2023-09-23 05:34:00
Nicole de Moor is sailing in the middle of a storm. For two years, the Secretary of State for Asylum and Migration has had to deal with the saturation of the Fedasil network which is leading thousands of asylum seekers to the streets. The situation has resulted in nearly 8,500 convictions handed down by the Belgian courts and the European Court of Human Rights.
Latest episode to date: the Council of State has suspended the decision to no longer welcome single male asylum seekers who arrive in Belgium because it considers this decision to be contrary to the law on reception. The Secretary of State, however, remains inflexible: it is impossible, according to her, to respect court decisions in the current context. Which does not only earn him congratulations. “If Nicole de Moor considers herself incapable of implementing solutions or does not want to, she must hand over the reins,” launched the co-president of Écolo, Jean-Marc Nollet on Friday morning on the Première ( RTBF).
The first part of the interview with Nicole de Moor: “Belgium is a state of law, but there are problems that cannot be solved”
After your decision to no longer welcome single male asylum seekers who arrive in Belgium, exiles wondered if it is still possible to request asylum in Belgium. Isn’t that one of the objectives? Dissuading asylum candidates from coming to Belgium?
The only reason that motivated my decision was to prevent families with children from ending up on the street. Point.
In January, Belgium will take over the presidency of the Council of the European Union. Do you fear that there will still be camps of asylum seekers in the streets of Brussels? The image would be disastrous…
The signal has already been there for several years. This shows that Belgium is experiencing disproportionate pressure, like other European countries, like Italy. Even Giorgia Meloni (the president of the Italian council of ministers, who promised to close the Italian borders to migrants – Ed.) cannot fulfill her electoral promises! We cannot ensure better control of migration alone.
You call for European solidarity but at the same time, you refuse to come to the aid of Italy which has seen thousands of migrants arrive on the island of Lampedusa.
Indeed, I was unable to respond positively to Ursula von der Leyen’s (President of the European Commission, Editor’s note) request to take back migrants from Lampedusa quite simply because I cannot accept them and leave them behind. street in Belgium, or welcome them as a priority over families! But that does not mean that I am not in favor of better intra-European distribution. Belgium will also meet its relocation objectives this year.
The position of Secretary of State for Asylum and Migration is difficult. If, in 2024, you were asked to come back, would you be there?
Yes, I would continue. It’s a difficult and very emotional skill, but there is so much work and reform to be done! The current crisis convinces me all the more that we need to work on reforms and that this would take years. So I mightn’t say no.
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