Europe isn’t a "fortress"” “

“It is indispensable to redefine a new migratory policy at the European level. To guarantee the future of relations between peoples, a policy of cooperation and aid in development, especially with the countries to the south of the Mediterranean, needs to be developed”: so says Msgr. Jean-Luc Brunin , auxiliary bishop of Lille and chairman of the French episcopal Commission for migration, commenting on the latest maritime tragedies in the straits of Sicily, which led to the death of scores of Africans fleeing from death and poverty. The issue was debated in recent days both by the European Parliament, and at the second interministerial meeting on migrations in the western Mediterranean, held in Rabat (Morocco); the conference was attended by representatives of Algeria, France, Italy, Libya, Malta, Morocco, Mauritania, Portugal, Spain and Tunisia. To curb clandestine immigration, the Italian Presidency of the EU has also presented a plan of interventions and investments in the field of employment in the African countries of the Mediterranean, but this plan is not supported by all European countries, including France. We asked Msgr. Brunin for his views. The latest tragedies in the Mediterranean have reopened the political debate on immigration. What must Europe now do? “Immigration policy involves various aspects: control of the frontiers; the management of the right to asylum (which presupposes that refugees be examined with benevolence); integration in the host societies and consequent measures; cooperation between the European countries and the countries of origin of migrants. What disturbs me, today, is that at the level of the European Union agreement is sought only on the lowest common denominators, in other words, police controls of migratory flows. But this is a policy condemned to failure because it turns Europe into a fortress. Personally I deplore the lack of prospects in promoting the development of the countries of the southern hemisphere, which is an essential aspect of immigration policy. I am favourable to the opening of the European Union to the countries of Eastern Europe, but this must not be to the detriment of relations with the countries of the Mediterranean”. At the meeting in Morocco there was talk of boosting aid to African countries in exchange for collaboration in the crackdown on clandestine immigration… “A policy of cooperation and development with the countries to the south of the Mediterranean is urgently needed to restore confidence to the populations fleeing from economic misery or from countries torn by political instability or ethnic conflicts, as in sub-Saharan Africa. People have a right to have in their own country all that is necessary for their human, cultural and economic development. France, Italy, Spain, Portugal and Malta must be, within the EU, the driving force of this cooperation with the countries to the south of the Mediterranean”. How are the tragedies of the Mediterranean seen in the European countries? “What appals me is the indifference of public opinion in the various countries of the EU. People speak of immigrants as they were a kind of natural disaster from which we need to shield ourselves, forgetting the human plight that lies behind their desperation. The news stories of today are reminding us that migrants are persons who suffer a tragic destiny. Today public opinion is made to believe that it’s enough to crack down on the criminal organizations that organise clandestine immigration to control the migratory phenomenon. But if people were happy in their own country, these criminal organizations would not exist. In this way we risk forgetting that migrants have a need for Europe to honour its pledge in the Geneva Convention on right of asylum. And it’s time for the Churches and the associations and public opinion devoted to these issues to urge immigration policy to live up to the challenges it poses”. But there isn’t much agreement between European governments on these issues… “It’s true, I have the impression that governments remain too subservient to their public opinion, which in turn is too easily swayed by xenophobic arguments. There’s a need for political courage to explain what migratory flows are today, in the context of globalization, and to spell out what solutions are able to ensure a more just and more human future”.