Saturday

10th Jun 2023

Anti-migrant quota EU states meet in Prague

  • Prague: Luxembourg foreign minister will try to get quota sceptics on board (Photo: Ron Dauphin)

Foreign ministers from the main opponents of migrant quotas are meeting in Prague on Monday ( 21 September), as refugees continue to criss-cross EU borders.

The Prague event - involving the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, and Slovakia, as well as the Luxembourg EU presidency, which supports the quota scheme - comes ahead of two days of talks on the crisis in Brussels.

Read and decide

Join EUobserver today

Become an expert on Europe

Get instant access to all articles — and 20 years of archives. 14-day free trial.

... or subscribe as a group

Interior ministers will, on Tuesday, try to agree on a European Commission proposal on mandatory redistribution of 120,000 asylum seekers.

EU leaders will then debate wider issues, such as border security and aid to Turkey - which hosts 2 millions refugees - on Wednesday.

For their part, EU ambassadors in Brussels spent the weekend working on draft conclusions for Tuesday’s meeting.

An EU contact familiar with the draft text told EUobserver it no longer contains the Commission’s mathematical "key" on redistribution based on GDP and population size, among other factors. The EU source said this means the mandatory idea is "dead".

But for his part, French leader Francois Hollande said in Morocco over the weekend that, no matter what the technical details of the deal, every EU state must take its fair share.

“No one can be exempt or we would no longer belong to the same union built on values and principles”, he noted.

"We will ensure that this mechanism is effective regardless of its terms, that commitments can be kept and that it's not always the same countries who are receiving the refugees".

German debate

In Germany, the most popular migrant destination and the most pro-migrant EU state, differences are emerging in the ruling coalition.

The interior minister, Thomas de Maiziere, from the Chancellor’s centre-right CDU party, told Germany’s Spiegel: "We can’t host all the people from conflict areas and all poverty refugees who want to come to Europe and to Germany".

"The right way would be that we in the EU commit ourselves to fixed, generous quotas for the admission of refugees".

But Sigmar Gabriel, the centre-left SPD’s deputy chancellor, called the idea "nonsense".

"It’s the opposite of what the Chancellor has rightly said, namely that those who arrive in Germany and apply for asylum need a fair procedure", he noted.

"It is not a solution to establish quotas for asylum seekers. Incidentally, it is also contrary to the German constitution".

Nordic leaders, who are seeing more arrivals coming via Russia, also spoke out.

Finnish Prime Minister Juha Sipila said on Sunday: "The entire chain is full of leaks".

He estimated that up to 5 million people could come to Europe in the near future, adding: “If we could trust that the system works and the outer EU borders will function as they should, then I would be open to the idea of raising Finland’s refugee quota significantly”.

Turkey

Meanwhile, the Turkish foreign minister, who met his Luxembourg counterpart in Ankara on Friday, said he has no intention of stopping people from coming to the EU.

“We have to help them go wherever they want, but in an orderly way. Turkey does not have a policy of locking these people in”, Feridun Sinirlioglu told press.

Politicians’ talk aside, the migrants, over the past two days, continued to cross EU internal and external borders, where possible, to get to their preferred destinations.

Croatia’s interior minister, Ranko Ostojic, told the BBC that 27,000 refugees have arrived over the past five days.

Hungary had earlier closed its borders with Croatia and Serbia. It continued to talk tough, with its foreign minister Peter Szijjarto, comparing Hungary’s “defence” of EU borders with its historic role as defender of Europe over the past 1,000 years.

But it is letting people go from Croatia, via Hungary, to Austria, which received up to 15,000 people over the weekend.

Some 7,000 are reportedly waiting in Nickelsdorf, Austria, for onward transport.

A further 2,500 crossed from Croatia into Slovenia. But 4,000 more are stuck in the Croatian border town of Tovarnik.

Germany, which has reimposed border controls, reported 1,985 people crossing on Friday and 1,710 on Saturday.

Northern route

On the northern route, between 350 and 500 people a day are arriving in Finland, its interior ministry said.

The Swedish migration board registered 6,400 asylum claimants last week, and 5,200 the week before.

But in the south, the Aegean Sea crossing from Turkey to Greece continued to claim lives.

Reports say that a helicopter from the EU border control agency Frontex spotted an inflatable boat containing some 20 people trying to get from Turkey to Lesbos, Greece.

The boat had capsized, with survivors saying 26 others had drowned.

Croatia puts migrants on buses to Hungary

Croatia started ferrying refugees to Hungary by bus on Friday, saying it can't cope any more, while also suspending EU rules on registration of newcomers.

EU diplomats tweak text on migrant relocations

Hungary's unused refugee relief quota can go to other states, while relocation refuseniks won't pay fines, according to the latest EU compromise on the migrant crisis.

Latest News

  1. Negotiations on asylum reform to start next week, says MEP
  2. EU gig workers compromise dubbed ‘a disaster for workers’
  3. EU's one-off chance to influence Laos taking over ASEAN chair
  4. Belgian bâtonnier on Russia: 'You can have a client you don't like'
  5. EU's proposed ethics body 'toothless', say campaigners
  6. Study: 90% of Spanish inflation 'driven by corporate profits'
  7. If Spanish economy is doing well, why is Sanchez poised to lose?
  8. EU lawyers for Russia: making 'good' money?

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. Nordic Council of Ministers20 June: Launch of the new Nordic Nutrition Recommendations
  2. International Sustainable Finance CentreJoin CEE Sustainable Finance Summit, 15 – 19 May 2023, high-level event for finance & business
  3. ICLEISeven actionable measures to make food procurement in Europe more sustainable
  4. World BankWorld Bank Report Highlights Role of Human Development for a Successful Green Transition in Europe
  5. Nordic Council of MinistersNordic summit to step up the fight against food loss and waste
  6. Nordic Council of MinistersThink-tank: Strengthen co-operation around tech giants’ influence in the Nordics

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. EFBWWEFBWW calls for the EC to stop exploitation in subcontracting chains
  2. InformaConnecting Expert Industry-Leaders, Top Suppliers, and Inquiring Buyers all in one space - visit Battery Show Europe.
  3. EFBWWEFBWW and FIEC do not agree to any exemptions to mandatory prior notifications in construction
  4. Nordic Council of MinistersNordic and Baltic ways to prevent gender-based violence
  5. Nordic Council of MinistersCSW67: Economic gender equality now! Nordic ways to close the pension gap
  6. Nordic Council of MinistersCSW67: Pushing back the push-back - Nordic solutions to online gender-based violence

Join EUobserver

Support quality EU news

Join us