EU leaders to tackle migration in wake of Lampedusa deaths
Wed, 23rd Oct 2013 06:46
BRUSSELS (Alliance News) - When EU leaders gather in Brussels this week for their fifth summit of the year, economic woes are for once not expected to top the agenda.
But this hardly means that the pressure is off - with hundreds of migrants drowning on its doorstep, the EU is being called upon to instead deliver on the political minefield of migration.
"We will not accept mediocre compromises," Italian Prime Minister Enrico Letta warned Wednesday, as his country struggles to cope with an influx of migrants. "(Our coasts) are not the Italian periphery, but Europe's outpost."
Migration has long been a touchy matter in the EU, which remains a prime destination for those seeking a better life or international protection. Southern countries, where most migrants first arrive, often complain that northern nations are not pulling their weight.
The most recent tensions can be traced back to October 3, when a boat carrying an estimated 500 passengers sank off the southern Italian island of Lampedusa. Just under 370 people died - most of them from Eritrea - leading to an outpouring of grief and outrage.
"Why did the EU and its member states fail to protect these people?" analyst Yves Pascouau of the European Policy Centre asked, noting that under international agreements the bloc should offer protection to people who "were fleeing because they feared for their lives."
"(The shipwreck) is a huge tragedy, the biggest linked to migration in the history of Sicily, and what hurts the most is that Europe is a bystander," Lampedusa mayor Giusi Nicolini has also said. "Municipalities like ours cannot be left alone on the frontline."
Italian officials say they want more "solidarity" from the EU.
Letta said he will seek four things at the summit, including recognition that the migration drama is a European question; action to bolster the EU border agency Frontex and launch the Eurosur communication network; a quick response from a new EU migration task force; and more action on cooperation with migrants' home countries.
A draft of the summit statement seen Tuesday by /only/contained/DP vague reference to an agreement that "more should be done," promising to return to the subject in December. It is still expected to be revised before the summit starts on Thursday, however.
Many have called for the EU to set up legal migration corridors so that ruthless traffickers run out of business. Others still would like changes to the EU's so-called Dublin rules, which force asylum seekers to apply for protection in the country of arrival.
"This does not just bring many migrants to their knees, but it also brings to their knees all people who are working, who are on the ground," Italian Integration Minister Cecile Kyenge argued last week at a European Parliament conference.
But there is little appetite in the bloc for dramatic reforms, with German Interior Minister Hans-Peter Friedrich recently rejecting claims that Italy is "overloaded." He noted that it has about 260 refugees per 1 million inhabitants, while Germany has 946.
Italy's record on migration has also been criticized. Its reception centres are overcrowded and migrants are often informally encouraged to escape and seek fortune in other EU states. The country also lacks a comprehensive asylum law, as foreign minister and former human rights activist Emma Bonino recognized this week.
Reforming migration and asylum laws is often discussed, but members of the grand coalition backing Letta's government are at odds over the issue.
Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister Angelino Alfano, a conservative, courted controversy on Wednesday by telling RAI state radio that "we cannot welcome everybody," adding that "we need to think about the future of the Italians" before those of migrants.
Italy is not alone, however, in pushing for the EU to act. Letta said he was working with France, Greece, Malta and Spain to have a common position at the summit.
"This cannot be a Greek or a Maltese solution, but a European solution," Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras said on Monday.
There are some fundamental challenges lying ahead, however, with analysts noting that the EU has yet to find the right balance between granting international protection for asylum seekers and protecting its external borders, notably from illegal immigration.
"That is one of the key difficulties when it comes to managing migrant flows," Antonio Vitorino of the Notre Europe Jacques Delors Institute said. "This clarification is crucial."
Although migration is set to dominate the summit, discussions are also expected on US spying claims, amid new fury in Paris this week over a media report that the US spied on millions of phone calls made by French citizens.
Also on the agenda for the two days of talks are the EU's digital agenda and push for innovation; the fight against youth unemployment; the work on setting up a crisis-thwarting banking union; and the preparations for a summit next month with eastern neighbours.
http://www.lse.co.uk/AllNews.asp?code=daocohro&headline=EU_leaders_to_tackle_migration_in_wake_of_Lampedusa_deaths
Received on Wed Oct 23 2013 - 16:51:09 EDT