European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has said the bloc can “learn lessons” from Italy’s controversial policy of processing migrants offshore in Albania, ahead of an EU summit focused on migration.
She made the comments in a letter to member states ahead of the meeting in Brussels on Thursday and Friday, where she said the European Commission would present a new proposal for legislation to increase migrant deportations.
Von der Leyen – who is just starting a second five-year term as head of the European Commission – appears to be responding to pressure on migration from across Europe.
In her letter to member states, she said the return rate of irregular migrants from EU countries is currently only around 20% – meaning the vast majority of people ordered to leave an EU member state do not .
Many simply stay put or move to another country within the bloc, she said.
Member States must all recognize the decisions taken by other EU countries to ensure that “migrants who have a return decision against them in one country cannot take advantage of cracks in the system to prevent return elsewhere”, wrote Von der Leyen.
Her comments come as Italy kicks off its long-awaited plan that will see some of the migrants rescued in the Mediterranean Sea sent to Albania for processing.
Earlier this week, 16 men of Bangladeshi and Egyptian descent were transferred from the migrant hotspot Lampedusa, off the coast of Sicily, to one of two purpose-built centers on the Albanian coast where their asylum claims will be examined.
The centres, costing around 650 million euros, were due to open last spring but were plagued by long delays. They have been paid for by the Italian government and will be operated under Italian law.
They will house migrants while Italy examines their asylum claims. Pregnant women, children and vulnerable people are excluded from the plan.
Political opponents of right-wing Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and several NGOs have criticized Italy’s deal with Albania.
Riccardo Magi, an MP from the left-wing +Europe party, said the Albanian plan was “cruel, useless and expensive”, while NGO Doctors Without Borders said it would “likely result in further damage and human rights violations”.
However, in a speech to MPs on Tuesday, Meloni argued that the plan was “a new, courageous, unprecedented path” that “perfectly reflected the European spirit”.
The implementation and results of the Albania agreement will be closely watched by many EU member states, several of which have tried to respond to the increase in support for far-right parties by toughening their rhetoric and approach to migration .
In recent weeks alone, Germany has reintroduced land border controls, the French government has said it will investigate tightening immigration laws and Poland has announced a plan to temporarily suspend the right to asylum for people who cross the border.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said the controversial move was aimed at stopping Belarus from “destabilizing” Poland by allowing large numbers of migrants into the country.
In France and Germany, gruesome murders led to calls for tougher action on immigration. A Syrian failed asylum seeker stabbed three people to death in Solingen, while a young student was murdered by a Moroccan national near Paris. In both cases, the murders were committed by men who had been served with deportation orders that were not enforced.
Last month, fifteen member states signed a proposal from Austria and the Netherlands to improve the “efficiency” of the deportation system.
