Europe turns migrants home
On Friday, the leaders of the European Union countries gathered in Malta’s capital, Valetta, at their next summit. He was called informal (since the event was convened at the initiative of the Prime Minister of Malta, Joseph Muscat). Since January, Malta presides over the European Union. Taking advantage of this, the island state government gathered EU leaders to discuss the most important problem for the countries of Southern Europe - illegal immigration from Africa. Last year, over 180 thousands of Africans passed through Malta to the continent.
The European Union is protected from uninvited guests
As you know, the problem of migrants affects almost all EU countries. Malta and its neighbors are just transit points for African refugees. They settle in the countries of Old Europe, where high social benefits and the level of common life. The road to a prosperous Europe is difficult and dangerous. There are hundreds of cases in which boats with refugees drowned in the sea, people in them died.
In the summer of 2015, when nearly three thousand people sank in the waters of the Mediterranean, European countries sent half a dozen warships and as many planes to rescue the refugees. The operation was called "Sophia", in honor of the Somali girl who was born aboard the German rescue ship "Schleswig Holstein".
The sailors intercepted boats with illegal migrants, inspected ships, detained alleged smugglers. They were then handed over to the Italian judicial authorities. Illegal migrants themselves were placed in special refugee camps. The experts then questioned the effectiveness of the marine operation. Moreover, a new powerful stream of migrants from Turkey rushed to the continent by that time.
European politicians quietly talked about the possible expulsion of African refugees back to their homeland. The British The Times let it slip: a plan is being prepared for the deportation of the 400 order of thousands of "illegals." It was primarily about “economic migrants” from Niger, Mali, Ethiopia and Eritrea, as well as citizens of other countries who were denied asylum.
Commenting on this newsThe representative of the International Organization for Migration, Joel Millman, estimated the cost of the deportation to be in the billions of dollars that European countries have to pay. “This is a very high price,” Millman told reporters. - Deport thousands of people who later return. They can return for the second time, and the third, and the fourth. And governments will have to spend more money. ”
Probably, this quite obvious conclusion upset the plans of European politicians then. In addition, they left all their resources to work with the Turkish government. Because it was from Turkey that the largest flow of refugees, estimated at hundreds of thousands of people, fell through Greece. After long negotiations, the leaders of the European Union, with the active participation of German Chancellor Angela Merkel, managed to reach an agreement with Turkish President Recep Erdogan for 3,3 billion US dollars that Ankara would take all refugees from the Greek islands and equip them and other migrants in special camps on their territory.
Turkey was promised a number of other preferences, including a visa-free regime with the Schengen zone and the resumption of negotiations on accession to the European Union. For a time, this has become less urgent with the arrival of new refugees. At sea, the military set a barrier for migrants from Africa. The site WikiLeaks has published a secret EU report on refugees seeking to Europe. In it, the Rear Admiral of the Italian Navy Enrico described in detail the course of Operation Sophia. Showed patterns of penetration to the continent of migrants from Africa. In the report, Admiral Credendino stated the fact of the destruction of ships that were transporting refugees from Libya.
"Let's go home! Goodbye!"
The problem with migrants has become a central theme of the political agenda of European countries. She bothered the British who voted for Brexit. Opposition parties base their policies on it. Official authorities are forced to respond to the discontent of the population by the dominance of migrants, especially in countries where regular elections are expected.
Remarkable in this regard is the mimicry of the mood of the Germans of the German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Merkel for a short time has gone the distance from conviction in the economic benefits of migrants for Germany and a friendly selfie with them before the recent decision to pay off refugees by paying those who voluntarily leave the country before making a decision on granting asylum in Germany.
As the newspaper Izvestia reported, the German Ministry of the Interior announced the launch of a new migration program, Primary Aid Plus. The official representative of the Federal Office of Germany Johannes Dimrot explained to the newspaper the essence of the innovations of the German authorities. This year, the federal government has allocated € 40 million to fund the program.
The program has earned since February 1. Migrants from 45 countries fell under it. “Refugees (people of 12 and older) who decide to return to their homeland before making a decision to grant them asylum in Germany will be paid € 1,2 thousands, said Dimrot. “In turn, those who have been refused will be paid € 800, provided that they do not appeal against the refusal.” In addition, refugees will be paid departure from Germany and provide € 200 for travel expenses.
Many in Germany doubt that the “Initial Aid Plus” program will bring any meaningful result. Migration policy expert Katharina Enders believes that “a one-time payment will not be able to compensate for the problems that migrants will face when they return to their homeland. Many refugees also paid a lot of money to middlemen to get to Europe. Therefore, in the event of refusal by the German authorities, refugees will try to obtain asylum in another European country or extend their presence in Europe as much as possible. ”
So, most likely, the authorities in Berlin will have to look for new ways to send migrants home to their homeland. And it’s not just Angela Merkel’s “vision” before the elections. According to the calculations of the World Economy Institute in Kiel, Germany already spends about € 25 billion per year for refugees from warring states. In the long run, this amount could grow to € 55 billion.
The figure is serious, even for the German budget. That is why Angela Merkel and her government, who had previously actively invited refugees to Germany, now want to get rid of them with financial compensation. Other EU countries started practicing a similar policy. Recently, for example, Italy signed a memorandum with Libya on strengthening control over the illegal transport of migrants through the Sicilian Strait.
This document was highly critically appraised by the ex-Minister of Foreign Affairs of Italy, now a prominent public figure and authoritative human rights activist Emma Bonino. In her opinion, European governments abandon policies to effectively manage the phenomenon of migration, the integration of refugees into European society, and repeat the practical steps criticized by EU leaders, US President Donald Trump. “Europe is outraged by Trump’s ban and the intention to erect a wall on the border with Mexico,” says Bonino, “but what is being done here is not very different from the actions of the American president.”
The summit in Malta did not provide answers to the criticism of the Italian ex-minister. On the eve of the meeting in Valletta, German Chancellor Angela Merkel made a one-day visit to Ankara. Experts believe that its main goal was to enlist the support of Turkish President Recep Erdogan in restricting migration to Europe from the Middle East. This meeting did not work. At the final press conference, Erdogan and Merkel did not even mention any agreements on the problem of refugees.
There was no breakthrough in Malta. The summit participants only adopted a declaration on work on the Central Mediterranean route of migration to the European Union. In this direction, the attention of Europeans focused on Libya. Her promised support and financial assistance to curb the flow of migrants to Europe, to improve the living conditions of refugees in the territory of Libya itself. The summit declared the fight against illegal carriers, assistance in training and equipping the country's national coast guard.
The host of the meeting, Malta’s Prime Minister Joseph Muscat, rather reluctantly assessed the adopted declaration. “This is not enough, it’s part of the progress,” he told reporters. Muscat's skepticism in the media attributed to the political situation in Libya. It is still controlled by two warring forces. There is war in the country. Under these conditions it will be difficult to implement even the very concise plans of the Maltese Declaration.
But it seems that not only in Libya. Leaders of European countries are now looking for a solution to the problem of uncontrolled migration not within their union, but beyond its borders. There is still no agreement on how to build relationships with newcomers. Instead, Europeans reached for their wallets to stimulate the departure of refugees to their homeland. It turned out, as in the famous soundtrack: “Let's go home! Goodbye!"
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