Anti-immigrant far-right parties made significant gains in the EU elections. Here’s what to know so far about how the outcome may affect migrants and migration policy in the bloc according to Infomigrants.
Far-right parties made significant gains from a low base, while center-right parties remained dominant. Despite significant gains for far-right parties in France and Germany, the centrist working majority in the European Parliament, the EU’s lower house, remained intact, according to results released on Sunday night.
Later this summer, the European Parliament will elect a new European Commission president. Until that vote, it will be difficult to predict how the new political makeup of Europe will affect migration policy. Here’s what to know so far.
Could European Migration Policies Change?
The presence of more right-wing parties in parliament is likely to influence future migration policy. Although the parties do not agree on everything, the majority of them are strongly opposed to immigration.
In 2022, the ID grouping said it rejected “the way in which the European Union is further blurring Europe’s borders into a management of migratory rights instead of geographical limits of the continent.”
According to Euronews the ECR, another hard right group, is “all about outsourcing” migration. Giorgia Meloni, Italy’s current Prime Minister, heads the party Fratelli d’Italia, or Brothers of Italy, which is the group’s dominant faction.
Italy’s agreement with Albania, in which some migrants will be transported to Albanian centers to have their asylum claims assessed, is an example of the type of outsourcing that this group may advocate for. The idea of outsourcing is also not prohibited by the current EU asylum agreement.
The ECR group questioned the principle of “mandatory solidarity” in a joint statement issued ahead of the elections. It is worth noting that one of the most powerful parties in that bloc, Meloni’s Brothers of Italy, is generally supportive of the concept of solidarity because it benefits ‘frontline’ countries such as Italy, which receive the vast majority of migrants arriving on the continent. It also advocates for a stronger role for Frontex and the European border force Europol, as well as “new measures to combat trafficking, increase repatriations, and collaborate with third countries on the externalization of migration management.”
Not Much Difference Between the EPP and the Socialists on Migration
The S&D urges that the new migration pact be implemented in a “fair, safe, and predictable manner.” The group has emphasized the importance of fully respecting people’s human rights and dignity, as well as providing “humane and decent” reception conditions.
The socialist bloc, like the EPP bloc, generally agrees on strengthening the European Union’s external borders and cooperating with countries of origin and transit. However, the group opposes outsourcing.
