EPP backs suspension of asylum rights in response to ‘hybrid attacks’

The European People’s Party (EPP) has decided to advocate for the suspension of asylum rights within the EU in situations involving "hybrid attacks". This term refers to instances where third countries aid mass migration with the goal of destabilizing a European border. If implemented, this would permit the deportation of migrants without a case-by-case evaluation, essentially leading to "collective pushbacks" that are currently unlawful under EU law.

This stance may be included in the upcoming "European Emergency Response Framework", a concept presented by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen during her State of the Union address, aimed at managing irregular arrivals. Although some EU nations have already temporarily halted the asylum-seeking process and endorse this proposal, it has been met with criticism from left-leaning politicians and migration experts.

The EPP's push for this measure is part of a resolution set to be finalized on Tuesday at the EPP's political assembly in Toulouse, according to multiple sources within the party. Although there are delegations opposing this idea, the majority of the EPP supports it, as per a high-ranking EPP official. The proposed protocol would enable member states to "accept an additional protocol on asylum and migration, enabling the denial of entry or return without a standard asylum procedure for illegal migrants engaged in hybrid attacks".

This proposal cites Ceuta, a Spanish territory that witnessed approximately 80,000 irregular migrants in late July, with thousands still present in the city at the time. This event was characterized as a "hybrid attack and manipulation of migrants" by a recent European Parliament resolution. The resolution asserts that such instances warrant a response beyond existing tools designed to manage migratory trends.

The EPP, being the EU's most significant political coalition, frequently steers the legislative path pursued by the European Commission and the European Parliament. In the ongoing legislative period, the EPP has demonstrated a more stringent approach to migration, endorsing legislation to deport asylum seekers and irregular migrants to unrelated third nations.

In June, the EPP also backed a resolution urging the European Commission to restrict the asylum right "in cases of manipulation", and when unauthorized migrants endeavor to enter the EU from a supposedly safe third country.