Refugee crisis: EU governments set to back new detention measures

Documento a que o “The Guardian” teve acesso refere a construção de campos para refugiados na Grécia, em Itália e fora do espaço da União Europeia, com financiamento garantido por Bruxelas. A ideia é manter a crise às portas da Europa

Quotas? Quais quotas? O conselho extraordinário de ministros da Justiça e Assuntos Internos deverá ter deixado de lado o debate em torno da fixação de um número mínimo e obrigatório de refugiados a acolher por casa país, optando pela construção de campos de acolhimento em Itália e na Grécia, mas também fora do espaço da União Europeia, noticia o “The Guardian”. A ideia é clara: travar a vaga de migrantes vindos do oriente que nas últimas semanas procuram refúgio, sobretudo na Alemanha.

Os ministros deverão ainda recusar a proposta da Comissão Europeia para distribuir os refugiados por 22 Estados-membros, aprovando linhas de financiamento de longo prazo para a construção dos tais campos de refugiados fora da UE.

Num documento preparatório do encontro desta segunda-feira de tarde em Bruxelas, elaborado por diplomatas e ao qual o “The Guardian” teve acesso, os centros de acolhimento na Grécia e em Itália deverão ser concedidos para “acolher temporariamente os refugiados”, enquanto são identificados, registados e recolhidas as suas impressões digitais.

No documento em causa refere-se ainda que os pedidos de asilo devem ser analisados rapidamente e que todos aqueles que vejam os seus requerimentos indeferidos serão deportados de imediato.

“É crucial que mecanismos robustos estejam rapidamente operacionais em Itália e na Grécia para garantir a identificação, registo e recolha de impressões digitais dos migrantes; para identificar todos aqueles que necessitem de proteção internacional e apoio na sua recolocação; e para identificar imigrante ilegais a deportar de imediato”, pode ler-se no documento, em que se prevê igualmente a criação de “equipas de intervenção rápida”, as quais deverão ser enviadas para “fronteiras externas sensíveis”.

in EXPRESSO

Refugee crisis: EU governments set to back new detention measures

Brussels meeting is also expected to water down demands that at least 22 countries accept obligatory quotas for refugees

Ian Traynor in Brussels

Monday 14 September 2015 14.09 BST / http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/sep/14/refugee-crisis-eu-governments-set-to-back-new-internment-camps

EU governments are expected to back radical new plans for the detention of “irregular migrants”, the creation of large new refugee camps in Italy and Greece and longer-term aims for the funding and building of refugee camps outside the EU to try to stop people coming to Europe.

A crunch meeting of EU interior ministers in Brussels, called to grapple with Europe’s largest refugee crisis since the second world war, was also expected to water down demands from the European commission, strongly supported by Germany, for the obligatory sharing of refugees across at least 22 countries.

A four-page draft statement, prepared on Monday morning by EU ambassadors before the ministers met, focused on “Fortress Europe” policies amid increasing confusion as a number of countries set up border controls in the Schengen free-travel area that embraces 26 countries.

The draft statement, obtained by the Guardian, said “reception facilities will be organised so as to temporarily accommodate people” in Greece and Italy while they are identified, registered, and finger-printed. Their asylum claims are to be processed quickly and those who fail are to be deported promptly, the ministers say in the draft statement.

“It is crucial that robust mechanisms become operational immediately in Italy and Greece to ensure identification, registration and fingerprinting of migrants; to identify persons in need of international protection and support their relocation; and to identify irregular migrants to be returned.”

The Europeans are to set up “rapid border intervention teams” to be deployed at “sensitive external borders”. Failed asylum seekers who are expected to try to move to another EU country from Greece or Italy can be interned, the statement says.

“When voluntary return is not practicable and other measures on return are inadequate to prevent secondary movements, detention measures ... should be applied.”

The European commission demanded last week that at least 22 EU countries accept a new system of quotas for refugees, with 160,000 redistributed from Greece, Italy and Hungary under a binding new system.

Germany is insisting on the binding nature of the proposed scheme and its unilateral decision on Sunday to re-establish national border controls within the Schengen area was widely seen as an attempt to force those resisting mandatory quotas to yield. The resistance is strongest in eastern and central Europe.

The draft says ministers are “committed” to sharing the 160,000, but made no mention of the system being obligatory, said no formal decision on the matter would be taken until next month and appeared to dilute the commission’s call by describing it as “the basis” for a decision, which would also pay “due regard to the flexibility that could be needed by member states in the implementation of the decision, in particular to accommodate unforeseen developments”.

In the medium-term, the draft says, the EU should aim at funding and building refugee camps outside Europe and that failed asylum-seekers could be sent from Europe to these camps, which would not be in their countries of origin.

The EU should aim “at developing safe and sustainable reception capacities in the affected regions and providing lasting prospects and adequate procedures for refugees and their families until return to their country of origin is possible”.

EU governments would then be “in a position to find asylum applications of these persons inadmissible on safe third country grounds ... after which swift assisted return can follow”.