EU migration summit: why can’t a deal be struck?
Several proposals are on the table but the bloc remains deeply divided over how to solve the crisis
European leaders are gathering in Brussels today for yet another summit focused on resolving the migrant crisis - but there appears to be little hope a deal can be reached.
Although the number of refugees and migrants arriving in Europe has dropped dramatically since 2015, the issue remains deeply divisive.
The two-day meeting, which will also address eurozone reform, promises to be “one of the most difficult the bloc has held for many years” says Tony Barber, Europe editor at the Financial Times.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
What solutions are being suggested?
The EU Commission has proposed setting up “regional disembarkation platforms” in North Africa, where agencies could screen those who have a genuine claim to asylum in Europe, the BBC reports.
“Those not eligible would be offered help to resettle in their home countries,” it says.
This has been backed by France and Italy, but Human Rights Watch has condemned the plan, warning that it would deflect responsibility onto countries outside the EU with less capacity to process claims and protect refugees and migrants.
EU leaders “should be guided by the compass of rights and firmly reject offshore processing, which Australia has shown to be a recipe for abuse and despair,” says Judith Sunderland, the organisation’s associate Europe and Central Asia director.
The group proposes setting up a regional disembarkation agreement among EU countries instead, where fair and humane treatment for all migrants would be guaranteed.
Meanwhile, Giuseppe Conte, Italy’s prime minister and head of the new populist, anti-immigration government, has gone even further by calling for the Dublin regulation to be overhauled.
Under the current law, asylum seekers must be registered in the EU country in which they arrive, which critics claim places an unfair burden on southern European countries.
Conte’s government has effectively closed its ports to foreign ships carrying refugees and migrants, leaving them stranded at sea until other EU states have agreed to accept them.
Why do divisions run so deep?
There is huge disagreement among member states over how much responsibility each nation should take for migrants and refugees.
Germany – and to a certain extent France and Spain - are seeking a Europe-wide solution that protects Europe’s Schengen passport-free zone and the Dublin regulation, The Guardian reports. “Italy, however, is unlikely to play ball: the last thing [it] wants is to take migrants back who have already left.”
The debate is further complicated by Hungary, Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia, which have refused to take in asylum seekers under any EU plan and want “no more discussion of such schemes,” the newspaper adds.
Experts agree that any agreement beyond simply increasing border patrols appears highly unlikely.
“This issue is once again showing the weakness of the EU when it comes to sensible, common decisions to take in the field of security, solidarity and cooperation versus national interest,” Stefano Torelli, a researcher at the Institute for International Political Studies in Milan, told Al Jazeera.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Magazine interactive crossword - May 3, 2024
Puzzles and Quizzes Issue - May 3, 2024
By The Week US Published
-
Magazine solutions - May 3, 2024
Puzzles and Quizzes Issue - May 3, 2024
By The Week US Published
-
Magazine printables - May 3, 2024
Puzzles and Quizzes Issue - May 3, 2024
By The Week US Published
-
Penile fracture risk higher over Christmas
Tall Tales And other stories from the stranger side of life
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
Bizarre pizza toppings horrify Italians
Tall Tales And other stories from the stranger side of life
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
Puffed rice and yoga: inside the collapsed tunnel where Indian workers await rescue
Speed Read Workers trapped in collapsed tunnel are suffering from dysentery and anxiety over their rescue
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
Being nosy 'helps you live longer'
Tall Tales And other stories from the stranger side of life
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
Gaza hospital blast: What the video evidence shows about who's to blame
Speed Read Nobody wants to take responsibility for the deadly explosion in the courtyard of Gaza's al-Ahli Hospital. Roll the tape.
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Confused man's front lawn is stolen
Tall Tales And other stories from the stranger side of life
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
Giraffe poo seized after woman wanted to use it to make a necklace
Tall Tales And other stories from the stranger side of life
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
Helicopter sound arouses crocodiles
Tall Tales And other stories from the stranger side of life
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published