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European leaders will call for toughening migration policies on Wednesday, a move critics say bows to pressure from far-right groups and harms basic human rights protections for vulnerable people.
Ministers of 27 member countries of the European Union are meeting brussels To discuss combating migrant smuggling, with a keynote address by the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyenin Strasbourg, France, representative of Council of Europe Signatories to the key treaties – 46 countries from Iceland to Azerbaijan – are expected to debate making it easier to deport migrants.
denmark It was part of an effort by nine countries last year to reduce the power of the European Court of Human Rights, the independent legal arm of the Council of Europe. Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland argued that the court’s interpretation of rights obligations prevented them from expelling migrants who had committed crimes. That effort ultimately failed, but support for its core principles has since grown.
The European Court of Human Rights handles complaints against the Council of Europe European Convention on Human RightsWhich includes many cases related to migrants and asylum seekers. The intergovernmental organization is not an institution of the European Union and was founded to promote peace and democracy in the wake of World War II.
Centrist and left-wing parties across Europe are uniting around the idea of tougher migration policies to blunt the momentum of far-right politicians seeking to capitalize on discontent over immigration.
The prime ministers of Denmark and Britain published an op-ed in the Guardian newspaper on Tuesday calling for tightening of migration controls to deny entry to those seeking better economic opportunities rather than fleeing conflict.
“For decades, citizens in our countries have demanded action. So we are taking action – not to exploit these issues and stoke grievances, as some do, but to find real solutions,” Mette Frederiksen and Keir Starmer wrote. “The best way to fight against the forces of hate and division is to show that mainstream, progressive politics can fix this problem.”
Illegal border crossings into the EU fell by 22% from January to October this year, according to Frontex, the EU border and coast guard agency. The agency recorded 152,000 unauthorized border crossings in the first 10 months of the year.
Most migration to Europe occurs legally, by air, with some immigrants overstaying tourist visas.
The EU has spent billions of euros (dollars) to curb irregular migration, paying countries in Africa and the Middle East to stop migrants trying to cross the Atlantic to the Mediterranean. At the same time, European countries facing labor shortages and aging populations are in desperate need of more workers and are investing in programs to attract and train foreign workers.
Alain Berset, Secretary-General of the Council of Europe, said before the Strasbourg meeting that the European Convention on Human Rights is “the ultimate safeguard of individual rights and freedoms on our continent.”
“The future of the conference and the direction of Europe are inseparable,” he said.
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Brito reported from Barcelona.