While the peace continues in the EU after the migration agreements, Hungary’s surprise move and Germany’s border controls are returning. Assoc. Prof. Dr. Başak Yavçan from the Migration Policy Group stated that this situation is not a threat to the Schengen Area, but rather the rise of the far right. It points to new crises within the EU.
BRUSSELS (AA) – SELEN VALENTE –Following Hungary’s statement about sending irregular migrants to Brussels, Germany’s announcement that it would start border controls and the reactions to this announcement have sparked a new migration fight.
The echoes of Hungarian State Minister Gergely Gulyas’ statement on August 22nd about “sending migrants to Brussels with one-way tickets” after the EU Court of Justice imposed a €200 million fine on his country for violating the EU’s migration policy continue.
Hungarian State Secretary Bence Retvari stood before the camera yesterday in front of the Rözske-Brüssel buses on Hungary’s Serbian border, arguing that the EU was forcing his country to take in illegal immigrants. Retvari reiterated that “at the request of the EU” they would send the immigrants to Brussels by putting them on buses with one-way tickets.
Belgian Foreign Minister Hadja Lahbib then commented on her social media account that Hungary’s statement was “a provocation that contradicts Europe’s obligations.” Lahbib shared her assessment that “Migration policy is a common problem that must be addressed regularly and in solidarity by all member states.”
Minister of State for Asylum and Migration Nicole de Moor also stated that her country would not allow migration flows to be used as a policy tool, describing Hungary’s statement as a “threat” and “disrespect for the common policy with EU institutions.”
Brussels Mayor Philippe Close also called on Prime Minister Alexander De Croo to “block these buses at the border.”
Simultaneously, German Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser announced that temporary internal border controls would be introduced at the country’s land borders to limit irregular migration and maintain internal security.
It is noteworthy that this discussion came after the Commission evaluated Hungary’s decision to extend the National Card, which grants entry rights to the Schengen area, to Russian and Belarusian citizens as “a development that could threaten the entire Schengen area”.
Austria has announced that it will not accept any migrants that Germany sends back across its border.
Dutch far-right and Islamophobic leader Geert Wilders, on the other hand, argued that Germany’s decision to introduce border controls was a good idea and that the same should be implemented in his own country.
These developments have raised questions about whether the migration dispute, which was shelved after the agreement on the Migration and Asylum Agreement was reached before the summer holiday break in the EU, will start again after many years, and whether it is a real threat to Schengen or populist policies influenced by the strengthening far-right.
– “Unfortunate for the EU”
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Başak Yavçan, Chief Researcher at the Brussels-based Migration Policy Group, told AA, “In fact, there is no refugee threat in the Schengen area. But in all countries, and in most EU countries, there is a rising concern about migrants.”
Recalling that the decision in Germany came after the terrorist attack in Solingen, Yavçan said, “When the far-right AfD Party made its anti-immigrant rhetoric very vocal, the other parties may have wanted to show a bit of power by showing that they were not silent on this issue and that they could take this agenda upon themselves.”
Yavçan, who stated that “When viewed from the EU perspective, such discourses from Brussels undermine the existing cooperation,” pointed out that the work on the new Migration and Asylum Agreement, which the EU Commission launched in 2019, was only concluded a few months ago.
Yavçan stated, “It is known by everyone that the agreement that has been reached is not perfect. While this is already the case, we can say that making such a start right now, at the very beginning of this agreement, is unfortunate for both the EU and for every country.”
Stating that the border controls of EU countries within Schengen have negative effects not only on the movement of people but also on the movement of commercial products and medical supplies, he said, “This is the basis of the EU; mutual dependency and trade. Today, many people living in Belgium work in Germany.”
Yavçan stated that the EU has a wide range of policies for the integration of immigrants, but member countries adopt an attitude that “hostilizes and demonizes” immigrants at every opportunity, and that the discourses and policies adopted due to a few terrorist or criminal acts are also negative for communities that have already integrated and accepted EU countries as their second homeland.
– EU Commission reminded that it is an “exceptional” measure
Asked about the border controls imposed by the eight Schengen countries (Austria, Denmark, France, Italy, Norway, Sweden and Slovenia), including Germany, EU Commission Spokesperson for Migration Anitta Hipper reminded that this was only a temporary measure of last resort in the event of a serious threat.
In this context, Hipper reported that they were in contact with both German authorities and other countries that had applied for this measure, but did not answer questions about whether the decision was political or whether it was detrimental to the unity of the EU.
Regarding Hungary’s rhetoric about sending migrants “on a one-way ticket to Brussels”, Hipper commented: “This goes against the principle of loyal cooperation with both other member states and EU institutions and is unacceptable.”
In a knife attack held at the “Diversity Festival” held in Solingen, Germany on August 23 to mark the city’s 650th anniversary, two men aged 67 and 56 and a 56-year-old woman lost their lives and eight people were injured, four of them seriously. A Syrian citizen was arrested as a suspect in the incident.
In Germany’s September 1 elections in the eastern states of Saxony and Thuringia, the far-right AfD received a record number of votes.
