Brussels – The new migration narrative of European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is now put down in black and white, and the letter sent to the 27 EU leaders on the eve of the European Council—that now almost certainly will confirm her at the helm of the Union’s executive—thus becomes a kind of political testament to herself. “Agreement on the Pact is not the end of reflection on the tools at our disposal. Many
Member States are looking at innovative strategies to prevent irregular migration by tackling asylum applications further from the EU external border” is the most sensitive passage in a six-page document that begins to draw a sharp break in the political approach on the issue between the outgoing Commission and the very likely von der Leyen-bis cabinet.
The clear narrative change about migration and asylum policy by von der Leyen is certainly nothing new, but after her speech at the Bucharest Congress on March 7 as Spitzenkandidatin of the European People’s Party (EPP), the letter sent to the Twenty-Seven represents the culmination of this securitarian turn, which now has almost nothing to do with the setting of less than four years ago, when the Migration and Asylum Pact was presented. In fact, regarding outsourcing the handling of asylum applications, von der Leyen announces that “there are ongoing reflections on ideas that will certainly deserve our attention when our next institutional cycle is under way.”
It is unclear what von der Leyen has in mind. It is difficult to envisage a repeat of the so-called “Rwanda model” outlined in recent years by the United Kingdom and harshly criticized by the outgoing European Commission, which provides that anyone seeking asylum in the European Union can be transferred to a third country to undergo the asylum procedure (and if successful, it is that third country that grants protection to the applicant). However, the scenario is not to be ruled out in its entirety, even given the push the European family of populars has given this solution in its Election manifesto for the June 6–9 European elections. Much more likely, however, is a study of the agreement Italy-Albania, which envisions instead the application of Italian laws in a kind of “exclave” in the two centres on Albanian territory (that, according to the EU executive, “does not violate EU law”). In any case, if von der Leyen will still be at the helm of the Commission, it is easy to foresee a very different legislature from the one that is winding down, in which the focus will be on strengthening borders and new partnerships with third countries that are at least questionable.
First of all, the Commission’s number one also wants to conclude on the formal level the Migration and Asylum Pact, after the legislative level now the one of preparation with a view to full entry into force in June 2026. “When people look back, 2024 will be seen as a landmark year for EU migration and asylum policy with the adoption and entry into force of the Pact on Migration and
Asylum” recalls von der Leyen, who urges the heads of state and government of the 27 EU member states to “make this agreement a reality” in the two years for the EU institutions and especially for national governments themselves: “We must not underestimate the work ahead.” In parallel, however, there is enormous interest in looking at how to “work better in synergy with the future designated safe third countries,” in accordance with the Asylum Procedures Regulation (APR): “The Commission will continue to support these reflections, always heeding international law, and conscious of the need to work in ways
that are also acceptable to our partners and that enable durable solutions to be found for
the migrants themselves.”
The external dimension permeates von der Leyen’s entire political legacy for the work she promises (implicitly) to deliver to the new cabinet she still leads. “It is a key factor for the success of the Pact as a whole, since only with well-functioning partnerships will we achieve
cooperation on preventing departures and fighting smuggling, as well as smooth return
and readmission of those with no right to stay.” the Commission’s number one makes clear. The first mentioned is the one with Tunisia, with the “key priority” of “the protection of refugees and migrants,” despite the fact that the “conditions in the country remain difficult.” This is followed by the one with Mauritania and Egypt (on June 29 “the memorandum of understanding on €1 billion macro-financial assistance will be signed”), but no reference appears to the recent journalistic inquiries that showed how these agreements do not respect the values of the Union and do not address human rights violations of migrants. Another big issue concerns “cooperation with Libya,” on which the EU executive’s number one claim is “renewed commitment,” but she highlights a chillingly contoured issue: “We are working on alternatives to detention for women and children.”
Finally, there is the issue of external borders and the so-called “instrumentalization of migration” by third countries. “Hostile actors who push people across the EU’s external borders, for political purposes and with
the aim of destabilising the Union or a Member State, should be recognised as a threat to our security” is von der Leyen’s warning, which explicitly refers to the border between Finland and Russia and those of Poland, Latvia and Lithuania with Belarus. However, the Commission chairwoman has now opened up for reflection on “strengthening the EU legal framework to provide an adequate response not only from a migration but also from a security perspective.” During the ninth legislature, there has been quite some confusion on the issue of funding border barriers with EU funds: more than technical, the outgoing Commission’s opposition is based on the interpretation of the Union’s founding Treaties, more specifically the principle of non-refoulement enshrined in article 78 of the EUFT. In other words, so far the construction of border walls could constitute a case of pushback (illegal refoulement of people with a right to international protection at the EU’s borders), according to an informal understanding between the Commission and a majority in the EU Parliament at the beginning of the legislative term. But it is not certain that this interpretation could not change with a von der Leyen-bis Commission.
Harsh comment from PICUM (Platform for International Cooperation on Undocumented Migrants) director Michele LeVoy: “This letter shows how the EU persists in its damaging approach; agreements to externalize migration are extremely inhumane, disregard the realities and reasons for international mobility, and violate the international laws and values on which Europe should be based.” On the contrary, the European Union and its institutions should “understand that migration is part of the way our societies grow and prosper. The question is how to build a world where people can move and settle in safety and dignity, not how to fight it.” That was (in part) the approach of the von der Leyen Commission at the beginning of the legislature but, after years of securitarian slide, there is little left in this new migration narrative.
English version by the Translation Service of Withub
