Malta says it can no longer rescue, accept
migrants
EURACTIV.com
with Reuters 10 Apr 2020
Malta can no longer guarantee the rescue
of migrants or allow their disembarkation during the coronavirus emergency, the
Malta government said on Thursday (9 April).
It said the
decision had been taken because its resources were stretched by the enforcement
of measures to halt the spread of the coronavirus, as well as the risk that the
migrants themselves may be carrying the virus.
The announcement
came 24 hours after Italy closed its own harbours, saying its ports could not
longer be considered safe because of the pandemic.
“It is in
the interest and responsibility of such people not to endanger themselves on a
risky voyage to a country which is not in a position to offer them a secure
harbour,” Malta’s government said.
The
decision by Italy and Malta came as the German Sea-Eye migrant aid group said
its rescue vessel Alan Kurdi had picked up 150 people from two wooden boats off
the coast of Libya on Monday. With the two closest European countries closed,
it is unclear where they will be taken.
The Maltese
government said that over the years Malta had been under immense pressure and
had rescued thousands of migrants “with little tangible help”.
The
government also published a statement it is sending to the European Commission,
explaining the situation.
“In the
light of the magnitude of these pressures, it is considered that the Maltese
authorities are not in a position to guarantee the rescue of prohibited
immigrants on board of any boats, ships or other vessels, nor to ensure the
availability of a ‘safe place’ on the Maltese territory to any persons rescued
at sea,” the statement read.
August
28th, 2019
Italy and Malta are not the villains of Europe’s
migration crisis
Since 2018,
Italy and Malta have restricted access to their ports for NGO migrant rescue
vessels. Nadia Petroni writes that while both countries have faced criticism
for this policy, it should be noted that since the 1990s, most EU member states
have erected barriers along their borders to prevent irregular migration. There
is therefore a degree of hypocrisy in other EU states portraying Italy and
Malta as Europe’s ‘black sheep’ over their approach to the issue.
Tensions
within the EU over responsibility for migrants rescued at sea escalated in June
2018 when Italy and Malta effectively closed their ports to NGO migrant rescue
vessels. Although the duty to rescue persons in distress at sea is a
fundamental rule of international law, it is not clear which state is legally
responsible for their disembarkation. In practice, the United Nations
Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) stipulates that the master of a ship
is obliged to rescue persons in distress at sea, yet it does not specify the
procedures for disembarkation of such persons.
Migratory
pressures are not distributed equally across the EU’s member states. Moreover,
recent influxes of irregular migrants to the member states located on the EU’s
southern borders have resulted in tensions between these states and other
member states which are more protected against direct irregular entries. The
former have long complained of the Dublin Regulation’s ‘first country of entry’
rule which puts an unfair ‘burden’ on them, as well as of the lack of solidarity
from other member states to deal with a situation that is entirely due to their
geographical position.
With regard
to the Dublin rules, by establishing state responsibility for the processing of
an asylum request, the assigned member state is required to grant reception
conditions to applicants of international protection including housing, food,
clothing, healthcare and education for minors. According to the OECD, the cost
for processing and accommodating asylum seekers is estimated to be around ten
thousand euros per application for the first year but can be significantly
higher if integration support is provided during the asylum phase. Since the
practice of providing international protection is costly, states have an
incentive to discourage asylum seekers from seeking international protection in
their territories and instead encourage them to do so in other EU member states
with better conditions.
By accident
of geography, member states located on the EU’s external southern borders stand
at the forefront of irregular migration flows from Africa and Asia, thus
carrying a disproportionate ‘burden’. Italy has become one of the primary host
countries of the EU and the EU’s smallest member state, Malta, has had to deal
with high per capita irregular arrivals in recent years. It could be argued,
therefore, that the less affected member states ‘free-ride’ at the expense of
the southern member states when it comes to the distribution of asylum seekers.
Despite
widespread criticism of the Italian and Maltese governments’ decision to close
their ports to NGO migrant rescue vessels, there is not one European government
that currently stands out for its open immigration stance. In practice, all
member states are protecting both their internal and external borders from
irregular migration.
Hence the
hypocrisy of portraying Italy and Malta as Europe’s ‘black sheep’ for having
closed their ports when member states of the EU and the Schengen area have
constructed almost 1,000 km of walls since the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989
to prevent irregular migration. Ten member states (Spain, Greece, Hungary,
Bulgaria, Austria, Slovenia, the UK, Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania) have built
such border walls, with a sharp increase during the 2015 ‘refugee crisis’
involving the creation of seven new barriers. As a result, the EU has gone from
just two walls in the 1990s to fifteen by 2017.
