Papering over cracks, EU leaders claim summit victory on migration

[rooster59]

Papering over cracks, EU leaders claim summit victory on migration

By Gabriela Baczynska

 

German Chancellor Angela Merkel holds a news conference following the European Union leaders summit in Brussels, Belgium June 29, 2018. REUTERS/Francois Lenoir

 

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - European Union leaders on Friday claimed success in reaching a hard-fought agreement to control immigration but it faced instant criticism as vague, hard to implement and a potential threat to human rights.

 

Irregular migration has fallen steeply since 2015, when more than a million people entered the EU, but polls show it is still a top concern of the EU's 500 million citizens.

 

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Italy's new Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte are under heavy pressure at home to ensure fewer people from across the Mediterranean end up on their soil, and east European leaders are bitterly opposed to taking them in.

 

The summit of all 28 EU leaders almost ended in acrimony as they pulled in opposite directions, met and broke off repeatedly throughout Thursday night, unable to reach agreement until dawn on Friday.

 

They agreed to tighten further the EU's external borders and spend more money on projects in Africa intended to deter migration. But the wording of their joint statement was highly convoluted - a result of their diverging priorities.

 

"Europe decided, even if it takes her time. Europe wants to protect its citizens but also wants to live up to its laws and its history and the protection of the most vulnerable," said French President Emmanuel Macron, who helped seal the deal after nine hours of talks.

 

Merkel has been seeking breathing space in a showdown with her coalition partner, the Bavaria-based Christian Social Union (CSU), who demand tougher controls on immigration.

 

She called the summit agreement a "right step in the right direction".

 

"What we achieved here together is perhaps more than I had expected," the EU's longest-serving leader told reporters.]

 

Conte, who demands that other EU states do far more to help Italy with migrants, hijacked the summit for several hours. He said later he had not promised Merkel Italy would take back people who have reached Germany after passing through Italy.

 

Such "secondary migration" is not supposed to happen under EU rules but has proven unstoppable inside Europe's zone of control-free travel.

 

"EASIEST PART"

 

Conte stormed his first-ever EU summit with an initial threat to block any and all agreements from the gathering - which also touched on trade, security, Brexit and euro zone reform [L8N1TV3AV].

 

That forced the all-night negotiations and won praise from his hardline interior minister in Rome, Matteo Salvini.

 

Eventually, Conte secured language he said meant Italy would no longer be solely responsible for all the people rescued at sea, while Merkel won wording on combating secondary migration, which she needed back in Berlin.

 

The chairman of EU summits since 2014, Donald Tusk, said it was one of the most difficult rounds of talks of his career.

 

"It is far too early to talk about a success. We have managed to reach an agreement," Tusk told a news conference. "But this is in fact the easiest part of the task, compared to what awaits us on the ground, when we start implementing it."

 

Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite admitted it was "a success" that the countries did not fall out with each other completely, while Spain's new Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said it "wasn't the best agreement ... but it was an agreement".

 

Their two countries represent two rival sides of the row. The coastal states on the Mediterranean want their EU peers to take in some new arrivals.

 

The ex-communist states in the EU's east - led by Poland and Hungary - have mostly refused to host any migrants. That upsets wealthy destination countries like Germany as well as the southern countries.

 

The summit agreed any relocation of people across the bloc would only be voluntary, a welcome breakthrough for the easterners. Some diplomats said the compromise made the migration agreement contradictory and weak.

 

The EU offered more money for Syrian refugees in Turkey and EU agreed to seek a broad migration deal with Morocco. A 2016 one with Ankara cut off sea arrivals to Greece.

 

DON'T CALL THEM CAMPS

 

United Nations data shows only about 45,000 people have reached the EU by the sea so far this year, as the bloc has gradually grown more restrictive.

 

At the summit, EU leaders agreed to look into setting up sites around the Mediterranean - both inside and outside the EU - to handle asylum claims and send back those whose requests fail.

 

EU officials insist such places would not amount to "camps".

 

The issue drew quick criticism from the charity Oxfam, which said EU leaders "respond to internal rows by reducing the space for asylum seekers" and "offload their responsibilities to countries outside the EU".

 

To avert such criticism, the EU wants the U.N. agencies for refugees and migration to run such sites.

 

It was a sign of the depth of the EU's divisions over migration that the crisis in Brexit negotiations came far down the summit agenda.

