The Brief – Brace for frenzy of EU migration deals with third countries

Distrustful of the freshly passed asylum and migration pact, European Union countries and the European Commission have turned to third-country deals to curb irregular migration, thus aligning with Hungary, until recently criticised as a migration hardliner.

The Asylum and Migration pact was endorsed by the European Parliament on 10 April after years of complex negotiations between the political groups and EU countries.  

Yet, no lawmaker cheered, as is usual with big pieces of legislation. On the contrary, the atmosphere was grim.  

The reason is simple: Everyone, absolutely everyone, despises the pact, the result of laborious negotiations navigating diverging interests, which brought forth a watered-down law that is to no one’s liking. 

Still, MEPs supported it because it is “better than nothing,” as some quipped.

Member states are to rubber stamp it next Tuesday. 

But wary of the “mandatory solidarity” and the effectiveness of the pact, countries have rushed to find new ways for migration management, looking to outsource asylum procedures to third countries – in the same vein as the UK’s Rwanda-style deal – instead of focusing on swift implementation of the freshly passed laws. 

A group of up to 15 EU member states, led by Czechia and Denmark, are preparing a letter to the European Commission calling for migrants trying to reach the EU to be transferred to selected third countries before reaching the bloc’s shores. 

Proposals for the next steps in the reform of the EU’s migration and asylum policy are included in the letter, to be sent to the European Commission in mid-May so they are incorporated in the EU Strategic Agenda and the programme of the new Commission after June’s EU elections, the Czech Interior Ministry told Euractiv.  

But EU countries should not worry: If Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is reelected, she will make sure to make third-country deals one of her main priorities.

“In parallel [to the Migration Pact implementation], we will also press ahead with our work partnerships with countries of origin and transit,” von der Leyen said on 10 April, adding: “This engagement has become an essential pillar of our work, and it is deliberate.” 

Hungary, which takes over the EU Council presidency starting July, is set to align with the Commission, for once, as “this external dimension of the migration […] is one area where the distance between the Hungarian and the Commission’s positions is not so far, so on that, we can cooperate,” Balazs Orbán, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s political director, told Euractiv. 

Along with the previous EU deals with Tunisia, Mauritania, and Egypt, Orbán said Hungary is exploring ways “to be more active” in Morocco, Turkey, and Sahel countries, such as Chad. 

“Hungary can play a very positive role in putting together a new type of deal which is working,” he added.  

But externalisation of asylum procedures is not to everyone’s liking. Spain’s Ministry of Interior confirmed to Euractiv they will not sign. 

The Spaniards see bilateral cooperation agreements as a solution to curb migration by helping the countries of origin and transit “in the fight against human trafficking mafias, an action that prevents 40% of irregular departures at source,” the ministry said. 

The EU lawmakers’ warning about the difficult implementation of the asylum and migration pact might just turn into a prophecy. 

Still, the question remains: Will member states’ migration anxiety be appeased by the migration pact and third-country deals, or is the EU’s migration conundrum destined to become chronic?  

The Roundup

Europol’s recent joint declaration with European police chiefs urges action against end-to-end encryption, citing concerns of possible justice obstruction, amid an ongoing debate about balancing data privacy with combating crime.

Law enforcement officers raided the offices of far-right AfD lead candidate Maximilian Krah’s team in the European Parliament in Brussels early on Tuesday to search for evidence against his former aide, suspected to have worked for Beijing.

Vladimir Putin was sworn in on Tuesday for a fifth presidential mandate that will run until 2030, pledging that Russia “will win” in the conflict he personally started by invading Ukraine and promising those loyal to him the highest positions in the country.

The EU should overcome its political resistance against government spending and adopt state-led industrial policies like the US and China to boost its faltering economy, Vice-Chair of the European Parliament’s Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs José Gusmão told Euractiv.

The European Socialists, Greens, and Liberals have all shut the door to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s reelection if she decides to cooperate with the hard-right ECR party after June’s EU elections.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz reiterated on Monday his commitment to defend the Baltics in case of a Russian assault amid increasing hybrid attacks by Moscow against European countries.

Look out for…

• Commissioner Johannes Hahn, in Moldova, attends public events together with President Maia Sandu on Wednesday.
• Commissioner Helena Dalli attends Women 7 Summit in Rome on Wednesday.
• Commission Vice President Vĕra Jourová in Venice: attends G7 Justice ministerial meeting on Thursday.

Views are the author’s

[Edited by Aurélie Pugnet/Alice Taylor]