Read news from:
Austria
SHARE
COPY LINK
OPINION - BREXIT

EUROPEAN UNION

‘A united Europe benefits both Britain and Sweden’

Sweden's Foreign Minister Margot Wallström argues that a 'Remain' vote in the forthcoming British EU referendum would benefit both Britain and Sweden.

Published: 10 May 2016 00:59 CEST
'A united Europe benefits both Britain and Sweden'
Margot Wallström calls for a united Europe. Photo: Marcus Ericsson/TT

The future of the EU is uncertain. This is apparent both from the referendum in the UK and the inability of EU member states to deal with the refugee crisis. But it would be wrong to talk about a divided Europe. Thanks to the EU, Europe is united. This has fostered peace, prosperity and solidarity between the 28 Member States. We must talk about a united Europe.

In times of crisis it is also important to remember the EU’s success stories. The EU is the world’s largest donor of aid, the world’s largest integrated economy and accounts for nearly a third of global trade. The EU’s consensus on sanctions against Russia, the EU’s role in the negotiations with Iran, and the EU’s commitment ahead of COP21 are good examples of successful joint action. Through cooperation at the EU level, we are taking joint responsibility for climate and environment issues. No single country in Europe can meet the challenges of a globalised world alone.

Having said that, we must have a dialogue among the member states about our common values. The refugee crisis has weakened the bonds uniting the EU. One effect of this is that it has become more difficult to assert universal values in other parts of the world. We must talk about these issues in the EU, even if we start out from different positions. It is up to us national politicians to take responsibility and to dare to stand up for the common decisions made in Brussels. We – not ‘they’ – are the EU.

Time and again, EU enlargement has proved the most important instrument for peace, growth and prosperity in Europe. The eastern enlargement of the EU in 2004 brought more than 500 million people into the EU’s internal market. This has tangible advantages in everyday life. It means that we citizens can live, travel, study, work, seek care and retire in any EU country we wish. The common market helps to create jobs and gives us an increased supply of goods and services at better prices. Right now, roaming charges are being phased out thanks to persevering efforts at EU level.

Free movement and common regulatory frameworks have enabled Swedish companies to grow beyond national borders. Over two thirds of Sweden’s trade today is with countries in the internal market. The economic benefits of the internal market are one of several strong reasons why we hope that the people of the UK will vote to stay in the EU. It is to the UK’s and the EU’s advantage alike. Moreover, we want to carry on working with the UK to make the EU a stronger foreign policy actor.

One important element is to strengthen the EU’s social dimension. With almost 25 million people in the EU unemployed, workers’ rights are under severe pressure. Now that Europe’s economies are slowly recovering from the crisis years, social cohesion and welfare must also be strengthened. We are pleased that the Commission has put this issue on the agenda and has asserted the principle of equal pay for equal work. Sweden’s leading role in these issues is confirmed by the appointment of our former Minister for Finance, Allan Larsson, as President Juncker’s Special Adviser for the European Pillar of Social Rights.

In a social Europe, growth and social progress are mutually reinforcing. Fair conditions and high employment rates are key to sustainable economic development in Europe. If women participated in the labour market to the same extent as men, the EU’s GDP could increase by 12 per cent by 2030. The social summit planned in Sweden in 2017 will provide vital impetus in driving these issues forward.

The development of Swedish welfare is intimately bound up with European integration. On our own, Sweden cannot solve the challenges of our time. Sweden will take a central and proactive part, together with our EU partners, in tackling the challenges we face. We need a strong, unified and cohesive Union.

This is a translation of an article written by Margot Wallström, Sweden’s Foreign Minister, which was first published by Göteborgs Posten.

IMMIGRATION

Border centres and ‘safe’ states: The EU’s major asylum changes explained

UPDATE: The EU parliament has adopted a sweeping reform of Europe's asylum policies that will both harden border procedures and force all the bloc's 27 nations to share responsibility.

