EPP manifesto pledges outsourcing of asylum claims to third countries

The centre-right European People’s Party (EPP), now topping the polls ahead of June’s European elections, has approved its manifesto at its campaign kick-off in Bucharest.

Among the plans floated are a controversial outsourcing of asylum claims to third countries.

The group, which groups Europe’s Christian-democratic and conservative parties, is expected to remain the largest single political group in the European Parliament.

But it has come under fire over attempts to retain votes leaking to the far-right in reaction to deepening economic downturn.

The EPP is projecting itself as a pragmatic centre-ground on immigration, saying voters fear the “disappearance of their nation and cultural identity” due to immigration and a jump of 18% in asylum claims in 2023.

The EPP said it will bolster the EU’s border agency Frontex, by trebling its workforce and increasing its powers and budget.

The manifesto emulates the Sunak-led UK government’s ‘Rwanda’ plan to deport asylum seekers to “safe third countries” where, if their applications were successful, they would remain, with the EU admitting an annual quota to its territory. Those seeking refuge from Ukraine would not be subject to such quotas.

Italy has recently approved a similar, contentious deal with Albania to process asylum bids on Albanian soil before successful applicants are granted entry into Italy.

The arrangement has been lauded by lead candidate Ursula von der Leyen, who is the firm favourite to be re-elected European Commission president.

The EPP said it will support the Green Deal by prioritising ‘made in Europe’ technology to boost competitiveness vis-à-vis the US and China, and give farmers, fishers and SMEs more financial support to adapt to the transition.

Von Der Leyen has vowed to make defence a centrepiece of her second mandate, in a bid to undo the impacts of decades of defence cuts as war returns to European soil. The EPP now calls for a European Commissioner dedicated to security and defence, a mandate on member states to prioritise European purchases of military equipment, and new restrictions on arms exports.

It also calls for a dedicated EU defence pot of money within the bloc’s long-term budget, the Multi-Annual Financial Framework. These measures should eventually lead to a “Single Market for Defence”, the EPP says.

The text also floats French President Emmanuel Macron’s proposal for a European nuclear deterrent.

Nationalist MEP candidate Peter Agius welcomed the final draft of the EPP manifesto, which includes a proposal to ensure EU rules are adapted to special conditions for small countries like Malta. “The proposal I put forward for the European Commission to assess the impact of EU laws on Malta before proposing new legislation is now a key commitment in the European People’s Party Manifesto,” Agius said.

Agius served as the PN’s representative in the EPP working group on EU policies, saying that all too often, proposed EU laws do not take sufficiently into account the specific realities of islands like Malta.

“We saw this on transport rules with new EU rules leading to higher prices for the Maltese for flights, sea and land transport. Malta is worse off with a European one-size fits all approach, especially given Government’s current failure to adapt such rules to Maltese needs in its negotiations in the Council of Ministers. EU legislation should take into account the different characteristics of member states from day one, before proposals are submitted by the European Commission. The EPP manifesto takes us a step closer to adapt Europe to Malta’s specific needs,” Agius said.

The EPP manifesto adopted today by the EPP congress in Bucharest now foresees a specific provision addressing this need in a section on regional cohesion for a Europe that ‘boosts living standards in every region’ with a clear commitment to: ‘…improve the subsidiarity check also by assessing the territorial impact of all new EU legislation.’

Agius said Malta could not have a situation where the Union adopts legislation in Brussels and later, finds out that what the government signed for is not in Malta’s interest. “We must ensure that this responsibility is also placed on the shoulders of the European Commission. From my end I am committed to continue the active scrutiny on government in its decisions taken in Brussels while striving to ensure that EU legislation will continue to deliver and bring added value on the ground in Malta.”