Information
The European Parliament voted 389 to 206 on Thursday to approve controversial plans to send rejected asylum seekers to “return hubs” located outside EU borders. Migrants who refuse to be moved to these centers could face detention and entry bans. The proposal is backed by a number of EU countries including Denmark, Austria, Greece, Germany and the Netherlands, though France and Spain have questioned whether the plan will work. Human rights groups have raised serious concerns, warning that people could disappear into “legal black holes” where their rights cannot be guaranteed. Similar schemes, including the UK’s plan to send migrants to Rwanda and Italy’s arrangement with Albania, have both run into significant legal difficulties.
The proposals have also drawn criticism over the political process behind them, with reports indicating that the draft legislation was shaped through negotiations involving far right parties, including the Alternative for Germany (AfD), alongside center right groups. German Green Party lawmaker Erik Marquardt said the draft contains 38 formulations put forward by the far right Europe of Sovereign Nations grouping, and warned against tying EU deportation policy to a party widely regarded as extreme right. Thursday’s vote moves the proposal forward, with the next step being negotiations between lawmakers and member states to agree on a final version of the legislation.
Source: AFP, dpa
So What
While the EU’s return hub proposal carries significant risks and challenges, some degree of political change on migration was likely inevitable. Centrist parties across the bloc have almost certainly calculated that without meaningful policy shifts, particularly on migration, they will continue to lose ground to right-wing movements. At the same time, legislation of this kind is likely to energise more left-leaning parties, potentially deepening the political divide that has been growing across much of the western world.
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