 

Leaders of the other 27 EU countries were united in stepping up the pressure on British Prime Minister Theresa May to overcome rifts in her government and move forward with all-but-stalled talks. There are only nine months to go before Britain leaves the EU.

 

"This is the last call to lay the cards on the table," summit chairman Donald Tusk told reporters.

 

The bloc's chief Brexit negotiator, Michel Barnier, repeated his warning that "time is short".

 

In other summit business, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said he would visit Washington at the end of July in a bid to ease trade tensions after EU leaders pledged to react firmly against protectionism.

 

They also agreed on Friday the ESM bailout fund should play a bigger role in a more integrated euro zone, but left the details of that to December and difficult issues like a euro zone budget or deposit insurance for an undefined future.

 

Deeper euro zone integration has been championed by Macron since his election last year, but has run into opposition from Germany and its allies, wary of sharing more responsibility with other governments.

 

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2018-06-30

[The Renegade]

1 hour ago, rooster59 said:

Papering over cracks, EU leaders claim summit victory on migration

Yes indeed.

 

And now reality is starting to hit home.

 

Less than 12 hours after this great deal was struck.

 

Quote

Migrant crisis: EU leaders split over new migrant deal

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-44660806

 

Nothing more than fudge to save Merkel's Political @rse.

[bert bloggs]

They have really agreed nothing , already its looking as back to the way it was before the meeting .

[swanny321]

 

  Anti-Christ.

[Andrew65]

3 hours ago, bert bloggs said:

They have really agreed nothing , already its looking as back to the way it was before the meeting .

...it sounds like they couldn't agree, or collectively sign-off on what had been pre-agreed (by some)!?

 

Together with Italian financial woes, immigration could be an existential crisis for the EU, the same issue that was the biggest influence in the Brexit vote. Frau Merkel couldn't have timed more badly her invitation to all & sundry to come to the EU, in the run-up to the Brexit campaign.

 

Part of the problem being, this was perceived by many as Berlin making decisions that should have been made in Brussels, an indication of who really calls the shots in the EU

[Baerboxer]

6 hours ago, The Renegade said:

Yes indeed.

 

And now reality is starting to hit home.

 

Less than 12 hours after this great deal was struck.

 

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-44660806

 

Nothing more than fudge to save Merkel's Political @rse.

 

Indeed.

 

It will be interesting to see how the German Interior Minister and his party react. Italy's PM has saying very clearly that Italy will not take any illegal migrants that enter Germany back.

 

All just political BS to make it sounds as though they achieved something. No one is gonna be fooled anymore.

[Baerboxer]

3 hours ago, Andrew65 said:

...it sounds like they couldn't agree, or collectively sign-off on what had been pre-agreed (by some)!?

 

Together with Italian financial woes, immigration could be an existential crisis for the EU, the same issue that was the biggest influence in the Brexit vote. Frau Merkel couldn't have timed more badly her invitation to all & sundry to come to the EU, in the run-up to the Brexit campaign.

 

Part of the problem being, this was perceived by many as Berlin making decisions that should have been made in Brussels, an indication of who really calls the shots in the EU

 

Agree with you. She does seem to think she's Chancellor of the EU! But to be fair there was quite a lot of Germans unhappy that she made that decision without any reference to the German parliament too. Perhaps her old East German habits coming out.

[Grouse]

9 hours ago, rooster59 said:

The ex-communist states in the EU's east - led by Poland and Hungary - have mostly refused to host any migrants. That upsets wealthy destination countries like Germany as well as the southern countries.

Yes it is certainly a tough nut to crack. I'm impressed how the EU is holding together a tackling this through discussion and negotiation. I am appalled at the way former communist countries have reacted after all the benefits they have derived.

[aright]

6 minutes ago, Grouse said:

Yes it is certainly a tough nut to crack. I'm impressed how the EU is holding together a tackling this through discussion and negotiation. I am appalled at the way former communist countries have reacted after all the benefits they have derived.

Are you suggesting that the price of benefits is they should abandon their principles. Was this explained to them when they joined?  

[Grouse]

6 minutes ago, aright said:

Are you suggesting that the price of benefits is they should abandon their principles. Was this explained to them when they joined?  

