The European Union has agreed to tighten asylum and migration policies. The final declaration at the EU summit aims to prevent illegal entry from the outset or make it less attractive. This should be done, among other things, by stepping up the fight against people smugglers, more border guards and faster deportations. Chancellor Karl Nehammer (ÖVP) expressed his satisfaction.
The EU financing of fences along the EU’s external borders, which countries such as Austria and Greece are demanding, is not explicitly mentioned in the final declaration. The document only says that EU funds should be mobilized for “infrastructure” at the borders. In addition, two pilot projects are to be launched at the external borders. According to EU Commission President Ursula, one of the projects is to secure the border between the EU country Bulgaria and Turkey with vehicles, cameras, roads and watchtowers. These should be financed from EU funds, the Bulgarian budget and contributions from the EU states.
Chancellor Karl Nehammer (ÖVP) said after the end of the EU special summit: “We have a clear language that the EU’s external border countries will be supported.” The EU is shifting up a gear in the fight against illegal migration. All EU external border countries are in the focus of the EU Commission. “There has never been a Council with such clarity,” said the Chancellor. “This is an important signal.” It was a “success of drilling hard boards” that even Luxembourg was willing to agree. Luxembourg’s Prime Minister Xavier Bettel had previously spoken out against EU-financed border fences.
Regarding financing, Nehammer referred to the forthcoming review of the EU budget. It had been agreed that almost three billion euros would be made available to implement these projects. After an evaluation, consideration should be given to where further funds can be raised or reallocated. For Bulgaria, the result of the summit means that it will receive commitments, which free up national budget funds that Bulgaria can then use to strengthen the border fence with Turkey. This is a good compromise.
The EU states agree that more pressure should be put on countries that do not cooperate in taking back rejected asylum seekers. This should lead to more people without a right to stay leaving the EU, thereby relieving the sometimes heavily overburdened asylum systems. The EU states want to exert pressure, for example, with a tightened visa policy, trade policy and development aid, but at the same time opportunities for legal migration should also be created.
The number of asylum applications in 2022 rose by almost 50 percent to 924,000 compared to the previous year. In addition, there were around four million refugees from Ukraine who do not have to apply for asylum in the EU.