Member states push to outsource migration procedures to non-EU countries

A group of EU member states, led by Czechia and Denmark, are preparing a letter to the European Commission calling for migrants trying to reach the EU to be transferred to selected third countries before reaching the bloc’s shores – a procedure experts say is likely to be difficult to enforce under current EU migration law.

According to the letter obtained by Czech newspapers, the signatories call for agreements with non-EU countries to which EU member states could send migrants intercepted at sea. The entire EU could then switch to a model similar to the one agreed in November 2023 between Italy and Albania.

“There, a permanent solution could be found for them,” the letter reads, as Hospodářské noviny reports.

According to the plan, migrants heading to Europe without the necessary documents would not even reach the EU’s shores, the letter also reads.

The plan also foresees transfers of those already in an EU country but have not been granted asylum there, suggesting that such migrants could be taken to a country outside the EU, where they would remain until they can be deported.

The letter was initiated by Denmark and Czechia, and backed by several EU countries. Such an approach is supported by the majority of member states, including the Netherlands, the Baltic states and Italy, Euractiv has learned.

Italy was the first EU country to sign a bilateral agreement with a third country – Albania – on the externalisation of migration procedures.

“Outsourcing and relocation of asylum applications has a threefold function: to fight more effectively the criminal organisations dedicated to human trafficking, as a deterrence tool against illegal departures, and as a means of relieving migratory pressure on the countries of first entry, such as Italy or Greece or Spain or Cyprus or Malta,” the Undersecretary of State at Italy’s Interior Ministry, Lega MP Nicola Molteni (ID), told Euractiv Italy.

Hungary also favours externalisation but has not yet signed the letter. As one diplomat told Euractiv Czechia, Hungary is “toxic” and could damage the letter’s relevance.

The debate on externalisation came into full swing shortly after the European Parliament approved the new EU migration pact, and the member states are expected to formally endorse the pact on 14 May.

The outsourcing of migration procedures will also be discussed at the migration conference in Copenhagen on Monday.

“The conference will be a good opportunity to present the proposals of the Danish-led working group, with the representation of the majority of EU Member States, to complement the Pact on Migration and Asylum after the European elections with new measures, especially in the external migration dimension (including externalisation), based on a new type of such comprehensive partnership,” Czech Interior Ministry spokeswoman Hana Malá told Euractiv Czechia.

Partnerships with non-EU countries are also backed by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

“In parallel [to the Migration Pact implementation], we will also press ahead with our work partnerships with countries of origin and transit so that we can address the root causes of migration together,” she said.

However, some doubt the externalisation, such as the French liberals.

For French MP Sacha Houlié, who is on the left wing of President Emmanuel Macron’s majority party Renaissance (Renew), outsourcing migration processes is the antithesis of the migration pact adopted by the European Parliament.

“Sending people to countries that have nothing in common with their country of origin, such as Albania or Rwanda, poses a moral and ethical problem,” said Houlié.

The externalisation of migration management was also described as “unacceptable” by Italian MEP Brando Benifei, head of the Democratic Party (PD/S&D) delegation to the European Parliament.

Criticism from NGOs

The outsourcing of migration procedures – including the Italian-Albanian deal – is particularly criticised by human rights organisations.

“It is high time that European institutions recognise that the Italy-Albania agreement would create an unlawful and harmful system, which must be stopped. Instead of increasing people’s suffering, the authorities should ensure access to an effective asylum procedure, adequate reception, and safe, regular routes,” the Amnesty International organisation stressed in February earlier this year.

According to migration expert Vít Novotný, the proposal to outsource the processing of asylum applications is likely to be challenging to implement because EU rules, even under the new EU migration pact, are based on European asylum procedures taking place only on EU territory.

“The change is conceivable, the door is there, but the legal path to it is long,” Novotný of the Wilfried Martens Centre for European Studies told Euractiv Czechia, stressing that this situation is still speculative.

He said the proposals on the return of failed applicants could be much easier to reach a consensus on, and the initiative could help solve the long-standing problem of deportations.

However, finding suitable partner countries is crucial – a problem that Novotný says remains: “The question is to what extent the EU has tried to find such countries. It is possible that it has not tried hard enough,” he said.

“Now that even Germany is talking about similar solutions, which was unthinkable just a year or two ago, there is maybe a better chance of finding one or more such countries. But now I am only speculating,” Novotný added.

Novotný also recalled the EU’s efforts in 2018, when then-European Council President Donald Tusk said the EU tried to agree with Egypt to take back people rescued at sea.

“And (President) al-Sisi said very firmly at the time that there was no way. Now, it is being done a bit more diplomatically, which is probably a better way to succeed,” Novotný explained.

(Aneta Zachová, Ondřej Plevák | Euractiv.cz, Simone Cantarini | Euractiv.it, Sarah N’tsia | Euractiv.fr)

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