THE EU FIGHT AGAINST MIGRANT SMUGGLING IS FAILING MIGRANTS
The renewed EU action plan against migrant smuggling (2021-2025), presented by the European Commission at the end of September, risks exacerbating all the reasons why migrant smuggling happens in the first place. The Action Plan furthers common misconceptions about migrant smuggling and uses them to justify measures that are actually counterproductive and harm the fundamental rights of migrants. Crucially, it fails to recognise that restrictive migration policies often incentivise smuggling activities: the more limited the regular pathways, the more people will be forced to rely on smugglers to access Europe. In line with such biases, the Plan focuses on stemming irregular migration through stepping up returns, and on increasing pressure on third countries to prosecute and punish smugglers, with little consideration for basic safeguards. Read more in our blog.
One year after the European Commission presented the 2020 EU Migration Pact, several migration policies are currently being negotiated in the European Parliament. In two recent Briefing Papers, we analyse two proposed reforms: the proposal to link asylum and return procedures, which risks closing access to national-level residence permits for people who don’t qualify for international protection, and provisions around the criminalisation of solidarity with migrants. For more about what the Migration Pact means for migrants arriving to and living in Europe, check out our latest Frequently Asked Questions.
THE EU FIGHT AGAINST MIGRANT SMUGGLING IS FAILING MIGRANTS
The renewed EU action plan against migrant smuggling (2021-2025), presented by the European Commission at the end of September, risks exacerbating all the reasons why migrant smuggling happens in the first place. The Action Plan furthers common misconceptions about migrant smuggling and uses them to justify measures that are actually counterproductive and harm the fundamental rights of migrants. Crucially, it fails to recognise that restrictive migration policies often incentivise smuggling activities: the more limited the regular pathways, the more people will be forced to rely on smugglers to access Europe. In line with such biases, the Plan focuses on stemming irregular migration through stepping up returns, and on increasing pressure on third countries to prosecute and punish smugglers, with little consideration for basic safeguards. Read more in our blog.
One year after the European Commission presented the 2020 EU Migration Pact, several migration policies are currently being negotiated in the European Parliament. In two recent Briefing Papers, we analyse two proposed reforms: the proposal to link asylum and return procedures, which risks closing access to national-level residence permits for people who don’t qualify for international protection, and provisions around the criminalisation of solidarity with migrants. For more about what the Migration Pact means for migrants arriving to and living in Europe, check out our latest Frequently Asked Questions.