European Union, “Still the only goal, which is to deny the right to asylum”: possible replication of the disastrous model applied in Greece

ROME – After years of stalemate, this week the Ministers of the Interior and of Justice of the EU countries have the opportunity to change course on European migration policies, but once again the orientation is to strengthen the mechanisms for rejecting migrants, externalize the borders, undermining de facto right to asylum. Meanwhile, despite the procedures envisaged by the pact risking transforming Italy into a large prison for asylum seekers, the Italian Government, with the Cutro decreehas already moved in the direction desired by Europe.

The future of tens of thousands of people. It is the alarm raised by OXFAM on the eve of the EU Council scheduled for 8 and 9 June, which will focus on the definition of an agreement between the Member States on two fundamental dossiers for the present and future of tens of thousands of people fleeing to Europe, due of conflict, hunger and the climate crisis:

1) – the definition of new common policies for the control of European borders, which could also include the detention of minors in EU hotspots, following the Greek model;
2) – the achievement of a European mechanism for the relocation of asylum seekers, whereby States are given the option of not accepting relocated migrants from the countries of first entry, by paying a fee for each person not accepted.

The chronic shortcomings of the European asylum system. “Both are proposals that will in no way solve the chronic shortcomings of the European asylum system – underlines Giulia Capitani, Oxfam Italy policy advisor on migration and asylum – On the contrary, they clearly express the goal of locking down Europe. As for the proposal under discussion for border control, we are faced with nothing but the exact copy of the inhuman and bankruptcy model applied to date in the Greek islands, which will only end up locking up other refugees, including children, in centers similar to prisons, denying their fundamental right of asylum in the territory of the Union”.

Italy at the center of the new prison model. The “Cutro decree”, recently converted into law, is completely in line with these nefarious European policies. In addition to confirming the application of border procedures already provided for by the “Lamorgese Decree”, it promotes a model of “widespread detention”, in which a potentially very high number of asylum seekers will be detained at the border or in other places as newly built hotspots o Repatriation Centers, deprived of personal freedom, for the sole purpose of having their application examined. “That the numbers will be high is confirmed by the fact that at European level a compulsory redistribution mechanism continues to be excluded: no Member State is required to welcome migrants who have arrived in Italy, who therefore, beyond those who manage to escape they will stay here. – continues Capitani – Italy will become a large border area, of containment, with a substantial lack of guarantees for people seeking refuge”.

The political will to outsource control is confirmed. In short, to delegate border control in the management of migratory flows. “We are also witnessing an attempt by EU states to increase pressure on third countries, for example in North Africa, to which they should entrust border control. – adds Capitani – A system which, as in the case of the Italy-Libya agreement, not only does not block arrivals (from January to today there are over 51,000), but perpetuates the violation of the fundamental human rights of people, including women and minors, detained in Libyan concentration camps and victims of unspeakable torture and abuse”.

The appeal to the EU and the Member States. If the ministers of the European Union find an agreement on the two dossiers at the center of the summit, then negotiations with the European Parliament will open. In this context, Oxfam is therefore launching an urgent call for the creation of a European asylum system that can really work:

1) – establishing rules that provide for a fair sharing of the reception of asylum seekers throughout Europe among the Member States and avoiding the risk of repeating what happens in Greece, where the inability to share responsibilities between the States leaves thousands of people in legal limbo, trapped in slums or EU-funded prison-like centres;
2) – by stopping making agreements with third countries to externalize European responsibility towards people seeking safety in Europe;
3) – creating independent monitoring mechanisms on what is happening at European borders, with the aim of countering the risk of human rights violations.