The chairman of the European People's Party (EPP) Manfred Weber has called on the European Union to speed up the creation of migrant return centres in countries outside the bloc, after a new migration crisis in the Spanish city of Ceuta called into question the effectiveness of European external border policy, News.bg reports.
In an author's article for the German newspaper “Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung“ Weber states that migrants who do not have the right to remain on EU territory must be returned. According to him, European policy cannot be based on lengthy procedures and differences between individual member states, but a pan-European solution is needed.
The reason for his appeal is the situation in Ceuta, a Spanish city located on the northern coast of Africa and surrounded by the territory of Morocco. At the end of July, tens of thousands of migrants without a residence permit headed for the city, which caused serious tension on the EU's external border and led to human casualties.
Weber points to Ceuta as an example of how close cooperation between European countries and their neighbors can yield results. According to him, Morocco has taken back people who were stopped and thus were not allowed to continue to the Schengen area.
According to the EPP leader, this model should be expanded at European level. He supports the idea of the EU setting up return centers in Africa, where people who do not have the right to stay in Europe would be directed. In exchange for cooperation, Weber proposes that partner countries be granted closer trade and economic relations, as well as opportunities for legal migration.
This idea fits into the broader European debate on accelerating return procedures. In early June, the European Parliament and the European Council announced new rules that provide for the possibility of people without a right to stay being removed to countries outside the EU through so-called return centers.
Weber also insists that the return process should not depend solely on the political will of individual governments. According to him, if a European country fails to implement a return decision, this weakens the common migration policy and creates differences between member states.
The EPP leader also rejects the idea of permanent internal border controls within the Schengen area being used as a long-term solution. According to him, such measures can be justified in emergency situations, but cannot eliminate the causes of migratory pressure.
Instead, Weber insists on strengthening the protection of the EU's external borders. According to him, it is the common European policy that should be the main instrument for controlling migratory flows, and not a series of national decisions that could have consequences for other member states.
The Ceuta case has also caused a political clash between Spain and other European governments. Among the harshest critics of Spanish migration policy is Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. Rome introduced border controls for travelers from Spain, which in turn led to retaliatory actions by Madrid.
Weber defines the Ceuta crisis as an example of how the decisions of one country can have an impact on the entire European migration system. According to him, political signals sent by national governments can change migration routes and direct new flows to other parts of Europe's external borders.
According to the EPP President, the EU must therefore move towards a more unified system, in which external border controls, asylum procedures and the return of people without a right to stay are part of a common European policy. The idea of partnerships with non-EU countries, including both economic cooperation and opportunities for legal migration, is presented as a way to create incentives for more effective management of migration flows.