Italy and Spain have expressed apprehensions regarding a surge in irregular immigration to their respective islands this year.
Additionally, Greek waters witnessed Europe’s most tragic shipwreck in recent times in June, resulting in hundreds of migrant deaths.
Germany has implemented border inspections in an effort to dismantle human smuggling networks, following a near 80% hike in asylum applications this year, which poses political challenges for the governing coalition amidst far-right opposition in upcoming local Bavarian elections.
Concurrently, Poland, which is slated for a national election a week after Bavaria, maintains a stance of refusing new Middle Eastern and African arrivals, though it has accommodated millions of Ukrainians fleeing Russian aggression.
Various central and eastern EU nations have also established internal border controls within what is generally a free-travel zone, attributing the move to the necessity to regulate people smuggling and undocumented migrant crossings.
The EU’s leading migration official noted 250,000 such migrant arrivals this year, a figure significantly lower than the over 1 million in 2015, though the issue remains politically charged, with anti-immigrant policies gaining momentum in several EU nations.
The EU, amidst challenges ranging from the COVID pandemic to climate change and geopolitical tensions, will also contemplate its strategic direction after various crises and in light of potential expansions, with countries such as Ukraine and Moldova expressing interest in joining, albeit subject to meeting stringent accession criteria.
Economic, policy, and socio-political adjustments within the EU are under scrutiny to facilitate possible enlargement, while disagreements such as that between Kyiv and Warsaw over Ukrainian grain exports highlight the complexities of incorporating new, especially economically disadvantaged, and conflict-ridden members.
The Italian government aims to reduce the number of repatriations of undocumented migrants, particularly adult migrants who falsely claim to be minors. This is in line with the latest government decree, as reported by the Italian newspaper “Il Messaggero.”
