On 9 February 2023, EU leaders gathered in Brussels for a debate during a Council meeting and held conclusions on a variety of topics, including Ukraine, economy, migration, Belgrade-Pristina Dialogue, and earthquake in Türkiye and Syria. On migration, more specifically, the BIC is strongly concerned about the EU’s vows to channel “substantial” funds into frontier guards and surveillance equipment, ramping up calls from EU leaders for border fences.
BIC’s Research Analyst Yasmine Akrimi said:
“Aside from the usual references to human rights and mutual cooperation, there is little doubt that the renewed EU intention of “stepping up” its fight against irregular migration will only fuel racist and populist narratives, directly affecting actions and votes across Europe. This is clear with two particular policies, namely by pressuring sending countries to forcibly readmit their nationals, through conditioning the granting of visas with forced readmissions, and outsource migration to “safe third countries. Through expanding the migration routes covered, the EU will also continue to bring all its weight to bear in pushing visa policy alignment by neighboring Western Balkan countries. As we have seen with the recent example of Serbia, the sudden imposition of entry visas on certain nationalities sparked a wave of forced deportations, arbitrary detentions and ill-treatment. In the continuous parallel made between harsher border control and the protection of fundamental rights, the winner has consistently been the former. It should be noted that Ukrainian refugees are not included in these dispositions, and have a separate section where they are promised “psychological and psycho-social support and rehabilitation” and “adequate and flexible financial assistance” by Member States. These measures prove the EU has the capacity to provide asylum-seekers with adequate protection, and hence should use the principle of non-discrimination towards its beneficiaries.”