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Asylum comment: A new tone from Brussels

2020-09-23T16:35:00.563Z


The German EU Commission head has presented her new European asylum plan. Ursula von der Leyen sounds very different from Angela Merkel 2015. A comment by Merkur editor-in-chief Georg Anastasiadis.


The German EU Commission head has presented her new European asylum plan.

Ursula von der Leyen sounds very different from Angela Merkel 2015. A comment by Merkur editor-in-chief Georg Anastasiadis.

When she presented her soaring “Green New Deal” in climate policy in December, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen spoke of the European moon landing moment.

From there, the German EU leader quickly returned to the lowlands of the earthly lowlands: the migration plan presented yesterday is moving in tippy steps towards the great goal of more European solidarity.

And even that promises a lot of trouble, as the plan is still based on two principles that deeply divided Europe during the 2015 refugee crisis: the Dublin system, according to which the countries at the (southern) EU external borders have to process asylum procedures, and the Distribution rate that is so hated by Eastern Europeans.

Von der Leyen is nevertheless very accommodating: as long as there is no crisis-ridden mass migration, the principle of voluntariness should apply in Europe.

And even if the EU falls into a state of emergency again, countries that do not want refugees should be able to buy their way out by taking on “deportation sponsorships”, that is to say by committed to returning rejected asylum seekers to their countries of origin.

Even a “deportation coordinator” is to be installed to centrally control EU return policy.

2015 will have an impact - the signals that the German EU leader is sending out in Europe's capitals and around the world are drastically different from those of the German Chancellor five years ago.

The new harshness of Athens towards illegal migration in the Aegean Sea was recently applauded (or at least quietly approved) by Brussels.

Von der Leyen makes it harder for the Orbans to persist in their fundamental opposition.

The Viennese Chancellor Kurz also has to consider whether his new tough no to more EU solidarity can be the last word.

Without any shared responsibility, Europe surrenders to the Erdogans of this world at the knife.

Source: merkur

All news articles on 2020-09-23

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