EUobserver: EU leaders have been adopting failed migration solutions for years

EU leaders, who will gather next week for the usual European Council meeting after the summer break, will once again discuss conclusions on migration and almost word for word repeat statements that have been heard for more than ten years, EUobserver writes today.

An analysis by the Brussels portal states that since the European Council summit in December 2015, there has been talk of a strategy to curb the large influx of migrants, the necessity for the EU to regain control over its external borders, and concerns about the low number of deportations.

At the same time, there is insistence on “concrete measures to ensure the actual return and readmission of those without residence permits” in the EU.

Twelve years later, at the summit on October 15-16 in Brussels, almost the same will be demanded, including an answer to the question of to what extent previous conclusions on migration have been implemented.

Although the draft conclusions for the upcoming summit may be amended, and likely will be, in their current formulation on migration they more or less repeat the same demands that have been present at more than 50 summits since the end of 2015, when more than a million Syrians entered Europe seeking protection.

In 52 published conclusions since 2015, more than half have addressed migration in some form, including the latest draft from October 5, which EUobserver has seen.

As in previous conclusions, the new ones also focus on cooperation with countries of origin and transit, as well as combating human trafficking and smuggling.

“The European Council calls for further intensified work on all fronts, including the external dimension,” the draft states. However, this demand has been made for years and runs through various Council conclusions, accompanied, as EUobserver notes, by often pompous statements from politicians about regaining control.

The Brussels portal’s analysis showed that more than 20 conclusions mention smuggling, deportation, readmission, stronger EU external borders, and the external dimension.

Legal migration is mentioned in 11 conclusions, the last time in June of last year.

Meanwhile, calls for more returns of migrants, stronger external borders to preserve Schengen without internal border controls, more shifting of responsibility to third countries, and more deportations have not yielded results.

It is recalled that at least 24,000 people have died just on the central Mediterranean route since 2015, as well as the case of Ceuta this summer and the Melilla case from 2022, the Belarus case six years ago, or Turkey seven years ago.

After each such event, the EU organized summits and adopted conclusions on strategies and proposals for stricter measures, but they did not yield results.

The analysis notes that finding a solution to migration issues is not easy, but that the EU, “if it were truly committed to saving lives and curbing irregular migration, would open more legal pathways,” which is not mentioned at all in the new draft.