Alongside pensions, the executive is preparing a new immigration law. A file on which Europe is also working, but quietly. Jean-Rémi Baudot’s political brief
It is a pact that we hear very little about in France. And for good reason: in Brussels, we are doing everything to prevent this long negotiation from making noise. The fear is that immigration will become a controversial, political and media subject. And that the most populist governments in Europe do not block any progress on the subject. This is why this work remains for the moment a little under the radar.
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This text provides for strengthening Europe’s borders, harmonizing asylum rights, reducing processing times for migrant files, supporting countries on the front line and even better distributing migrants within Europe. Union. “We are gradually putting in place a European migration policy”, welcomes a French MEP. Except that if, already, at the national level, it is not simple, then a European Union with 27 migration policies, it is as many issues and tensions in each country. In the European Parliament, however, we think that the subject of immigration would benefit from being dealt with at EU level.
An example: the European pact plans in particular to expand a European database with the fingerprints of people in an irregular situation. A way to identify migrants in order to follow their journey in Europe and avoid having asylum applications in several countries.
When the discussions are done outside the TV sets, the files move forward
It is also a text that promises more firmness, especially since there is also a desire to speed up the return of rejected asylum seekers with a single European jurisdiction. The subject was recently broached in Stockholm by the Ministers of the Interior of the 27. If the subject is taken up at European level, it is also because the figures show an increase in irregular arrivals. In 2022, 330,000 people at European level, + 64% over one year according to Frontex. There is thus pressure, particularly from Afghanistan, which we see for the moment very little in France…
This still looks a lot like our French debates on deportations to the border, with, for the time being, less brutality in the debates. The subject is not dealt with at the level of heads of state, but it is discussed at lower levels, which avoids the political postures of the Hungarian Orban or the Italian Meloni.
And this is perhaps an idea to think about: when the discussions are done outside the TV sets, the files move forward. What is striking is that this negotiation on immigration in Europe is not recent: it began in 2020 and could be completed within a few months.
We also note among MEPs a desire to move forward quickly on the subject. Behind the scenes, some say they want to find an agreement before the next European elections next year. Understand: before the populists eventually gain strength in the European Parliament.