Opposition to fibers
EU asylum compromise is still shaky – Italy has reservations
September 28, 2023, 8:17 p.m
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With the asylum compromise, the EU wants to reduce the number of refugees. For a long time, an agreement failed due to German resistance. That changed on Wednesday – but there is still no agreement because Italy is pulling out.
The EU’s asylum compromise is apparently not yet in the clear – although Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser had already spoken of an agreement in the Council of EU Interior Ministers. But now Italy has announced new reservations. According to media reports, Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi left the Brussels meeting with his EU colleagues early and traveled back to Rome. Piantedosi had “requested time to examine the contents of this proposal in more detail, including from a legal perspective,” said Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani during a visit to Berlin.
The Spanish presidency of the EU Council of Interior Ministers expressed caution about a possible agreement. The tenor: A compromise is close, but not yet there. Fernando Grande-Marlaska said after the ministerial meeting that there had been an exchange of views that had been very helpful in moving forward in the negotiations on crisis regulation. They are very close to reaching an agreement soon. There are some details that still need to be worked out. It is hoped that an agreement will be reached in the next few days. EU Interior Commissioner Ylva Johansson made similar comments. “There are no major hurdles anymore. We will reach an agreement and that will happen in the next few days,” she said.
Time is of the essence: the reform, which has been fought over for years, should be in place until the European elections in June 2024. To do this, the EU countries still have to agree on the legislative package with the European Parliament, which is also considered tricky. Parliament, for its part, is threatening a blockade as long as there is no consensus on the crisis regulation.
Italy doesn’t want to agree at first – Baerbock sees success
The Italian newspaper “La Stampa” reported that the concessions made to Germany “were not well received by the Italian government.” Rome could therefore not agree for the time being. Now the EU’s permanent representatives in Brussels must make an effort to save the compromise. The text could theoretically receive the necessary majority even if there was an Italian no vote; However, it is considered politically sensitive to overrule one of the EU countries most affected by migration.
As expected, Federal Foreign Ministry Annalena Baerbock viewed the changes initiated by Germany in the Asylum Crisis Ordinance as a success. For months, none of the German proposals on humanity and order were included in the compromise, said Baerbock after her meeting with Tajani. That’s why she “negotiated” German concerns into the regulation “in a joint effort” with Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser. The federal government was able to bring “a number of points” into the compromise on the crisis regulation. Interior Minister Nancy Faeser has already made it clear “where we would have liked more”.
“The last 48 hours have shown how important it is to fight for German, but also for European, interests until the last minute as a German minister,” said the Green politician. “We are now relying on the fact that at the last minute, when there is still a small matter left open, that there will now be a common majority for it,” said Baerbock, without giving any details. “Because without humanity in the crisis, there will be no order when it comes to migration.” Now she hopes for a quick implementation. “The common European asylum system must come now,” she says.
Scholz spoke up
After months of blockade, Germany cleared the way for EU states to agree on the crisis mechanism on Thursday. This provides for significantly stricter measures if a particularly large number of migrants threaten to overload the asylum system. The Greens in particular did not want to agree to the crisis regulation. At the most recent cabinet meeting of the traffic light coalition, Chancellor Olaf Scholz decided that Germany should agree.
The federal government has come under increasing pressure in recent days because of its lack of approval for the crisis ordinance. This is a central element of the planned EU asylum reform, which is intended, among other things, to limit unwanted migration. For example, if there is a particularly strong increase in migration, the period during which people can be held in prison-like conditions should be extended. In addition, the circle of people who are eligible for the planned strict border procedures could be increased.