Furthermore,
following the outbreak of the crisis, several Schengen members resorted to
reinstating internal border controls to prevent secondary movements of asylum
seekers from other member states.
Table 1:
‘Temporary’ reintroduction of border control at internal borders
Although
the Schengen Borders Code allows for the temporary reintroduction of border
controls in the case of serious threat to national security, this was the first
time they were reinstated for an extended period. Internal border checks have
effectively been prolonged several times since 2015 and are set to expire on 12
November 2019. Rather than being reintroduced in exceptional circumstances,
internal controls have become the political norm, justified on the grounds of
migration control. This illustrates a lack of solidarity as well as lack of
trust among EU member states, where precedence is given to national over shared
interests.
Solidarity
is one of the critical challenges facing EU asylum and migration policymaking
and is becoming increasingly relevant as divisions and distrust persist among
member states. As long as the principle of solidarity remains voluntary, it is
unlikely that EU member states will pull together and agree on a long-term
strategy, particularly one involving reform of the Dublin system to include a
permanent relocation mechanism that would help member states facing
disproportionate migratory pressure.
So what
does the future hold for this policy domain? Will it continue to be dominated
by the construction of walls and fences as well as permanent controls at
internal borders? And could this lead to the end of Schengen, the most tangible
success of European integration? There is a strong likelihood that EU asylum
and migration policymaking will continue to be characterised by short-term ad
hoc and unilateral measures since most member states perceive no benefits in
developing long-term solutions.
Please read
our comments policy before commenting.
Note: This
article gives the views of the author, not the position of EUROPP – European
Politics and Policy or the London School of Economics.
_________________________________
About the
author
Nadia
Petroni – University of Malta
Nadia
Petroni is a PhD student in International Relations at the University of Malta.
Her research interests focus on the diverse EU policy approaches to irregular
migration and the resulting impact on EU asylum and migration policymaking.
Parliamentary questions
3 July 2020
E-003964/2020
Question
for written answer E-003964/2020
to the
Commission
Rule 138
Bernhard
Zimniok (ID)
Answer in writing
Subject: Entry
of criminals and terrorists posing as refugees
In 2019,
three violent criminals were identified in Italy who had made it to the EU as
illegal migrants aboard a ship belonging to the German organisation Sea-Watch
(https://www.zeit.de/gesellschaft/zeitgeschehen/2019-09/sea-watch-3-libyen-folter-fluechtlinge-carola-rackete).
In early June 2020, an Italian court sentenced each of the three men (two
Guineans and an Egyptian) to 20 years imprisonment after being presented with
evidence of their involvement in various acts of violence in Libyan refugee
camps (1) .
1. How many
similar cases are known to the Commission in which criminals and terrorists
posing as refugees have been brought to the EU by a sea rescue organisation?
2. Does the
Commission see a direct link between sea rescue operations, the rise in terror
attacks in the EU (Brussels, Paris, Berlin, etc.) and the disproportionately
high number of asylum seekers in the criminal statistics (for example in
Germany) (2) ?
3. How does
the Commission intend to provide the residents of EU Member States with sufficient
protection against such perpetrators of violence, terrorists and other
criminals?
https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/E-9-2020-003964_EN.html
2 February 2015
E-001669-15
Question for written answer E-001669-15
to the Commission
Rule 130
Vicky Maeijer (NI)
Subject: More
than 4 000 IS terrorists have entered the EU as ‘asylum-seekers’
https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/E-8-2015-001669_EN.html
On 28
January 2015 the Commission stated, in answer to written questions on IS
terrorists infiltrating refugee camps, that ‘care must be taken not to place
asylum-seekers and terrorists in the same category indiscriminately and without
reason, not only because there are no known cases of terrorist attacks by
asylum-seekers, but also because such considerations may have negative social
consequences.’
Nevertheless,
Islamic State claims to have smuggled more than 4 000 Islamic terrorists into
the European Union among illegal immigrants.(1)
1. Do you
stand by the above statement now that Islamic State itself claims to have
smuggled thousands of its terrorists into the EU among illegal immigrants?2. Do
you still believe in Schengen as part of the solution, and not the problem?
How many
attacks still have to be carried out on European soil before you see sufficient
reason to seal the borders?
'Just wait…'
Islamic State reveals it has smuggled THOUSANDS of extremists into Europe
AN OPERATIVE
working for Islamic State has revealed the terror group has successfully
smuggled thousands of covert jihadists into Europe.
