Med Crisis, UK Prime Minister David Cameron says he wants EU reform; it is now time to establish an EU border force of civil and military authorities to combat illegal trafficking of people, EU plans to hold people for 18 months in detention camps before sending them back to home countries, but more needs to be done

Dear All

It cannot have escaped your notice that the borders of the EU aren’t secure; the problem in the Med, bares testimony to that fact. This is a problem that has been exploited by People from Africa are trafficking across the sea illegally, the people aren’t asylum seekers; they are economic migrants involved in a criminal enterprise.

Much has been talked about regarding the humanitarian efforts to save these people, and that is a duty that member states of the EU have been doing at the present moment. However, more needs to be said and addressed regarding arresting them for return to Africa.

Now, the EU commissioner for migration is making plans for the migrants to put in detention camps, but it is clear that a stronger military or multi national border force is needed in the Med. Any ship out the territorial waters of its home nation heading towards the EU should be stopped and searched.    

At present leaked plans suggest that migrants pouring into Europe could be detained in camps for 18 months, normally these people are held for six months, the 18 month detention is said been suggested for ‘non-cooperation’. Once 18 months has elapsed the idea is that the migrants are send home.

David Cameron says political leaders must ‘break the link’ that enables someone to get on a boat in Africa, claim asylum then ‘spend the rest of their lives’ in Europe. Britain is a key destination for migrants.

In places like France at the Channel ports, migrants set up camps as they wait to try and stow away for their attempts to smuggle themselves into Britain. This matter is a running for both the French and British Governments. Now, officers from the National Crime Agency in Britain will join a new ‘intelligence fusion cell’ based in Sicily to help root out the human traffickers.

This should be part of a wider plan of activities in the Med, there needs to be an EU border force which should combine elements of the civil and military authorities developed. Although such a force would met resistance, the sovereign government of an area the force would operate would retain command and control. 

EU commissioner for migration, Dimitris Avramapoulous said:

“To ensure that the illegal migrants will be repatriated effectively they should be detained as a legitimate measure of last resort to avoid the escape of illegal immigrants”.

He added:

“Where there is a reasonable probability of repatriation the prospects of repatriation should not be ruined by a premature end to detention”. As well as the problem in the Med, Hungary also has experienced the problems of illegals passing through it territory as they head west towards the Channel ports. They have vowed to erect a 13ft-high fence along its border with Serbia to stop immigrants entering the EU. The barrier when completed will be 100-miles long. When such measures are being proposed you know that authorities are dealing with a serious crisis which must be sorted, but this isn’t just a Hungarian or Italian problem, this affects the whole of the EU. It should therefore be dealt with as an EU matter, command the same disciplined approach as any other aspect of law enforcement.

Hungarian foreign minister Peter Szijjarto said that Hungary ‘could not wait any longer’ for a solution to the migration crisis. The EU is desperately in need of reform, it would be better if EU Commissioners and MEPs were more pro active in coming up with solutions, illegal migration isn’t just someone ‘hopping over the fence’, it is a matter of national and economic security. It is said that through the Balkans alone 130,000 illegal migrants are expected to pass through by the end of 2015, the trend is increasing.

Mr Szijjarto said plans added:

“Immigration is one of the most serious problems facing the European Union today.”

He is of course absolutely right, the problem in politics is that instead of being concerned by the illegal nature of the criminal enterprise, people use the ‘race card’ to label political opponents as part of their internal domestic power plays to seek public office or advantage.

I have to say that I don’t think having George Osborne’s input into this matter is helpful as Chancellor of the Exchequer, it would be better if this matter was dealt with by the British Foreign Secretary.

If you take David Cameron’s word when he said:

“We need a comprehensive approach … that goes after the criminal gangs, a comprehensive approach where we work with “intelligence fusion cells” in Sicily, where we will be putting people and resources into that.”

Then we need to establish an EU border force rather than some piecemeal approach of sending a few people here and there, placing a ship in the Med, we shouldn’t be responding to a particular problem at a particular time, the overall picture is important.

And that isn’t what is being addressed.

Yours sincerely

George Laird

The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University