pic: epthinktank.eu
The European Union’s Commision is finally fully staffed, approved, and ready to get to work. With a vote of 461 for, and 246 against, the commission headed by Ursula von der Leyen was approved by the EU parliament yesterday after an occasionally bruising interview process.
Sweden’s own Ylva Johansson (see this post) officially begins her stint as Commissioner for Employment and Integration – in other words, Migration – one of the most visible and controversial posts in the EU (see this post). She is starting off with getting her boots on the ground in Greece, where she will speak to Greek representatives and NGOs to discuss how they can move forward.
The Greek refugee camp at Moria has been regularly labelled a human rights disaster for its wretched conditions, most recently in a report from EU’s auditors (you can read it for yourself here) describing situations of 16 boys sleeping in a container built for max 10, people and families living in tents in the bush, and more. Although the initial contact regarding asylum is supposed to take place only a few days after arrival, the average time is 218 days for a decision at the first level. Asylum seekers who arrived in 2018 have appointments for 2023.
Greek officials are in the process of closing the camp, and transferring the refugees inland, but nothing is expected to essentially change just because of a new location.
One of the suggestions for an EU-wide migration policy is that countries would pay to not take refugees – in which case a price would be attached to each migrant.
“Not a suggestion I would choose at first go” said Johansson. “What’s been discussed between member countries, that I’ve heard, is that they could contribute in a practical way with personnel or other efforts. That’s perhaps a better track to start discussions on.”
Von der Leyen has gone on record to say that “Migration is a phenomenon that is not going to disappear. Our job in the EU is to develop an overall migration model that is humane and effective. A model that can make us an example for the rest of the world in how migration can be handled” (DN.se/UvdL).
No pressure for Johansson, in other words.