[ad_1]
AFP / Brussels
The leaders of the European Union (EU) have agreed at the dawn of the voluntary establishment of migrant centers on European soil, but questions emerge already as to which countries would be willing to host these structures.
"The European centers will operate on a voluntary basis in the front-line countries, these are the countries that will say whether they are candidates or not," said French President Emmanuel Macron, one of the architects of the agreement, arriving at the second day of the summit in Brussels.
The agreement came after nine hours of complex negotiations between the 28 and under the pressure of the Italian populist government of Giuseppe Conte, who had threatened to boycott the joint statement of leaders they were not responding to. their demands for greater solidarity in the distribution of migrants.
"Italy is no longer alone," said Conte after the agreement. His country, where nearly 500 000 migrants have arrived by sea since 2015, felt abandoned by his European partners in the management of the recent migration crisis.
To address their concerns, Europeans have accepted the voluntary creation of "controlled centers" on European soil, where migrants rescued into European waters will be transferred for selection among those who can choose asylum and who should be sent home. the countries.
The Austrian chancellor, the conservative Sebastian Kurz, called the centers "a very good idea", but clearly rejected the creation of such structures in his country.
"We are not a country with an external border, we are not a country in the front line, unless people parachute," he said.
Austria, which will badume the presidency pro tempore of the EU in July, aligned itself with the Visegrad group, a group of countries from the former Soviet Union, who welcomed the welcome of the refugees identified in the controlled centers. also on a voluntary basis.
"It was a great fight, the Visegrad Group (Poland, Hungary, Czech Republic and Slovakia) joined us and we achieved our goal.It is a great success," he said. applauded the Czech Prime Minister, the populist billionaire Andrej Babis, on his arrival on the second day centered on the Brexit and the reform of the euro area.
The Spanish Prime Minister, Pedro Sanchez, who attended his first European summit, said for his part that "it is not the best deal", but he justified it in the different reality in each country. "Each country will have to decide what policy or response it gives."
The catalog of proposals, three years after the biggest refugee crisis since the Second World War and in a context of drastic reduction of migrant arrivals, also He goes through an increased protection of the borders and a cooperation with the countries of Origin and transit, especially in Africa.
In their conclusions, the presidents urge the EU institutions to "rapidly explore the concept of regional landing platforms", in cooperation with third countries
[ad_2]
Source link