Club rules were explained. I would have expected the former Warsaw Pact countries to have been rathermore magnanimous in view of what their people have gained. Italy would have been grateful if they had shared a modest amount of the load

[aright]

7 minutes ago, Grouse said:

Club rules were explained. I would have expected the former Warsaw Pact countries to have been rathermore magnanimous in view of what their people have gained. Italy would have been grateful if they had shared a modest amount of the load

I haven't seen any club rules cited as a result of their views.Magnanimity has nothing to do with it . The Warsaw countries were accepted as members because of what they had to offer not because of what they were prepared to loose, once in. If you want to use the argument "gratitude for benefits ", consider the euro, Germany could do much more financially.  

[simple1]

14 hours ago, aright said:

I haven't seen any club rules cited as a result of their views.Magnanimity has nothing to do with it . The Warsaw countries were accepted as members because of what they had to offer not because of what they were prepared to loose, once in. If you want to use the argument "gratitude for benefits ", consider the euro, Germany could do much more financially.  

Countries signing up to EU membership are required to meet their clearly documented obligations. After admittance to the EU and then unilaterally refusing to comply to certain regulation is deceit for which penalties should apply. Some background...

 

https://ec.europa.eu/home-affairs/what-we-do/policies/asylum_en

 

 

 

[The Renegade]

1 hour ago, simple1 said:

Countries signing up to EU membership are required to meet their clearly documented obligations. After admittance to the EU and then unilaterally refusing to comply to certain regulation is deceit for which penalties should apply. Some background...

 

https://ec.europa.eu/home-affairs/what-we-do/policies/asylum_en

 

 

 

Why are you posting links about Asylum Seekers ?

 

That ship has long sailed.

 

What EU rules did Countries sign up to pertaining to a mass influx of Economic Migrants ?

[simple1]

1 minute ago, The Renegade said:

Why are you posting links about Asylum Seekers ?

 

That ship has long sailed.

 

What EU rules did Countries sign up to pertaining to a mass influx of Economic Migrants ?

Nonsense. All 'migrants' are legally entitled to be treated as asylum seekers, until their claims have been assessed and status finalised. However, there are now some EU countries who are about to or have enacted domestic laws to refute their prior EU / international obligations.

 

Regrettably we face the prospect of breakdown of the global rules based order imposed by nationalist populist governments with the possibility of grief and pain i.e. armed conflict.

[candide]

13 minutes ago, The Renegade said:

Why are you posting links about Asylum Seekers ?

 

That ship has long sailed.

 

What EU rules did Countries sign up to pertaining to a mass influx of Economic Migrants ?

Yes it is as asylum seekers that they are allowed to stay for a certain time until their file is assessed. Actually the European regulation just applies the 1951 Geneva refugee convention. Countries that have ratified the Refugee Convention are obliged to protect refugees that are on their territory, in accordance with its terms.

So in order to change it, each European country would have to withdraw from the Geneva convention.

The problem in the EU is where to host these refugees, in order to relieve the bordering countries such as Italy or Greece from this burden.

About the Warsawa countries, they have been benefiting for years from the solidarity of other member states, and when asked to show solidarity, don't want to.

[The Renegade]

7 minutes ago, simple1 said:

Regrettably we face the prospect of breakdown of the global rules based order imposed by nationalist populist governments with the possibility of grief and pain i.e. armed conflict.

???

 

Yes, of course. How remiss of me to not see this.

 

The whole world plays by the same set of rules. 

 

Do you ever leave your house ??

[Grouse]

This is a difficult, almost intractable, problem. With all the usual negativity surrounding anything concerning the EU, I don't hear any good ideas; or any ideas at all. To me there are two distinct but convoluted issues. There will be increasing tidal moves of economic migrants from developing countries. The refugee issue is a separate matter. Clearly EU borders must be tightened and the cost of this needs to be borne by all EU countries are proportionately. Refugees, after being accepted as such, must be distributed proportionately. Countries not prepared to share the load should be suspended from the EU.

[bert bloggs]

39 minutes ago, Grouse said:

This is a difficult, almost intractable, problem. With all the usual negativity surrounding anything concerning the EU, I don't hear any good ideas; or any ideas at all. To me there are two distinct but convoluted issues. There will be increasing tidal moves of economic migrants from developing countries. The refugee issue is a separate matter. Clearly EU borders must be tightened and the cost of this needs to be borne by all EU countries are proportionately. Refugees, after being accepted as such, must be distributed proportionately. Countries not prepared to share the load should be suspended from the EU.

Well "those not prepared to share the load should be suspended from the E.U" well thats the end of the E.U sorted . ?

