Migrants, Johansson: “No to EU blacklist of uncooperative third countries”

Brussels – “The Commission has no plans for a blacklist of third countries” that do not cooperate on immigration, said Ylva Johanson, Commissioner for Home Affairs, who thus responds to a parliamentary question: no replica, therefore, of the model targeting non-European tax havens. The watchword, if anything, is “cooperation”: this is the only path through which it is possible to find a credible and effective solution to  manage the flow of asylum seekers.

The von der Leyen team’s policy, Johannson explains, involves “comprehensive partnerships with third countries, ranging from the root causes of migration to preventing irregular departures, combating migrant smuggling, increasing returns, and encouraging legal migration.” These kinds of partnerships “are essential for the EU’s migration and asylum system to work.” No confrontations or punitive measures that could generate conflict that would not benefit the Union and its 27 Member States.

The numbers, after all, do not play in the EU’s favor. Migration pressure is increasing as never before. In the first half of 2023, the number of asylum seekers arriving at the EU’s shores and borders peaked (519,414), even more than in 2015 (446,736), the year of the outbreak of the migration crisis that ended with the disputed agreement between European Union and Turkey. Flows, therefore, are a factor that deserves caution, due to the delicate and sensitive nature of a complicated issue for politics and the need to manage a complex phenomenon.

Continue with collaboration and cooperation, especially on repatriation and readmission to countries of origin for those who do not qualify for international protection. In this regard, “the Commission conducts an annual assessment of readmission cooperation with third countries,” said Johansson, convinced of the need to move forward. It is more useful than a blacklist of uncooperative countries.