Brunner takes victory lap on irregular arrivals as Syrian asylum claims collapse for reasons beyond EU policy
by https://euobserver.com/author/nikolaj-nielsen/ · EUobserverBrunner (far-right) with interior ministers from Spain and Luxembourg (Source: European Union)
Unlock article and share
By Nikolaj Nielsen,
Brussels
,
The sharp drop in irregular migrant arrivals is evidence that the EU’s policy reforms are working, EU migration commissioner, Magnus Brunner, said on Thursday (1 October).
But Syria is also no longer the single biggest source of asylum claims after the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime 22 months ago, a factor that appears to have been conveniently ignored.
On Thursday, he told reporters after a meeting of EU interior ministers in Luxembourg that irregular arrivals have dropped 55 percent in the past two years.
“So that’s a record low in the asylum applications,” said the former Austrian finance minister, adding that Austria and Sweden have recorded equally low asylum numbers and that Germany is deporting more people than are asking for protection.
“The basis for all of that, and the foundation for all of that, is the pact, the pact on migration and asylum,” he said, in comments that were echoed by Ireland’s migration minister, Jim O’Callaghan.
The pact, spanning a mix of complex regulations, was launched in June. Despite having two years to prepare for the launch, its implementation remains patchy.
To read this story, log in or subscribe
Enjoy access to all articles and 25 years of archives, comment and gift articles. Become a subscriber for as low as €1,75 per week.
Read without limits
Already a subscriber? Login
Unlock article and share
Latest from Analysis
German chancellor hopes for election gains this Sunday — but CDU may lose votes and Merz his job
Von der Leyen’s ‘European values,’ paid for by private equity, powered by Claude
Latest from Migration
Ceuta has become a laboratory for the degradation and dehumanisation of migrants
Inside Poland’s fake student scheme: cheap labour, bogus visas and Russian ties
Latest from EU politics
Why young men are drawn to the far right and young women to the far left
AI chatbots turn users’ most intimate data into a potential goldmine for advertisers, researchers warn
Brunner (far-right) with interior ministers from Spain and Luxembourg (Source: European Union)
Topics
Author Bio
Nikolaj Nielsen joined EUobserver in 2012 and covers home affairs. He is originally from Denmark, but spent much of his life in France and in Belgium. He was awarded the King Baudouin Foundation grant for investigative journalism in 2010.
+ Follow author by email