Ażil u rilokazzjoni fl-Unjoni Ewropea: politika ta’ rilokazzjoni għandha tiġi implimentata

Fir-reazzjoni tiegħu għal dibattitu plenarju fil-Parlament Ewropew f’Novembru 2022, dwar soluzzjoni Ewropea dwar l-ażil u l-immigrazzjoni li tkopri wkoll operazzjonijiet ta’ tfittxija u salvataġġ fil-Mediterran, l-eks Prim Ministru Alfred Sant fakkar li ftit sar progress dwar ir-rilokazzjoni u fil-ġlieda kontra d-dħul klandestin tal-bnedmin. Huwa saħaq li sakemm tkun fis-seħħ politika ta’ rilokazzjoni li tiffunzjona b’mod effettiv, dawk li mhux involutri b’mod attiv ftit għandhom dritt jikkritikaw lill-gvernijiet ta’ stati tal-fruntiera li jitħallew waħedhom biex jimmaniġġjaw il-kriżijiet perikolużi u delikati kkawżati mill-immigrazzjoni irregolari.

Fl-aħħar tal-2021, bejn wieħed u ieħor inqas minn 10% tal-immigranti li daħħlu fl-Unjoni Ewropea kien b’mod irregolari. Dan jintuża bħala argument biex tiġi relativizzata s-serjetà tal-kriżi tal-immigrazzjoni irregolari lejn l-Ewropa.

Madanakollu, Alfred Sant wissa li l-aktar pjan ta’ azzjoni riċenti tal-Unjoni Ewropea li ġie propost mill-Kummissjoni Ewropea għaċ-ċentru tal-Mediterran ma jindirizzax b’mod effettiv il-ħtieġa li l-immigranti li jaslu fi stati tal-fruntiera jiġu rilokati b’mod ġust madwar l-Unjoni Ewropea u lanqas jindirizza l-ġlieda kontra l-kuntrabandu tal-bnedmin.

Huwa innota li filwaqt li l-pjan li qed jiġi propost jgħid ħafna dwar operazzjonijiet ta’ tfittxija u salvataġġ, organizzati minn organizzazzjonijiet nongovernattivi li fil-biċċa l-kbira tagħhom mhux sorveljati u mhux regolati, dawn tal-aħħar qed jiġu pperċepiti dejjem aktar mill-elettorat fil-pajjiżi tal-fruntiera bħala fattur li qed jattira l-immigrazzjoni irregolari u bħala alleati ta’ kuntrabandisti ta’ nies. Sant enfasizza li fehmiet bħal dawn ma jistgħux jitwarrbu biss qabel ma joħorġu maġġoranzi favur politiki “populisti”.

Il-problema maġġuri bl-implimentazzjoni ta’ politika vijabbli dwar l-ażil u l-immigrazzjoni, sostna Sant, hija li l-Unjoni tipproklama l-valuri tad-drittijiet tal-bniedem u s-solidarjetà, iżda l-elementi kruċjali li jagħmluhom operattivi u ġusti mal-Istati Membri mhumiex fis-seħħ.

Asylum and relocation in the European Union: relocation policy to be put in place

In his reaction to a plenary debate at the European Parliament in November 2022, on a European solution on asylum and migration also covering search and rescue operations in the Mediterranean, former Prime Minister Alfred Sant recalled that little progress has been made on relocation and in the fight against people smuggling. He stressed that until a functioning relocation policy is in place, those who stay on the sidelines have little right to throw stones at governments of border states which are left alone to handle the dangerous and delicate crises caused by irregular migration.

At the end of 2021, about less than 10% of all immigrant settlement in the European Union was irregular. This is used as an argument to relativise the seriousness of the crisis in irregular immigration to Europe.

However, Alfred Sant warned that the most recent European Union action plan proposed by the European Commission for the central Mediterranean does not address effectively the need to relocate migrants arriving at border states fairly across the European Union and the fight against people smuggling.

He noted that while the plan being proposed says a lot about search and rescue operations, organised by largely unsupervised and unregulated NGOs, the latter, however, are increasingly being perceived by electorates in border countries as a pull factor for irregular migration and as allies of people smugglers. Sant emphasized that such views cannot just be brushed aside till majorities emerge in favour of “populist” policies.

The main problem with the implementation of a viable policy on asylum and migration, Sant claimed, is that the Union proclaims the values of human rights and solidarity, yet the crucial elements that would make them operational and fair to Member States are not in place.