From the beginning of 2023, Europe faces a wave of migration that promises to be historic. The situation in recent days on the Italian island of Lampedusa, which has seen thousands of immigrants disembark on its shores, is proof of this. Politics is taking charge of the problem: the president of the European Commission has asked member countries to distribute these immigrants among themselves.
Already in 2019, Ursula von der Leyen had promised “abolish“the Dublin Regulation, considered obsolete and “replace with a new European system of migration governance“. Discussions on the new pact are still ongoing. The main goal: a faster review of asylum application procedures, from 3 to 6 months maximum.
Pending their response, the asylum seekers would be distributed throughout Europe and not just in Italy and Greece. And that’s where it gets stuck. It is difficult to convince the most reluctant, such as Poland and Hungary, to welcome immigrants into their territory in proportion to their population. But this European solidarity mechanism must remain voluntary. We are not going to twist the arm of Warsaw or Budapest. If these nations refuse, they will pay neighboring nations who would cover the proportion of immigrants. Specifically, these countries should pay 20,000 euros for each rejected asylum seeker. We are working on this text in the Commission but also in the European Parliament before meeting the 27 Heads of State and Government. It will be at the Granada summit at the beginning of October and 15 days later at the European Council in Brussels.
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11,000 migrants on the Italian island of Lampedusa in 3 days: Belgium rejects the call for solidarity from the president of the European Commission
Following the state of emergency initiated by the Italian authorities in Lampedusa, the president of the European Commission launched a call for solidarity, but several countries, including Belgium, have already refused.because Belgium already does much more than the others“said the Prime Minister.
Lampedusa migrant crisis
