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European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen has embraced a UK-style immigration plan that would force people claiming asylum in the EU to settle outside the union.
The proposal in her centre-right party manifesto for June’s EU elections mirrors London’s deal to send asylum seekers to Rwanda, which suffered a serious setback when the Supreme Court ruled it was not a safe country for them.
Von der Leyen told reporters on Thursday that the EU would not breach international law but declined to name any non-EU country that would be eligible to host such migrants.
“Whatever we do will be in full respect of our obligations under EU and international law. The concept of safe third countries is not new. It is already established in the EU law,” she said.
The Rwanda asylum plan has been one of Rishi Sunak’s most prominent, controversial and problematic policy initiatives; despite several years of trying, the government has been unable to send any claimants to Kigali so far.
Von der Leyen’s manifesto commitment could only be implemented with the support of other political parties since her centre-right European People’s Party will not have a majority in the European parliament.
Party officials have failed to provide any names of countries that would fulfil the criteria. EU asylum law allows for people to be sent to non-EU countries with which they have a “genuine connection” and where they should have filed their original asylum claim.
The manifesto calls for “a fundamental change in European asylum law”, just months after the EU agreed a far-reaching reform of its migration and asylum system following more than seven years of infighting.
“We will conclude agreements with third countries to ensure that asylum seekers can also be granted protection in a civilised and safe way,” says the document, adopted by centre-right parties in all 27 member states.
“Anyone applying for asylum in the EU could also be transferred to a safe third country and undergo the asylum process there. In the case of a positive outcome, the safe third country will grant protection to the applicant on site.”
“The criteria for safe third countries shall be in line with the core obligations of the Geneva Refugee Convention and the European Convention on Human Rights.”
The EU would then set “annual humanitarian quotas of vulnerable individuals” who could settle there.
Italy recently signed a deal with Albania to process applicants in dedicated camps. But those granted asylum would be able to settle in Italy.
The EU and its neighbours received more than 1.1mn asylum applications last year, up by a fifth on 2022. With support for the far right growing before the elections, the EPP are trying to strike a tough stance on immigration.
“People all over Europe are expecting . . . us to reduce the number of illegal migrants,” said Manfred Weber, the EPP president and leader of its parliamentary group.
The European parliament will next week vote on the EU’s asylum and migration reform, which it already agreed with member states in December.
Von der Leyen was elected as the party’s lead candidate for the election with 400 of the 499 ballots cast. Some 737 delegates had voting rights for the election of the EPP lead candidate at the Congress in Bucharest, but not all took part.
Additional reporting: Laura Dubois in Brussels
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