 

[The Renegade]

3 minutes ago, bert bloggs said:

Well "those not prepared to share the load should be suspended from the E.U" well thats the end of the E.U sorted . ?

 

That sums up the EU in a nutshell ??

[The Renegade]

Appropriate ??

 

[aright]

14 minutes ago, Grouse said:

 Refugees, after being accepted as such, must be distributed proportionately. Countries not prepared to share the load should be suspended from the EU.

Does this only apply to political refugees or all refugees? If it's all refugees it's tantamount to declaring an invitation; an open doors policy. Why should non compliance produce suspension? I'm sure membership terms didn't include a requirement to accommodate a Commission determination as to the number of refugees you must accept. Suspension would of course then increase the numbers burden on those agreeable to the intake.

Back to the drawing board dear boy.

 

[Grouse]

5 hours ago, bert bloggs said:

Well "those not prepared to share the load should be suspended from the E.U" well thats the end of the E.U sorted . ?

 

So what would you suggest as an equitable solution, smart Alec?

[Grouse]

5 hours ago, The Renegade said:

That sums up the EU in a nutshell ??

Indeed; a club of civilised people. Are you here to meet a member? Who shall I say is visiting?

[Grouse]

5 hours ago, aright said:

Does this only apply to political refugees or all refugees? If it's all refugees it's tantamount to declaring an invitation; an open doors policy. Why should non compliance produce suspension? I'm sure membership terms didn't include a requirement to accommodate a Commission determination as to the number of refugees you must accept. Suspension would of course then increase the numbers burden on those agreeable to the intake.

Back to the drawing board dear boy.

 

I'll go with what ever was agreed at Geneva.

 

Any other ideas?

[Grouse]

So none of our illustrious interlocutors have any ideas what to do. At all.....

[aright]

6 minutes ago, Grouse said:

I'll go with what ever was agreed at Geneva.

 

Any other ideas?

Geneva?  Are we at war?

[Grouse]

9 minutes ago, aright said:

Geneva?  Are we at war?

Could be The Hague?

 

http://www.unhcr.org/3b66c2aa10.pdf#zoom=95

[aright]

29 minutes ago, Grouse said:

So none of our illustrious interlocutors have any ideas what to do. At all.....

Why ask us the EU decided last week the way forward and as a loyalist I am sure you signed up to it.

 

As I recollect the EU plans to set up migrant centers in member states on a voluntary basis. To date I have not read  of any countries doing the volunteering but I am sure when they realise this is a human rights issue they will flock to the cause.

No agreement could be reached however on the real issue refugee quotas. I'm sure this is in hand and an agreement will be reached soon.

Spain’s new prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, has welcomed the migration deal, saying the EU is “starting to head in the right direction”.

Mutti had very little to say mainly because she is no longer a power broker, more a charity case.

Don't worry. It's all under control.

[Grouse]

5 hours ago, aright said:

Why ask us the EU decided last week the way forward and as a loyalist I am sure you signed up to it.

 

As I recollect the EU plans to set up migrant centers in member states on a voluntary basis. To date I have not read  of any countries doing the volunteering but I am sure when they realise this is a human rights issue they will flock to the cause.

No agreement could be reached however on the real issue refugee quotas. I'm sure this is in hand and an agreement will be reached soon.

Spain’s new prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, has welcomed the migration deal, saying the EU is “starting to head in the right direction”.

Mutti had very little to say mainly because she is no longer a power broker, more a charity case.

Don't worry. It's all under control.

I'm just saying that it is obviously a difficult situation. Easy to throw brickbats but much more difficult to resolve

[aright]

4 hours ago, Grouse said:

I'm just saying that it is obviously a difficult situation. Easy to throw brickbats but much more difficult to resolve

I'm just saying the EU has been hopeless resolving this problem and part of the reason is they speak with one voice for all member states. Better, imo, to forget EU rules and let member states handle migration pressures, within their own borders, to their own satisfaction. Brussels seems determined to erect fences, create detention centers, etc which only cause erosion of the EU legal order as people take matters into their own hands. Even the most reasonable people are not blind to the increase of squalid camps in their train stations and ports. This puts at risk free movement and will make the Schengen zone vulnerable.

In next years elections I think Mr Macron needs to be seriously worried about Ms Penn. How long will it be before Eurosceptic parties in all member states start EU wide realignment?