The following post summarizes a concrete rebuffal of the current EU proposal (debated  by the EU Council today) to combat ‘illegal’ migration by Italian scholar Fulvio Vasallo Paleologo

• The European Union will have to strengthen the operations Triton and Poseidon in the Mediterranean “by increasing its financial resources” and extending their area of ​​intervention

THEY HAVE BEEN WRITING THIS FOR THE PAST SIX MONTHS BUT SO FAR THE PRESENCE OF SHIPS AND AIRCRAFT OFFERED BY INDIVIDUAL EU STATES HAS ONLY BEEN TEMPORARY. WE OBSERVE EVERY DAY THE MANY DEATHS THAT ARE THE RESULT OF THE “LIMITED MANDATE OFFERED BY FRONTEX” WITHIN WHICH POSEIDON AND TRITON OPERATE. JUST READ THE REPORTS OF AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL, HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH AND OTHER HUMANITARIAN ORGANIZATIONS TO CHECK THE HARM DONE BY ORGANIZATIONS WHO’SE MISSION IS NOT TO ENGAGE IN SEARCH AND RESCUE OPERATIONS BUT INSTEAD TO CONTRAST ‘ILLEGAL’ IMMIGRATION.

• A systematic effort to capture and destroy the boats used by traffickers.

THE BANKRUPTCY OF THIS PROPOSAL HAS ALREADY BEEN PROVEN. IT IS SIMPLY IMPRACTICAL AND WILL ONLY SLOW DOWN RESCUE OPERATIONS. SINCE MANY YEARS CAPTURED BOATS ARE BEING SUNK AT THE END OF RESCUE OPERATIONS, ALSO TO AVOID DANGERS TO NAVIGATION. WHEN REQUESTS FOR AID ACCUMULATE, THE PRIORITY MUST BE GIVEN TO SAVING LIVES AT SEA. THIS PROPOSAL SIMPLY WANTS TO REINSTATE A COLLECTIVE PERCEPTION OF FALSE RIGOUR AND EFFECTIVENESS IN CONTRASTING WHAT IS COMMONLY DEFINED AS ‘ILLEGAL’ IMMIGRATION.

• Regular meetings between Europol (the European Police Office), Frontex (European Agency for the management of external borders), EASO (the European Asylum Support Office) and Eurojust (the European cooperative legal Unit) to gather information on the modus operandi and the funds available to human traffickers.

THESE ARE ROUTINE ACTIONS, WHICH AFTER YET ANOTHER DISASTER ARE BEING SOLD AS ‘NOVELTIES (…). ITALIAN AUTHORITIES HAVE SUFFICIENT INFORMATION TO CONTRAST THESE SMUGGLERS. THE PROBLEM IS THE LACK OF COOPERATION WITH TRANSIT COUNTRIES, WHICH DON’T EVEN REPLY TO INTERNATIONAL ROGATORY REQUESTS. INSTEAD EUROPE PREFERS TO SUPPORT DICTATORIAL PUPPET REGIMES WITH MILITARY AND ECONOMIC BENEFITS IN RETURN FOR THEIR ASSISTANCE IN COMBATING ‘ILLEGAL’ MIGRATION.

• EASO will deploy teams in Italy and Greece.

THERE ALREADY HAVE BEEN JOINT OPERATIONS FOR ASSESSING ASYLUM APPLICATIONS AND THESE HAVE NOT IMPROVED THE CONDITIONS OF MIGRANTS IN GREECE (…). OBVIOUSLY THE SENTENCES OF THE EUROPEAN COURT OF HUMAN RIGHTS FOR COLLECTIVE REFOULEMENTS FROM GREECE TO TURKEY AND ITALY TO GREECE HAVE ENDED UP IN THE DUSTBIN.

• The EU will take the fingerprints of all migrants.

THE TAKING OF FINGERPRINTS MUST BE IN COMPLIANCE WITH THE RULES OF THE STATE OF LAW, WITHOUT JEOPARDIZING PERSONAL FREEDOM OR THE SEPARATION OF HOUSEHOLDS. VIOLENTLY IMPOSING SUCH PROCEDURES BREACHES THE PROHIBITION OF INHUMANE TREATMENT (…).

• We will consider options for “a mechanism for relocation of emergency.”

(…)

• There will be a large European voluntary pilot program on resettlement for people in need of protection.

WHICH EUROPEAN COUNTRIES HAVE GIVEN THEIR AVAILABILITY? WHO DECIDES WHO ARE THE PEOPLE IN NEED OF PROTECTION? WHO WILL BE RESETTLED FROM WHICH COUNTRIES TO WHICH COUNTRIES? THIS IS A GENEREIC PROPOSAL THAT APPEARS IMPRACTICAL IN ITS CURRENT STATE.

• The EU will set up a program to quickly send back illegal migrants, coordinated by Frontex.

THE EU IS PONDERING NEW PRACTICES OF COLLECTIVE AND UNLAWFUL REJECTION, WHICH INVOLVE AN EXTENSION OF ADMINISTRATIVE DETENTION AT THE DISCRETION OF POLICING BODIES AND WITHOUT THE REQUIRED VALIDATION OF A JUDGE. THESE PRACTICES ARE PROHIBITED AND HAVE BEEN SENTENCED BY THE EUROPEAN COURT OF HUMAN RIGHTS IN 2012 (…).

• The Commission and the External Action Service will commit the EU with countries neighboring Libya, in particular, the EU will be strengthening initiatives in Niger.

(see below)

• Immigration Liaison Officers (ILO) will be deployed in key third countries to collect intelligence information on migration flows and strengthen the role of the European delegations.

THE EU, AND ESPECIALLY FRANCE, HAS BEEN PUSHING HARD FOR THIS. UNFORTUNATELY HUMAN SMUGGLERS ARE ROAMING FREELY IN SENDING AND TRANSIT COUNTRIES, WHERE INSTEAD THERE EXISTS NO GUARANTEE FOR THE EFFECTIVE RESPECT OF THE RIGHT TO ASYLUM AND FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS.

[IN SUM] OF A HUMANITARIAN ACTION PLAN THERE IS NO TRACE WHATSOEVER IN THE EU PROPOSAL. INSTEAD A RETHORIC OF COMBATING ‘ILLEGAL’ MIGRATION IS PROPPED UP BY PROPOSITINS FOR RATHER GENERIC POLICING OPERATIONS, COMBINED WITH AN EVER MORE WORRYING STRATEGY OF MILITARY INTERVENTION ACROSS THE MEDITERRANEAN BORDER REGION. RATHER THAN LISTENING TO THE UNHCR TO OPEN LEGAL CHANNELS OF ENTRY, THE EU PREFERS TO DESTROY BOATS, WHICH ONLY LIMITS THE TIME NEEDED FOR HUMANITARIAN INTERVENTION.

FREELY TRANSLATED FROM FULVIO VASALLO PALEOLOGO: http://dirittiefrontiere.blogspot.it