By AARON BROWN
PUBLISHED: 07:27, Wed, Nov 18, 2015 | UPDATED:
08:01, Thu, Nov 19, 2015
The Syrian operative claimed more than 4,000
covert ISIS gunmen had been smuggled into western nations
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The Syrian operative claimed more than 4,000
covert ISIS gunmen had been smuggled into western nations – hidden amongst
innocent refugees.
The ISIS smuggler, who is in his thirties and
is described as having a trimmed jet-black beard, revealed the ongoing
clandestine operation is a complete success.
"Just wait," he smiled.
The Islamic State operative spoke exclusively
to BuzzFeed on the condition of anonymity and is believed to be the first to
confirm plans to infiltrate western countries.
Islamic State, also referred to as IS
and ISIS, is believed to be actively smuggling deadly gunmen across the sparsely-guarded 565-mile
Turkish border and on to richer European nations, he revealed.
They are following the well-trodden route taken
by refugees and migrants fleeing, travelling across the border of Turkey then
on boats across to Greece and through Europe.
There are now more than 4,000 covert ISIS
gunmen "ready" across the European Union, he claimed.
The operative said the undercover infiltration
was the beginning of a larger plot to carry out revenge attacks in the West in
retaliation for the US-led coalition airstrikes.
He said: "If someone attacks me then for
sure I will attack them back."
It’s our dream that there should be a caliphate
not only in Syria but in all the world and we will have it soon, God willing
ISIS operative
Islamic State extremists are taking advantage
of developed nations' generosity towards refugees to infiltrate Europe, he
said.
Refugees were applauded as they arrived in
Germany this weekend having made the journey through Hungary and Austria.
The lethal ISIS gunmen use local smugglers to
blend in and travel amongst a huge tide of illegal migrants flooding Europe.
More than 1.5million refugees have fled into
Turkey alone – desperate to escape the bloodshed in Syria.
From Turkish port cities like Izmir and Mersin,
thousands of refugees venture across the Mediterranean aiming for Italy, he
said.
Then the majority make for more welcoming
nations like Sweden and Germany, turning themselves over to authorities and
appealing for asylum.
An Islamic State fighter brandishes the radical
group's jet-black flag
IG
An Islamic State fighter brandishes the radical
group's jet-black flag
"They are going like refugees," he
said.
Two Turkish refugee-smugglers backed up the
claims made by the ISIS Syrian operative.
One admitted to helping more than ten trained
ISIS rebels infiltrate Europe under the guise of asylum seekers.
He said: "I’m sending some fighters who
want to go and visit their families.
"Others just go to Europe to be
ready."
The Islamic State group has seized control of
huge swathes of Iraq and Syria in the last year
IG
The Islamic State group has seized control of
huge swathes of Iraq and Syria in the last year
The Syrian operative, a former member of his
nation's security forces, said ISIS had ambitious plans ahead.
He said: "It’s our dream that there should
be a caliphate not only in Syria but in all the world," he said "and
we will have it soon, God willing."
The operative agreed to a meeting at the urging
of a former Free Syrian Army gunman who fought alongside him in the war.
The Syrian said he had been granted permission
to attend the meeting by his superior in ISIS — a radical referred to by
members of the group as an "emir."
He said: "There are some things I’m
allowed to tell you and some things I’m not."
During the meeting, the operative said he
believed future attacks would only target Western governments – not civilians.
Although details of terror plot are something
over which he has little control, he claims.
The revelation comes after a spokesperson for
Islamic State earlier this year called on Muslims in the West to carry out
terror attacks.
The informant said he had smuggled people in
amongst migrants
The jihadist told Western followers if they had
the opportunity to "shed a drop of blood" in Western countries – then
they should do so.
Spokesman Abu Mohammed al-Adnani also praised
terror attacks that have happened in Australia, Belgium and France.
He said: "We repeat our call to Muslims in
Europe, the infidel West, and everywhere to target the Crusaders in their home
countries and wherever they find them.
"We will be enemies, in front of God, to
any Muslim who can shed a drop of blood of a Crusader and abstains from doing
that with a bomb, bullet, knife, car, rock or even a kick or a punch."
A Turkish foreign ministry official said
authorities were actively working to clamp down on refugee-smuggling.
He pointed out that since Europe accepts few
refugees through legal channels, the demand for smuggling has increased.
"Illegal migration has been an important
issue and Turkey is effectively fighting against it," the official, who
declined to be named, confirmed.
"Of course the most effective way to put
an end to all these problems would be immediate action by the international
community to solve the Syrian conflict."
When asked about the smuggling of Islamic State
operatives in boats of innocent refugees, the anonymous official said his
government was unaware of the plot.
"We do not have that particular
intelligence," he said.
"Turkey has been taking very tight
measures against [ISIS] with all the capabilities the government has."
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