The sky is black over Luxembourg and is at least leaden on the future of the Schengen area. At the meeting of the Interior Ministers of the old continent, Europe is on stage, frightened by the return of terrorism and what the worsening of the war in the Middle East could bring. “The Schengen agreement is not dead but broken”, state Germany and Austria, while EU Commissioner for Internal Affairs Ylva Johansson can only certify that the return of border controls “damages freedom of movement”. And it is to avoid all this that Brussels wants to accelerate what is now “a priority, the assisted voluntary repatriations of irregulars who are a threat to security”. The first Internal Affairs Council since the outbreak of the war between Israel and Hamas sees its agenda turned upside down. Before the 27-member meeting, nine member countries, at the invitation of Sweden, meet for breakfast to take stock of anti-terrorism measures. They are, for the most part, the so-called Dublining countries (France, Belgium and Holland participate among others), i.e. those that have long been asking that the States of first arrival not let migrants pass without registering them. There is a fact, in fact, that worries the capitals of the North: Abdesalem Lassoued, the Brussels killer, “had been in the EU illegally for 12 years”, recalls Johansson. “The issue concerns the Dublin system, information exchanges, border controls,” observes Swedish minister Gunnar Strommer. The shadow of a new clash between Northern and Southern Europe appears again on the horizon with the worsening of the succession of notifications on Schengen suspensions that various member countries are sending or will send to Brussels. “There may be a domino effect,” explains Croatian minister Davor Božinović.
Video Tajani: ‘Check the border with Slovenia and be on guard against those who become radicalised’
The Meloni government has already sent that notification – regarding the border with Slovenia. But “I specified to the EU that it is a measure that promises to be temporary, proportionate”, underlines Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi. On November 2, in Trieste, the owner of the Interior Ministry will see his counterparts from Croatia and Slovenia precisely to increase the level of coordination. “Rome guarantees the normal flow of cross-border workers”, is the recommendation of the representative of Ljubljana, Boštjan Poklukar, who bitterly reminds reporters of the “unbearable” pandemic period. Faced with this picture, the EU is, for now, aiming for a solution: repatriating suspected jihadists as soon as possible. On Friday, upon convocation of the repatriation coordinator, an ad hoc meeting will take place with the high-level group representing all 27. Brussels wants to eliminate the discretion of member countries and speed up agreements with third countries. The model remains the Tunisian one because – underlines Johansson – so far the collaboration has been good and illegal departures, in a month, have dropped “by 80%”. In the meantime, the pressure from the EU Council on the Eurochamber is increasing to take the negotiating position on the rules on repatriations, which are stuck in the commission due to the reservations expressed so far by the People’s Party. The objective of the Commission and the Council is to close the negotiations on returns and the Migration Pact within the Spanish semester. “After the technical issues for implementation” before the European Championships they risk not being there, is the warning from Madrid. At the working lunch, behind closed doors, the ministers focused on the various aspects of the war in the Middle East, including that of the hostages (several are originally from the old continent) and the Europeans still blocked in Gaza. The objective, on this second point, is to increase the pressure on Egypt to ensure that they leave the Strip. But the EU navigates by sight, repeating the need for de-escalation to every interlocutor.
EU: ‘Border controls damage freedom of movement’
“There are many challenges that the Schengen area faces, internal controls are one of them because even if justified by serious things, they damage freedom of movement.” EU Commissioner for Internal Affairs Ylva Johansson said this at a press conference in Luxembourg. “Compared to the past, however, there is more dialogue with member states, more coordination, more joint operations and fewer people who are stuck” at the border.
Commander of the Carabinieri ROS: ‘Serious threats but don’t create alarmism’
Threats “must always be taken very seriously, because in the past there have been cases of participation in terrorist attacks by individuals who entered Italy illegally. There is no need to create alarmism, but these issues must be addressed carefully: we have efficient police structures that are able to perceive the risk and in that case the level of attention is raised”. Pasquale Angelosanto, commander of the Carabinieri ROS, said this on the sidelines of the ‘Safety and Health’ conference in the Agazio Menniti Aula Magna of the San Camillo, in Rome.
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2023-10-19 17:47:00
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