By Susana de Sousa Ferreira On March 3, 2022, the European union made a historic decision for international protection with the approval of the Temporary Protection Directive that applies to Ukrainian citizens fleeing war. The member states have mobilised in an extraordinary way in response to this conflict, implementing a coordinated and unique strategy, focused […]
By Susana de Sousa Ferreira
On March 3, 2022, the European union made a historic decision for international protection with the approval of the Temporary Protection Directive that applies to Ukrainian citizens fleeing war. The member states have mobilised in an extraordinary way in response to this conflict, implementing a coordinated and unique strategy, focused on solidarity towards the forcibly displaced persons of this conflict.
An unprecedented response, on one of the issues that has most divided the European union in this new century: the movements of people who cross state borders. Among them, of course, we find migrations – also irregular ones – and, of course, refugees.
Different Responses
Different solutions have been given to these two phenomena (migration and refugees). In addition, different attitudes have been observed in the treatment given to migrants and refugees from the Middle East and Africa, mainly those who have arrived, and continue to arrive, through the migratory routes of the Mediterranean or the Atlantic, including those fleeing the war of Ukraine but they are from third countries.
This unprecedented humanitarian crisis opens the debate on unequal solidarity on European borders and the protection of the human rights of migrants and refugees.
On the eastern border of the EU, we are witnessing a policy of welcome (Wilkommenspolitik ) towards refugees from Ukraine, in which even the countries of the Visegrad Group (Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic and Slovakia) – traditionally defenders of anti-immigration positions – have changed their rhetoric, and have opened their border crossings.
Meanwhile, in the south, containment policies continue to be implemented that have not hesitated to resort to violence in the face of irregular flows of migrants, such as what was experienced on March 2, 2022, on the Melilla border with Morocco.
But how can we understand these contradictory responses and attitudes within the European union itself?
Beyond the Threat
Political discourses on irregular migration and refugees have focused on identifying these flows predominantly as a security problem. Its character of “uncontrollability” has frequently been highlighted, which could affect internal order (the security of the EU and its member states) or at an identity level (cultural differences and integration problems).
In this sense, irregular migratory flows, particularly those that occur in the maritime environment, have been framed within a logic of securitisation, which has resulted in the adoption of urgent dissuasive measures, by strengthening the border surveillance systems and agreements with third countries. As we have argued, polarised discourses on irregular migration often limit the adoption of a balanced and critical approach.
The Proximity Bias
A recent study by the London School of Economics has identified a set of elements that explain the inclusive attitudes towards refugees from the war in Ukraine and the opposition that is registered against other groups. Although it is true that there is a component of racism towards non-Europeans, the issue is more complex.
On the one hand, we have geographical proximity, together with the perception of cultural and ethnic affinity. On the other, the idea that the Russian invasion represents a clear threat to Europe, as well as the representation of Ukrainians as heroes who defend their homeland against a more powerful military power.
These contradictory responses and attitudes demonstrate the volatility of perceptions and discourses and their impact on the construction of migration and refugee policies.
Does this moment of European cohesion represent the opportunity to advance in the construction of a European policy more focused on humanitarian values?
Rethinking European Solidarity
The pact of the 27 to guarantee temporary automatic protection is a very significant step. It is time to rethink European solidarity – hitherto dominated by nationalist interests and discriminatory government agendas – and advance migration and refugee policy in the EU.
The continuous emergency situation at European borders has left the EU’s New Migration Pact, approved in 2020, a dead letter. A pact that has not been audacious and that reflects outdated policies that do not provide solutions to problems at the borders. A structural framework for migration is needed, which goes beyond border control and security, and containment in neighboring countries and countries of origin.
Human Rights
In this sense, the UN Global Compacts – the Global Compact on Refugees and the Global Compact on Migration – must inspire the EU’s response, since it is in its own interest to establish at Community level the unequivocal obligation to respect, safeguard and promote the intersection between fundamental rights and the protection of refugees collected by the United Nations. However, we cannot forget that the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland have not ratified these pacts.
A vision focused on human security offers an intersectional analysis that enables us to develop cross-cutting strategies and policies that allow us to improve migration management structures, guaranteeing the human rights of migrants, regardless of their status, as well as guaranteed security in European borders.
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