants rescued at sea are brought to “a predetermined place of safety in a partner country outside the EU.” It also suggests finding “a safe third country alternative” while cases are processed.
“It is vital that those with no right to stay in EU Member States are returned swiftly, not only to minimize the negative consequences for the Member States of housing rejected asylum seekers, but also to reduce the incentives for those seeking to enter the EU irregularly,” continued the letter.
Migration has continued to top the agenda of many EU countries; according to data, less than one-third of refugees that were ordered to leave the EU in 2022 and 2023 actually did so.
Although the new pact has pledged to explore a “safe third country policy," signatories of the letter hope that it will add pressure on the EU to deliver on its promise. According to some political analysts, the letter’s timing is a clear sign that many nations feel frustrated by the pact.
Source: Infomigrants / CPH Post