Published: 8 April 2024 09:42 CEST
Updated: 11 April 2024 10:29 CEST
Border centres and 'safe' states: The EU's major asylum changes explained

The parliament’s main political groups overcame opposition from far-right and far-left parties to pass the new migration and asylum pact — enshrining a difficult overhaul nearly a decade in the making.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen hailed the vote, saying it will “secure European borders… while ensuring the protection of the fundamental rights” of migrants.

“We must be the ones to decide who comes to the European Union and under what circumstances, and not the smugglers and traffickers,” she said.

EU governments — a majority of which previously approved the pact — also welcomed its adoption.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Greece’s migration minister, Dimitris Kairidis, both called it “historic”.

French President Emmanuel Macron said Europe was acting “effectively and humanely” while Italian Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi hailed what he termed “the best possible compromise”.

But there was dissent when Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban derided the reform as “another nail in the coffin of the European Union”.

“Unity is dead, secure borders are no more. Hungary will never give in to the mass migration frenzy! We need a change in Brussels in order to Stop Migration!” Orban said in a post on social media platform X.

For very different reasons, migrant charities also slammed the pact, which includes building border centres to hold asylum-seekers and sending some to outside “safe” countries.

Amnesty International said the EU was “shamefully” backing a deal “they know will lead to greater human suffering” while the Red Cross federation urged member states “to guarantee humane conditions for asylum seekers and migrants affected”.

The vote itself was initially disrupted by protesters yelling: “The pact kills — vote no!”, while dozens of demonstrators outside the parliament building in Brussels held up placards with slogans decrying the reform.

The parliament’s far-left grouping, which maintains that the reforms are incompatible with Europe’s commitment to upholding human rights, said it was a “dark day”.

It was “a pact with the devil,” said Damien Careme, a lawmaker from the Greens group.

Border centres

As well as Orban, other far-right lawmakers also opposed the passage of the 10 laws making up the pact as insufficient to stop irregular migrants they accuse of spreading insecurity and threatening to “submerge” European identity.

Marine Le Pen, the figurehead of France’s far-right National Rally, complained the changes would give “legal impunity to NGOs complicit with smugglers”.

She and her party’s leader who sits in the European Parliament, Jordan Bardella, said they would seek to overturn the reform after EU elections in June, which are tipped to boost far-right numbers in the legislature.

The pact’s measures are due to come into force in 2026, after the European Commission first sets out how it would be implemented.

New border centres would hold irregular migrants while their asylum requests are vetted. And deportations of those deemed inadmissible would be sped up.

The pact also requires EU countries to take in thousands of asylum-seekers from “frontline” states such as Italy and Greece, or — if they refuse — to provide money or other resources to the under-pressure nations.

Even ahead of Orban’s broadside, his anti-immigration government reaffirmed Hungary would not be taking in any asylum-seekers.

“This new migration pact practically gives the green light to illegal migration to Europe,” Hungary’s Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said before the vote, adding that Budapest “will not allow illegal migrants to set foot here in Hungary”.

‘EU solidarity’

German’s Scholz said on X that the accord stands for “solidarity among European states” and would “finally relieve the burden on those countries that are particularly hard hit”.

One measure particularly criticised by migrant charities is the sending of asylum-seekers to countries outside the EU deemed “safe”, if the migrant has sufficient ties to that country.

The pact resulted from years of arduous negotiations spurred by a massive inflow of irregular migrants in 2015, many from war-torn Syria and Afghanistan.

Under current EU rules, the arrival country bears responsibility for hosting and vetting asylum-seekers and returning those deemed inadmissible. That has put southern frontline states under pressure and fuelled far-right opposition.

A political breakthrough came in December when a weighted majority of EU countries backed the reforms — overcoming opposition from Hungary and Poland.

In parallel with the reform, the EU has been multiplying the same sort of deal it struck with Turkey in 2016 to stem migratory flows.

It has reached accords with Tunisia and, most recently, Egypt that are portrayed as broader cooperation arrangements. Many lawmakers have, however, criticised the deals.

SHOW COMMENTS