All Together Now ... In a Union of Like Minds ...

 

 

 

"For us, it is important that the Commission recognizes that Belgium already has a disproportionate burden."

"[The federal government has decided that it will contribute to the solidarity mechanism only with] financial means, because our reception centres are full."

"[Belgium is ready to pay] on condition that everyone else also takes responsibility."

"Solidarity and responsibility go hand in hand; every country must apply the Dublin rules."

Anneleen Van Bossuyt, Minister for Asylum and Migration of Belgium  

The 27-member European Union is staring down a Christmas deadline on agreement for the relocation of, at minimum, 30,000 asylum seekers on a 'fair' allocation system meant to be voluntary, to guarantee a level of relief for front-line countries which have received the lion's share of migrants as a result of geographic placement. Tuesday saw interior ministers gathering from the EU's member-nations in Luxembourg to begin negotiated talks on the 'solidarity mechanism' representing a key platform of migration reform that saw adoption in 2024, and meant to enter fully into force this year.

 

Frontline countries like Greece and Italy are groaning at their seams, overburdened by the humanitarian intake of asylum seekers washing up on their Mediterranean shores. The pact represented by the 'solidarity mechanism' is meant to ease the pressure on them, requiring other member states either to accept asylum seekers or to obligate themselves to the tune of 20,000 euros each person  in support of the strain that Greece and Italy's find themselves in by involuntarily accommodating so many arrivals.  

 

AP Photo

 

Unsurprisingly, the plan has been hobbled by  resistance from some EU nations. Prior to Tuesday's meeting, Poland let it be known that it had no intention of accepting relocated asylum seekers in any number. That unaccommodating position is one echoed by Austria, Belgium and Sweden. "This is going to be a painful discussion", one European diplomat stated, leaving no alternative but to reach a final decision by the end of the year.

 

The new solidarity mechanism, once in place, is meant to apply to at least 30,000 asylum seekers each and every year. The European Commission was on the cusp of publishing a list of countries deemed under "migratory pressure", the list  compiled and comprised based on irregular arrivals and population size criteria. With the list finding agreement among members, negotiations will go forward on how many people each member state is willing to absorb or relocate -- alternatively -- how much financial aid will be offered instead. 

 

No one expects immediate agreement, anticipating a number of rounds of talks will be held to build consensus before a final agreement is accepted. In the wake of heavy pushback from a number of heavyweight capitals including Germany, Brussels has asked for an additional "couple of days" to enable it to refine its methodology. "It's not easy because it's the first time" the system is being tested, remarked Magnus Brunner, EU commissioner: "We're discussing that throughout the day".  

 

Still from video   eunews

 

 Parallel discussions saw ministers debating how to improve the return of migrants with rejected asylum claims. Only about 20 percent of those ordered to leave the EU are actually returned, currently. Measures that would allow states to open "return hubs" outside EU borders to process rejected asylum seekers, alongside tougher rules for migrants refusing to leave have been proposed, yet even so, divisions have a tendency to persist.

 

There is a growing anti-immigrant sentiment throughout Europe, making the issue politically fraught. And pressure mounts from critics insisting that a harder line must be developed that goes beyond the humanitarian impulse to offer haven to those who have undertaken long and perilous journeys in hopes of reaching Europe, given the outsized influx of migrants gaining Europe's shores in the last decade.  

 

People wave Dutch flags as they confront riot police during a second demonstration outside the Houten town hall against the city project to welcome a center for asylum seekers in Utrecht Province, Netherlands, reported on Oct 15. [Photo/Agencies]