United Nations, New York – United Nations, New York – European officials participating united nations‘ High-level week tells Fox News Digital about the need to clamp down on illegal or “irregular” immigration, claiming success with tougher policies as bloc members continue to seek deals to secure the continent .
“There have been several agreements with North African countries to reduce illegal immigration,” Italy’s Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said. “We are in favor of legal immigration, but compromise is the key to reducing it illegal immigration,
“We are fighting against crime because human traffickers are also smuggling drugs and weapons,” he said. “For this, we need to fight against crime. To defeat crime, it is also a very important means to reduce illegal immigration.”
Europe is experiencing significant levels of migration from North Africa and parts of the Middle East, culminating in the refugee crisis between 2015 and 2016, in which countries such as Germany struggled to handle the level of incoming immigration .
Last year saw another surge, with the EU agency for asylum determining that October 2023 saw the biggest surge in seven years and comparing it to levels seen during this period. previous refugee crisis,
To deal with this, countries have created local immigration policies, while the EU has worked on agreements with countries such as Tunisia, Libya, Syria and Afghanistan. The Russian invasion of Ukraine further increased this pressure, displacing approximately 4.4 million people who sought refuge in neighboring countries.
Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani attends a forum in Cernobbio, Italy on September 6, 2024. (Reuters/Claudia Greco)
Germany and Italy received the most applications from asylum seekers – approximately 930,000 asylum seekers are awaiting a first instance decision by the end of May 2024. Italy’s right-wing government introduced a series of immigration reforms to deal with the influx, including introducing 18-month detention. Length of stay and new centers for asylum seekers.
Lampedusa IslandThousands of migrants arrive every month from Italy’s southernmost island, Tunisia. New processing centers are struggling to meet demand, with one employee last year describing the situation as “complex.”
No one understands the complexity of the immigration issue better than Hungary, which is embroiled in a legal dispute over its own policies: European Court of Justice in June Hungary ordered to pay fine Up to 200 million euros for breaking the bloc’s asylum rules, and an additional 1 million euros per day.
Hungary also this month began exploring legal options to force the EU’s executive Commission to pay the costs it incurred on helping implement the EU’s Schengen (or free-movement) zone.
Migrants from Tunisia and Libya arrive on the island of Lampedusa aboard an Italian coast guard boat on August 1, 2020. (Alberto Pizzoli/AFP via Getty Images)
Hungary’s Foreign Minister Peter Szijjártó argued that his country’s approach has faced a backlash since the ruling Fidesz party took power 14 years ago, arguing that Brussels ultimately wants migration more than the various countries that make up the bloc. Is.
“We are completely separate from Brussels and, to be honest, we have no intention of satisfying Brussels,” Szijjarto said. “Our intention is not to satisfy the liberal mainstream. We have only one intention: to satisfy the Hungarian people.”
“I believe that Brussels and some EU member states and some European politicians, even in recent times, have a very clear responsibility when it comes to the migration crisis, because of the Brussels pro-migration campaign. policy, and if you look at how they speak about this whole incident it’s absolutely difficult,” Szijjarto said.
“They say migration should be managed – no, migration should be stopped, and as long as you manage migration, it means you support migration, you encourage migration, you people encourage people to leave their homes,” Szijjarto added. “This is something we cannot support and tolerate.”
Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto, right, meets with Slovenian Environment Minister Bojan Kummer in Budapest, Hungary, on October 4, 2023. (Attila Kovacs/MTI via AP)
“Our position is very good: migration must be stopped,” he said. “Another way to say it: All people in the world, all human beings, should be given the right to live safe lives wherever they live, and that means that instead of encouraging people to take to the streets, every The circumstances of the individual must ensure that he can live where he was born.”
The challenge remains how to limit that migration when the entire bloc allows free movement between members. According to German outlet DW, Germany recently attempted to tackle the issue by creating its own hard borders, which some experts warn could lead to a “chain reaction” across the continent.
Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky acknowledged that the issue is a “difficult question” because of the balance. free movement within the union Against the need for stronger external borders, saying that it “puts too much pressure on us.”
Lipawsky said, “I think it’s a clear show that Europe has lost the ability to project geopolitical power, especially in Africa and the Middle East, because we were basically trying to stop this irregular migration. Are not able to take any kind of measures.”
Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky and South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yeul attend the North Atlantic Council meeting in Brussels, Belgium on April 4, 2024. (Reuters/Johanna Geron/Pool)
“When someone who actually has no right to asylum is in Europe, for example, there is no real mechanism for our population,” he said. “So they’re definitely going to need to put more effort into it.”
Lipavsky praised Germany’s decision to pursue stronger migration policies, saying that “it’s a big thing for Europe” that the country moved “a little further” toward the more strict policies of countries like the Czech Republic.
Leaders have sought eagerly to address the immigration crisis as the issue remains a major driver in elections: earlier this year, Right wing parties made surprising gains In the European Parliament, several people succeeded in getting some members included in the governing body.
Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis admitted that although he believes the increase in right-wing support is more of a system shock than a symptom of a growing movement, when it comes to something “legitimate” the results are “very indicate “greater concern”. Other issues including migration.
Lithuania’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Gabrielius Landsbergis attends NATO’s 75th Anniversary Summit in Washington, DC on July 11, 2024. (Reuters/Yves Herman/File)
“The problem is to protect the external European borders,” Landsbergis said. “When we face mechanized migration, where Lukashenko started bringing thousands of migrants from the Middle East and North Africa to our borders, basically as a tool to push people into the EU – political pressure on us. To put in because they don’t like our policies and other things – we follow the rules.”
With Lithuania, Poland and Latvia, combated the armed influx of migrantsIn 2021, an approximately 370-mile-long steel wall with barbed wire that is “electronically controlled” was constructed in Belarus.
Landsbergis claimed that the border is “probably one of the better controlled borders within the external borders of the EU,” with border guards and increased resources “after the whole country… changed gears”.
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“It is a problem and it is our responsibility to deal with the problem,” he said. “The easiest thing is to let people in – mostly, they like to get to the Netherlands, they like to get to Sweden, they like to get to Germany… and you say, well, it’s impossible for me to get to the border Yes, we didn’t do that.”
“We are protecting the border following the rules, and I think we are successful enough that the pressure from the border on Lithuania is now minimal.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
