Europe’s “largest and most influential” political group is calling for a deportation deal in which European nations can deport illegal immigrants and send them to other countries.
The centre-right European People’s Party’s plan is reminiscent of the UK’s deal with Rwanda, where the UK government plans to pay the African country to accept illegal immigrants from the UK.
The European People’s Party is a key backer of Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, one of the highest officials in the European Union.
von der Leyen herself is a member and patron of the group, which includes dozens of political parties across Europe, many of which are in power in their respective countries.
The group’s manifesto says: ‘We want to implement the concept of safe third countries. Anyone seeking asylum in the European Union could also be transferred to a safe third country and undergo the asylum process there.’
The center-right European People’s Party’s plan is reminiscent of the U.K.’s deal with Rwanda, where the U.K. government pays the African country to accept the nation’s illegal immigrants.
However, despite planning a similar policy, the group has made an effort to distance itself from the UK’s controversial policy towards Rwanda, which has come under severe scrutiny for potentially violating the European Convention on Human Rights.
Rwanda’s asylum seeker policy could allow illegal immigrants the UK sends there to be returned to the country they originally came from.
If this were the case for the illegal immigrants in question, then it would mean that the UK has breached Article 3 of the convention: the right not to be tortured.
Last year, the UK Court of Appeal ruled that there were so many problems with Rwanda’s asylum system that asylum seekers could be forced to return to the country they had fled.
The Supreme Court ended up declaring Rwanda’s policy illegal and to counter this, the Government has attempted to draft new legislation that officially declares Rwanda a safe country.
This would prevent the courts from blocking the Government’s plans, since Rwanda would be a safe country in the eyes of the law.
However, this legislation is currently hampered because the new law is systematically blocked by the House of Lords, which must pass a vote in the House of Commons.
The manifesto of the European People’s Party stresses that “the criteria for safe countries must be in line with the fundamental obligations of the Geneva Convention on Refugees and the European Convention on Human Rights.”
It says that none of the agreements “include the right to freely choose the country of protection.”
The European People’s Party is a Christian Democrat group that believes in using Christian teachings to address political challenges.
It has enormous influence over European decisions, not only because one of its members holds the presidency, but also because of the magnitude of the group.
The group has said in the final draft of its manifesto ahead of European Parliament elections in May that it wants a series of agreements with non-EU countries with a view to deporting illegal immigrants to “safe” countries elsewhere in the world.
The project calling for a fundamental change in European asylum law will be discussed at the EPP’s annual congress in Bucharest on Wednesday.
The European People’s Party is a key supporter of von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, one of the highest officials in the European Union.
The manifesto of the European People’s Party states: ‘We want to implement the concept of safe third countries. Anyone seeking asylum in the European Union could also be transferred to a safe third country and undergo the asylum process there.’
The European People’s Party backs von der Leyen for a second term; However, the tightening of immigration policies may prove to be a challenge for the president in the European Parliament.
As president, she must represent the entire bloc (similar to a monarch who is above politics), not just one group within it, no matter how large.
She will be formally elected as the group’s official candidate for the presidency of the European Commission in a vote to be held in Romania on Thursday.
Sophie in ‘t Veld, a Dutch MEP and lead representative of the liberal Renew group on the parliamentary committee on civil liberties, justice and home affairs, said: “Another nasty piece of red meat from the European People’s Party, aimed at attracting the right votes. .
‘It will not work.
“All that the EPP strategy has achieved in recent years is to make the far right bigger. So if they know it doesn’t work, why do they stubbornly repeat the same tactics every time?