EU
rejects call for security mission in the Balkans
Brussels
and European capitals scramble for solutions ahead of the next
emergency summit on migration.
By JACOPO BARIGAZZI
3/2/16, 5:16 PM CET
“Patience is
running out while populist forces are coming to the fore” —
Donald Tusk
The EU’s
diplomatic arm rejected calls for a security mission in the Western
Balkans to curb the flow of migrants into Europe, saying in a
document obtained by POLITICO it would be inappropriate to intervene
in countries “with strong institutions.”
While the European
External Action Service dismissed the idea of deploying EU troops and
other security personnel to help control refugees, calling it
unworkable, the fact that it was even being considered shows the
lengths to which officials are willing to go to break Europe’s
political deadlock on migration.
In recent weeks
pressure on leaders has increased and rhetoric has heated up as
countries re-impose border checks, abandon commitments on controlling
the flow of refugees, and struggle to deal with the human and
political cost of the crisis.
Officials and
diplomats are still working on several initiatives ahead of the March
7 migration summit, including a push to restore “the full
functioning” of the passport-free Schengen area and a new
commitment announced Wednesday to spend €700 million on
humanitarian aid to help EU member countries, mainly Greece, deal
with the refugee influx.
Austria, whose
hardline stance on migration has put it at odds with other EU
countries, had been pushing for the EU to explore using military and
civilian staff in the Balkans to help identify refugees, screen
migrants and provide humanitarian assistance, according to diplomats,
with an emphasis on the need for a military presence.
The Western Balkans
already have a “solid state control and strong institutions,” the
EEAS wrote.
“The question of
border protection, the question of hotspot[s] is of course also the
question of military cooperation,” Hans Peter Doskozil, Austria’s
defense minister, told the APA news agency in February. A
civil-military mission could be set up quickly, he said, adding that
Austrian soldiers could be deployed to Greece, Serbia or Macedonia.
The EU currently
runs such operations, known as Common Security and Defense Policy
missions, to fight smugglers in the Mediterranean and help tackle
migration problems in Niger. But in the document obtained by
POLITICO, the EEAS said the idea was not an option in the Western
Balkans. In the countries affected by the migration flow, there is
already “solid state control and strong institutions,” and the EU
cannot intervene, the document stated.
The EEAS
acknowledged that EU support may be needed to ensure proper
identification and screening of migrants, but said existing EU plans
and Frontex, the EU’s border agency, “seem to offer more
effective and politically appropriate solutions.” The EEAS document
also noted that “at present no Western Balkan countries have
presented such a request and it seems unlikely that any of them
would.”
Instead, the focus
this week has been on stressing the importance of keeping the
Schengen system of open internal borders and on strengthening control
of external frontiers. According to one official, this is a line on
which Vienna and Brussels may have found common ground.
Frustration
The Commission’s
proposal to shore up the beleaguered Schengen agreement is included
in a new report that diplomats said would be sent to national
capitals ahead of a discussion at Monday’s summit.
A Pashtun Aghan
refugee upon arrival in Serbia after spending a few days in the
Bulgarian forests
The EEAS report says
“steps must be taken” to remedy serious deficiencies on the Greek
external border, calls for an end to the “wave through” approach
some countries have taken to refugees on the move, and warns member
countries that they need to comply with EU law and stick to a
“coordinated approach” to the crisis and avoid the “current
patchwork of unilateral decisions.”
The report also
issues a stark warning about the consequences of Schengen falling
apart. The Commission has estimated that “the full reestablishment
of border controls” within the Schengen area would cost the EU
economy between €7 billion and €18 billion annually.
“Patience is
running out while populist forces are coming to the fore” —
Donald Tusk
European Council
President Donald Tusk hammered the “Back to Schengen” message on
a tour of Balkan capitals this week.
In Austria, which he
called the “eye of the storm” in the migration crisis, Tusk
acknowledged that “the level of frustration” with the EU’s
inability to make progress on the issue is increasing.
“Patience is
running out while populist forces are coming to the fore. Yet it is
precisely in moments like these that we need to keep our cool,”
Tusk said. “I know that restoring effective controls on the borders
is not an easy decision. But the truth is that there is no
alternative to it.”
Monday’s meeting
of EU leaders comes as tensions rise on several fronts. Relations
between Austria and Greece were especially strained last week after
Athens recalled its ambassador to Vienna in protest at moves to make
it more difficult for migrants to head north across Europe.
Arguing between the
two countries bogged down the last summit discussion on migration,
over a dinner of EU leaders two weeks ago — reaching a point at
which Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said he wouldn’t stand
for his country being cordoned off as a camp for refugees if other EU
members along the route sealed off their borders.
Diplomats say they
want to avoid similar scenarios at Monday’s emergency summit — as
well as a scheduled meeting of EU leaders set for March 17. Both of
those upcoming meetings have been described by European leaders, yet
again, as “make or break” for the EU’s effective response to
the migration crisis.
Kalina Oroschakoff
and Hans Joachim von der Burchard contributed to this article.
Sem comentários:
Enviar um comentário