EU Set to Tighten Stance on Illegal Immigration

EU President Ursula von der Leyen is proposing to establish more agreements with non-EU countries to stop illegal immigrants from entering the bloc.

In this undated file photo, people cross a border from Croatia near the village of Zakany, Hungary.

The European Union’s executive arm, the European Commission, is set to propose new measures to tighten its stance on illegal immigration, responding to pressure from governments across the bloc, where illegal immigration has become a political and security concern.

Ahead of a summit in Brussels, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen wrote to EU leaders who are gathering on Thursday and Friday to discuss potential measures to expel illegal immigrants.

Von der Leyen said that the European Commission, through the coming mandate, will continue to ensure it stands “fair and firm on migration,” addressing what she said everyone agrees is “a European challenge.” The commission’s new term is likely to start on Dec. 1.

She proposed striking more deals with non-EU countries from which illegal immigrants originate, or through which they transit, in order to stop them there. She also suggested that those who have no right to stay in the EU be sent to “return hubs” in non-EU countries, such as Egypt, Morocco, Algeria, Mauritania, Senegal, and Mali.

“We should ... explore possible ways forward as regards the idea of developing return hubs outside the EU, especially in view of a new legislative proposal on returns,” she wrote in the letter.

She cited Italy’s agreement with Albania last November as a model. Under that deal, Italy can send up to 36,000 illegal immigrants to reception centers in Albania. The first group of illegal immigrants arrived on Wednesday aboard an Italian navy ship, in the first deal of its kind involving a European Union member state.

At the summit, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said he expected disagreements among member states over the issue of immigration.

“One thing is quite clear, if the common European asylum system is implemented more quickly now, if we make progress in terms of efficiency, for example with regard to the return directive, then that will help,” he said.

“We need to see collectively how we can limit the flow of asylum seekers and stimulate returns,” Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof said. “It will be a process of trial and error, but it’s important that we look what we can do.”

During the summit, Poland and Baltic countries said they wanted a common bloc stance against Russia and Belarus’s using immigration as a weapon against the EU.

EU officials have previously accused Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko of using the illegal immigrants, with backing from Russian President Vladimir Putin, as pawns in a “hybrid attack” against the 27-nation bloc in retaliation for sanctions.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk announced over the weekend that he would suspend the right to asylum, promising to reject any EU immigration policies he believes will undermine Warsaw’s security.

About 8,000 illegal immigrants have entered from Belarus this year, and border guards have prevented about 28,000 attempted crossings, according to European Commission figures.

Ursula von der Leyen addresses the media during a press conference in Strasbourg, France, on July 18, 2024.

Finland suspended such asylum rights in July after illegal immigrants pushed across the border from Russia.

In 2023, 1.27 million people were found to be illegally present in EU countries, a 13 percent increase over the previous year. Around 1 million people entered the EU by sea in 2015, primarily due to conflicts in Syria, Iraq, and Afghanistan.

The new rules under the Pact on Migration and Asylum, in force since June, aim to reform EU immigration policies by sharing the responsibility for hosting asylum seekers among member states and limiting entry into the EU.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz gives a government declaration at the Bundestag in Berlin on June 6, 2024.

Immigration policies have sparked widespread frustration throughout the European Union, leading to an electoral shift to the right.

Countries such as Sweden, Germany, Austria, and France have implemented stricter border controls.

Last month, the German government ordered border controls to begin for six months to tackle illegal immigration and extremist threats, suspending the freedom of the passport-free Schengen zone.

This was shortly after the anti-immigration populist party Alternative for Germany made a breakthrough in state elections, emerging as the dominant political force in eastern Germany.

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