Today the European Council has to discuss two crucial questions concerning immigration: the right of asylum and the role of Frontex. There exists, however, the concrete risk of obtaining no result.
These themes are extremely important. As for asylum, the main problem is related to burden sharing. In other words, there are states that care too much and states that care too little. We just briefly remind that in 2010 France, Germany, Sweden, Belgium and United Kingdom received 70% of total asylum requests in Europe. It is quite obvious that the only solution to the problem is to harmonize national laws on this subject. So far, the few efforts made in that direction did not produce any significant result. The case of EASO, the European Asylum Support Office, is emblematic of the situation. The office was created in May 2010 but it started to function only on 19th April 2011. We only know that its headquarters are in Malta, that its web site is under construction and that, in addition to the voluntary financial contributions of single states, it will have a budget of a few million euro. In brief, limited resources for an important objective, that of supporting, coordinating and strengthening the cooperation of European governments in a so complex matter.
The same can be said for Frontex, the European Agency for external border security, whose life has always been quite troubled. Frontex was created in 2005 and, without an identifiable reason, its headquarters were located in Warsaw. In spite of its limited financial resources, it plays a crucial role for Europe. Again, as well as for EASO, the idea is very good but, because of all these financial limitations, unfortunately it cannot come true. However, the problem of illegal immigration may be solved only through an actual strengthening of Frontex power. This would help enormously Mediterranean Countries which constantly have to deal with the waves of migration coming from North Africa. Frontex, indeed, not only patrols EU borders, but it is also allowed to organise massive returns of illegal immigrants as it happened for the first time on 28th September 2010 when, from Warsaw, it carried out the deportation to Tbilisi of 56 Georgian immigrants detained in a number of EU countries.
This is the real change that the Council of Europe taking place in these days (23rd -24th June) can give to the migration policy of the EU. Naturally, for that to be the case, it is necessary that all the actors involved stop considering immigration as a national prerogative.
On the inside: