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Wednesday 23 September 2020
The hell of the flames on Lesbos has shown that the EU cannot agree on a uniform distribution of refugees. Austrian Chancellor Kurz declares that the project has failed. Instead, he calls for better protection of the EU’s external borders.
Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz described the distribution of refugees within the European Union as a failure. “Many states reject that. It will not work either,” Kurz told the AFP news agency shortly before the EU Commission wanted to present new proposals in Brussels for asylum reform that has been controversial for years.
Conservative ÖVP’s politician called for better protection of the EU’s external borders and a more effective fight against traffickers, “but also more joint aid on the ground.”
He considers it “good that the European Commission is working on the issue of asylum and migration,” Kurz said. The problem can only be “solved throughout Europe”. However, Kurz refused to use terms like “solidarity” in the immigration debate. “Europe should have learned from 2015. And just fight illegal immigration together,” said the Chancellor.
“Incredibly great contribution made”
Kurz went on to say that his country made an “incredibly large contribution” to refugee policy. Often times, EU member states at external borders are especially considered when it comes to refugees and migrants. In fact, Austria is the “third most affected country” in the EU after Sweden and Germany when it comes to accepting refugees. In the last five years, 200,000 people have been admitted to Austria.
Kurz stressed that smaller EU states should also have the opportunity to contribute their interests. “The European Union is more than Germany and France,” he emphasized. This is good too. As the two largest states in the EU, Germany and France “naturally have a certain right to be leaders.” However, other states would have “the same opportunity to contribute their ideas and seek majorities for them.”
As an example, Kurz cited the group of so-called frugals or thrifty four, which in addition to Austria is made up of the Netherlands, Sweden and Denmark. In the debate on the EU Crown reconstruction plan, the four states obtained a reduction in subsidies provided for the countries most affected by the crisis. With the other three “frugal states”, Austria shares “many approaches and interests,” Kurz said.
Obligations for EU countries?
In the process of reforming asylum and migration policy, the EU Commission aims to force EU states to accept those who need protection in exceptional situations. Alternatively, governments could also help with the deportation of rejected asylum seekers, Die Welt reported, citing high-ranking EU diplomats. First of all, the solidarity of the other EU states should be voluntary, at least in certain settings. EU circles confirmed this.
Therefore, the EU Commission describes three scenarios: if things develop normally, the EU states can help voluntarily. Initially, this also applies to the second scenario, when the asylum system comes under pressure, provided there are sufficient contributions. In the event of a crisis, attendance should be mandatory. On Wednesday, the EU Commission wants to present a new proposal to reform the asylum migration policy that has been blocked for years, which the EU states and the European Parliament will then have to negotiate. EU states have been arguing for years about the distribution of applicants for protection.
According to the report, the EU Commission intends to largely adhere to the currently valid Dublin principle, according to which the EU country on whose soil the person seeking protection first entered European soil is usually liable. of an asylum application. To deport rejected asylum seekers more quickly, the EU Commission proposes, according to the “Welt”, an “EU coordinator for returns”, who should lead a working group.
