The new Italian government’s anti-immigration policies could lead to EU infringement procedures if they violated EU and international laws, a leading EU lawmaker on migration and civil liberties told EURACTIV.
“Surely, there is going to be criticism in the European Parliament, more than that, if it violates EU law, it will take infringement procedures,” said Juan Fernando Lopez Aguilar, the socialist MEP who chairs the European Parliament’s justice and home affairs committee.
Aguilar is also the Parliament’s rapporteur of the regulation for Crisis and Force Majeure, which is responsible for addressing the management of emergencies.
If a violation of the EU law is confirmed, Aguilar predicted a political tug-of-war and rulings from the European Court of Justice as a consequence.
Political will
The EU lawmaker noted that the European Parliament unsuccessfully called for the activation of the temporary protection directive in different emergency cases, such as the 2015 refugee crisis and following the takeover of Afghanistan by the Taliban in 2021.
However, the Council activated such a directive only after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, a few days after the beginning of the war, a move that EU lawmakers welcomed.
“We called consistently at the European Parliament to activate the temporary protection directive in 2015, during the refugee crisis. We did it when the Taliban made it back to power against defenceless women fleeing to Europe. And we did it again in the Ukrainian situation. And for the first time, the Council decided in early March”.
The Temporary Protection Directive was approved in the early 2000s.
It gives immediate temporary access to a series of social services such as the job market, health, and education, but also a free movement for those fleeing from a war zone so that people affected do not enter asylum procedures which can take years for a decision.
In early November, Aguilar said during a committee meeting that the Directive could be implemented and incorporated into the regulation for crisis management on which he is the rapporteur.
Good, but not enough
The MEP defined the directive on temporary protection as “part of the answer, but not the whole one”.
He underlined the importance of approving the New Pact on Migration and Asylum, which will address the security of external borders and solidarity at the EU level.
The pact is the main file of a group of legislative files the EU institutions want to approve before the next EU elections in Spring 2024.
They fixed a roadmap in early September identifying different files on migration (the regulation for crisis included) to be approved before February 2024.
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The European Parliament together with the permanent representatives of Czechia, Sweden, Spain, Belgium and France agreed to approve the Pact on Migration and Asylum by February 2024, to ensure that the legislation is adopted before the next European elections in May 2024.
Aguilar explained how all of them are complementary and essential to building an EU framework on migration management.
The MEP said that one of these elements is the “binding relocation mechanism” that EU lawmakers see as a significant part of the solution.
He also thinks that the Spanish Presidency of the Council of the EU in the second half of 2023 will be key for the finalisation of the legislative files.
A diplomatic source told EURACTIV that “the New Pact on Migration and Asylum will be a priority for the presidency” which will make “an effort” to conclude the files indicated by the roadmap.
Meloni vs Migrants
The Spanish MEP condemns what occurred in Italy last week with the blockage of four NGO boats, adding that the approach of Giorgia Meloni’s government “does not comply with the EU and the international humanitarian law”.
In early November, Meloni ordered the blockage of disembarkation of migrants on four NGO boats rescued in the Mediterranean Sea. The tug-of-war between the government and the NGOs eventually brought about the disembarkation of those onboard, though the NGOs and migration experts say Italy broke international law.
NGO boats are not responsible for migrant relocation, experts tell Italy
Boats operated by NGOs in the Mediterranean Sea are not responsible for migrant relocation as they do not represent a national government, migration experts have told EURACTIV, contradicting the claim used by the Italian government.
[Edited by Benjamin Fox/Alice Taylor]
Source: euractiv.com
