INTERSOS has signed, together with 70 non-governmental organisations, the document promoted by ECRE to ask that the so-called “New Pact on Migration and Asylum” truly represent a new beginning and not a repetition of the mistakes of the past.
Together with 70 non-governmental organisations, INTERSOS has signed the document promoted by ECRE (European Council on Refugees and Exiles) so that the so-called “New Pact on Migration and Asylum” can truly be a new beginning and does not repeat the mistakes of the past. In the coming months, through the confrontation between European institutions, national governments and civil society, the future of a complex provision will be decided, born from a compromise that presents lights and shadows.
The organisations stress that, although the Commission has declared its commitment to a more humane approach to international protection and has highlighted the importance of migration as a necessary and positive phenomenon for Europe, “this rhetoric is only scarcely reflected in the proposals contained in the Pact. Instead of breaking with the mistakes of the EU’s previous approach and offering a fresh start, the Pact risks exacerbating policies aimed at externalization, deterrence, containment and repatriation.
The questions are clear: are the proposals capable of guaranteeing compliance with international and EU legal standards in law and practice? Not always, as in the case of accelerated procedures for examining requests for international protection. Will they contribute to a fairer sharing of responsibility for asylum in Europe and in the world? Hardly, if the document maintains the emphasis on repatriation, with the novelty of “sponsorship” by the states that refuse the reception. Will they work in practice? Only if Europe has the courage to really move forward.
Among the recommendations sent by the associations, it is hoped that the European institutions will recalibrate the proposals to focus on maintaining and raising standards of asylum and human rights in Europe, on the establishment of a European search and rescue operation to be conducted in the Mediterranean, and a principle of collective responsibility in the management of asylum applications. Issues that will have to be at the center of the negotiations over the next few months.