We can’t win against the far right by staying silent on immigration, Belgian minister says – POLITICO

Belgium’s Secretary of State for Immigration, Nicole de Moor, says mainstream politicians will continue to support Europe’s growing numbers of migrants, refugees and asylum seekers, despite the expected rise of far-right forces in the European elections. You have to find your own solution. Belgium will preside over Wednesday’s meeting of EU immigration ministers during its six-month tenure as EU Council president.

“I don’t think you can overcome extreme situations by staying silent about the problem. Solving the problem is the solution,” DeMore said. The country has suffered from an asylum crisis in recent years.

For Demore, who is part of a seven-party coalition with very different views on immigration policy, concrete measures are “needed to demonstrate what is needed.” [migration] What the agreement means is what will be different on the ground, as it will soon become clear that this is not just a paper reform, but a reform on the ground. ”

Despite opinion polls showing a surge in support for far-right anti-immigration parties (in Belgium, the far-right Vlaams-Béran party), current efforts on immigration are not in line with June’s Belgian and other European elections. De Moor emphasized that this is something else. leading in public opinion polls). But De Moor said work needed to be done to find a workable solution on migration, as it was important that Europe was able to answer its concerns on the issue.

The asylum system needs to “get back to basics”, she said. “Asylum is there to protect people fleeing war and persecution. But when people see it being used for other reasons, it falls out of favor.”

Belgium wants to start implementing a migration deal brokered by the EU in December as soon as possible after years of political deadlock. The new rules, which still need to be formally ratified, will change the way EU member states restrict the entry and movement of migrants. NGOs agree regulations effective for EU border states seeking assistance in dealing with influx of asylum seekers, as well as other countries where migrants arrive in one EU member state and then claim they have arrived. After years of failed attempts to do so, he sees the December immigration deal as a fundamental shift to the right. Move on to something else.

Demore believes people should be able to seek protection in Europe when they need it. “Any walls or barriers that exist to control access to territory must be accompanied by fair, predictable and just procedures to protect those who need protection,” she said. Ta. “But people who don’t need protection and come for economic reasons cannot just come and enter the country.” [through] It’s the same border. ”

EU migration ministers are expected to consider the next steps in the deal on Wednesday. This political agreement is currently being reviewed by legal experts, after which Mr DeMore hopes to ratify it “as soon as possible”.

The Belgian, who belongs to the center-right Christian Democratic Party of Flanders (CD&V), then wants to turn his political attention to action on the ground. To that end, Belgium will propose an implementation trajectory that includes various stages and pilot projects that “already put into practice some of what needs to be implemented across the bloc, for example in specific locations.”