{"id":397494,"date":"2024-10-15T11:30:56","date_gmt":"2024-10-15T09:30:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/2024\/10\/15\/hotspot-esterni-migranti-von-der-leyen-ue\/"},"modified":"2024-10-18T17:57:42","modified_gmt":"2024-10-18T15:57:42","slug":"external-hotspots-for-migrants-ursula-von-der-leyen-speaks-out-lets-learn-from-the-italy-albania-protocol","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/2024\/10\/15\/external-hotspots-for-migrants-ursula-von-der-leyen-speaks-out-lets-learn-from-the-italy-albania-protocol\/","title":{"rendered":"External hotspots for migrants, Ursula von der Leyen speaks out: ‘Let’s learn from the Italy-Albania protocol’"},"content":{"rendered":"

Brussels – The new term of Ursula von der Leyen<\/strong> at the head of the European Commission begins in the sign of a\u00a0new clampdown on irregular immigration<\/strong>. Due to\u00a0the sharp shift to the right, a new formula has made inroads in European chancelleries: external hotspots —<\/strong> repatriation hubs outside the EU where\u00a0to detain migrants awaiting answers to asylum claims. An idea circulated among member states, for which von der Leyen has now become a spokesperson: ahead of the October 17-18<\/a> European Council, the EU leader urged heads of state and government to “explore” the possibility, drawing “lessons from the Italy-Albania protocol.”<\/p>\n

In the now customary letter on migration, with which she updates leaders on the eve of each summit, the president of the European Commission outlined ten points to “address new challenges and close remaining gaps.” First, speed up the implementation of the Migration and Asylum Pact, which was so painstakingly approved earlier this summer and on which the governments of the Netherlands and Hungary have already signaled they want an exemption. Then,\u00a0“continue to sign comprehensive partnerships with key third countries:<\/strong>” the gold standard remains the Memorandum with Tunisia, despite countless accusations<\/a> of gross human rights violations by EU-funded Tunisian security forces.<\/p>\n

Then there is\u00a0the need to “move forward on a common approach on returns<\/strong>,” to “accelerate the use of leverage through our visa policies,” to counter the instrumentalization of migrants, especially in the East, and to “strengthen security at our borders.” Von der Leyen also stressed the “challenges” arising from the ongoing conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine. However, the news is the “design of innovative ways to counter illegal migration.” Von der Leyen\u00a0received the controversial proposal<\/a>, put forward by some 15 member states (including Italy), to create external hotspots<\/strong> in third countries close to EU borders<\/strong>, where to\u00a0process asylum claims<\/strong>. It is ready to “reflect on operational solutions that will contribute to countering illegal immigration while respecting the principles of the EU and obligations under international law.”<\/p>\n

<\/a>
Italy’s migrant detention center in Shengjin, Albania (Photo by Adnan Beci \/ AFP)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

To this end, the Commission will review “within the next year the concept of designated safe third countries.” The idea gaining momentum is to adopt the “Albanian model<\/strong>” that Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni <\/strong>is pioneering\u00a0for the entire Union.\u00a0<\/strong>“As the operations of the Italy-Albania protocol begin, we will also be able to learn from this practical experience,” von der Leyen specified in the letter. However,\u00a0the protocol has raised many doubts and criticisms\u00a0due,\u00a0in particular, to the possible\u00a0risk of outsourcing asylum obligations<\/strong>, which would be against international law.<\/p>\n

In the\u00a0draft conclusions<\/strong> of the leaders’ summit, which diplomats from the 27 member countries are still working on, there is already confirmation of the new step toward a “fortress Europe.” The document, which dictates the political line of the EU bloc, argues that “new ways to prevent and counter irregular migration, in line with international law, should be considered.”<\/p>\n

Von der Leyen closed her letter to EU heads of state and government with a call for solidarity and unity in the Schengen area, which has been\u00a0compromised<\/a>\u00a0by ongoing\u00a0suspensions imposed by\u00a0member countries. “The reintroduction of border controls should be a measure of last resort<\/strong>, exceptional, and proportionate to the identified threat. The new Schengen Borders Code, which entered into force in July, specifies the obligations of member states to respect these principles,” the EU leader warned.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ahead of the Oct. 17-18 summit, the EU leader calls on the 27 member states to “explore the idea of developing return hubs outside the EU.” The draft European Council conclusions include a reference to “innovative solutions to counter irregular migration”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7527,"featured_media":340641,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"episode_type":"","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":{"source_name":"","source_url":"","via_name":"","via_url":"","override_template":"0","override":[{"template":"1","single_blog_custom":"","parallax":"1","fullscreen":"1","layout":"right-sidebar","sidebar":"default-sidebar","second_sidebar":"default-sidebar","sticky_sidebar":"1","share_position":"top","share_float_style":"share-monocrhome","show_share_counter":"0","show_view_counter":"0","show_featured":"1","show_post_meta":"1","show_post_author":"1","show_post_author_image":"1","show_post_date":"1","post_date_format":"default","post_date_format_custom":"Y\/m\/d","show_post_category":"1","show_post_reading_time":"0","post_reading_time_wpm":"300","post_calculate_word_method":"str_word_count","show_zoom_button":"0","zoom_button_out_step":"2","zoom_button_in_step":"3","show_post_tag":"1","show_prev_next_post":"1","show_popup_post":"1","number_popup_post":"1","show_author_box":"0","show_post_related":"1","show_inline_post_related":"0"}],"override_image_size":"0","image_override":[{"single_post_thumbnail_size":"crop-500","single_post_gallery_size":"crop-500"}],"trending_post":"0","trending_post_position":"meta","trending_post_label":"Trending","sponsored_post":"0","sponsored_post_label":"Sponsored by","sponsored_post_name":"","sponsored_post_url":"","sponsored_post_logo_enable":"0","sponsored_post_logo":"","sponsored_post_desc":"","disable_ad":"0"},"jnews_primary_category":{"id":"","hide":""},"jnews_override_counter":{"override_view_counter":"0","view_counter_number":"0","override_share_counter":"0","share_counter_number":"0","override_like_counter":"0","like_counter_number":"0","override_dislike_counter":"0","dislike_counter_number":"0"},"footnotes":""},"categories":[25681],"tags":[25747,27335,25754],"class_list":["post-397494","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics","tag-council-en","tag-migration-en"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/397494","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7527"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=397494"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/397494\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":398833,"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/397494\/revisions\/398833"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/340641"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=397494"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=397494"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=397494"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}