Ursula von der Leyen Lapresse
When it comes to migrants, the Heads of State and Government of the European Union simply cannot be united. At the summit that was held in Brussels they debated, or rather discussed it, for over five hours. The extreme synthesis is the European Union which rejects the request to finance the construction of the walls and Italy which succeeds in putting solidarity in the redistribution of arrivals, in response to those who protest against secondary movements. In the forecasts of those who had prepared the summit, it had to be a point on the agenda to be dealt with in a short time, since it is the external dimension and therefore the financing to third countries that cooperate in the protection of the external borders of the Union. But he hadn't come to terms with two substantial requests that brought two groups to the table. On the one hand, that of the twelve states that would like Brussels to finance the construction of walls to better protect the borders, in particular to cope with the strategy of the Belarusian leader, Alexander Lukashenko, to facilitate the access of irregular migrants to the EU. The proposing countries are: Austria, Cyprus, Denmark, Greece, Lithuania, Poland, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia and Slovakia.
The request of the Netherlands, Denmark and Austria to Italy: "To prevent secondary movements"
The other request is the one brought by the Netherlands, Denmark and Austria, and directly concerns Italy: to prevent secondary movements, i.e. the movement within the Union of irregular migrants (or asylum seekers already registered in a Country of first entry). Italy had already set its conditions on this at the General Affairs Council in preparation for the summit: "If we talk about responsibility, then we must also talk about solidarity". Translated: before addressing the secondary displacements, the primary ones must be addressed, and therefore the question of the lack of redistribution among the Twenty-seven of Migrants arriving in the EU. The compromise at the end can be read between the lines of the formal conclusions of the summit, changed from the draft that was circulating before the start of work. "Efforts should be supported to reduce secondary movements and to ensure a fair balance between responsibility and solidarity between member states", is the final point of the conclusions. "The original text spoke only of secondary movements, without an adequate balance between solidarity and responsibility, a concept that was explicitly introduced", explained the Prime Minister, Mario Draghi, at the end of the summit. On the request instead of the protection of external borders, the text is clear: "The European Council will not accept any attempt by third countries to exploit Migrants for political ends. It condemns all hybrid attacks on the EU borders and will respond. accordingly. Calls on the Commission to propose the necessary changes to the EU legal framework and concrete measures supported by an adequate financial framework to ensure an immediate and adequate response in line with EU law and international obligations, including rights fundamental ".
"What was supposed to be a paragraph on the financing of the walls does not contain this possibility but opened a window on the discussion on the Asylum and Migration Pact, which has been stopped for a year", observed the Prime Minister. The president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, did not leave room for broad interpretations of the text of the conclusions: "There was a discussion on the request for funding for physical infrastructures but I answered clearly that there is a common understanding. long-standing the Commission, with the European Parliament, not to finance hard wires or walls, "he said at a press conference. However, the Lithuanian president, Gitanas Nauseda, one of the most staunch supporters of the walls paid for by the EU, said he was "very satisfied". "After five hours of negotiations we have achieved a very satisfactory result" because the text of the conclusions of the EU leaders "reflects the basic needs that we feel" since "the actions of the Belarusian regime are defined as hybrid attacks against Poland, Lithuania and Latvia "and" we now see a wide range of possible actions and changes to the legal framework, if necessary, to address problems at external borders, "he said on leaving the summit.
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