The European Union must give attention to blocking unlawful crossings whereas making it simpler for asylum-seekers and financial migrants to return in, the brand new head of the bloc’s border safety company Frontex, Hans Leitjens, has mentioned.
On Tuesday, the German outlet Berliner Zeitung reported on the quotes Leitjens gave to a different publication, Die Welt, the day earlier than. Slightly than merely implementing the EU’s migration guidelines, the Dutch official has advocated for “extra humanity” and fewer “xenophobia and prejudice.”
”Nothing can cease individuals from crossing a border, no wall, no fence, no sea, no river,” Leitjens instructed Die Welt. He described the bloc’s immigration coverage as “a number of wishful considering and an usually exaggerated selection of phrases.”
Frontex is the fastest-growing EU company. Its finances went from €364 ($395) million in 2020 to €859 ($932) million, whereas its workers has practically doubled, from 1,200 to 2,200. Its “standing corps” is meant to be the EU’s first uniformed and armed police pressure, to quantity 10,000 by 2027.
Leitjens, 60, is a former lieutenant-general within the Dutch police who used to command a Dutch safety mission in Afghanistan and struggle corruption within the Caribbean, amongst different issues. He was appointed director-general of Frontex in December 2022, with the mission of building “safe and well-functioning exterior borders” of the EU.
”Generally it’s pretended that you could merely put a cap again on the bottle after which the migration can be stopped. However that may be a false impression,” he mentioned. As an alternative of turning again immigrants on the borders and the excessive seas, or swiftly deporting these whose asylum claims are dominated groundless, Leitjens has proposed a four-step plan for “good border administration.”
The first step is a crackdown on people-smuggling and unlawful crossings, whereas opening up authorized immigration. Step two can be ending “alarmism” and “superficial preoccupation” with migration, which “is a actuality,” he mentioned. Step three is to make sure the EU is aware of precisely who’s coming in, essential from the safety standpoint. Step 4 can be correctly processing asylum candidates and deporting those that fail, as a result of “the rule of regulation prevails right here.”
Final November, the European Parliament handed amendments to the Frequent European Asylum System (CEAS), searching for to curb unlawful immigration. The modifications name for processing asylum-seekers on the exterior border and deporting failed candidates instantly.
Greater than 1,000,000 individuals utilized for asylum within the EU final yr, most of them in Germany, nearly reaching the 1.3 million file from 2015. Although round half of the candidates have been rejected, just one in 5 have been deported, as a result of their nations of origin refuse to take them again. In the meantime, in 2023 Frontex registered 380,000 “irregular” border crossings into the EU, a 17% enhance over the earlier yr.
”This speak of ‘stopping individuals’ and ‘closing borders’ can’t be our narrative on a regular basis. My job is to create a stability between efficient border administration and compliance with basic rights,” Leitjens instructed Die Welt.
He’s keen to make offers with Tunisia, Morocco and Egypt, as a result of the EU “relies on the capabilities and can of those nations” to fight “irregular migration.” In return, Brussels “should present one thing in return: visa facilitation, extra authorized routes into the EU, and financial help,” Leitjens added. He has dominated out negotiations with Libyan militias, nonetheless, describing them as human rights violators and potential warfare criminals.
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