The Netherlands may not send asylum seekers to a country outside the European Union to complete the asylum procedure there. To achieve this, EU legislation must be amended, said Mark Klaassen of the Migration Advisory Council in a conversation with the House of Representatives about the possibilities and impossibilities of migration deals. A deal like the one Britain has made with Rwanda is legally impossible for the Netherlands and all EU countries.
This is also an unfeasible path from a practical point of view, Klaassen said. The country to which the asylum seekers would be sent for the substantive processing of the asylum application must comply with all international treaties and legal obligations on asylum and international protection to which the EU Member States are bound.
A number of factions in the House of Representatives have been toying with the idea of having asylum seekers wait for their asylum procedure somewhere outside the EU for some time. They hope, among other things, to discourage asylum seekers from applying for asylum in the Netherlands.
Various scientists who were invited by the House of Representatives to share their knowledge about the legal aspects of migration deals are cautious and critical of this. For example, Annick Pijnenburg, assistant professor of International and European law, emphasized that migration deals must meet a large number of conditions. The rights of refugees and migrants must be protected, among other things, and so-called ‘pushbacks’, the illegal return of asylum seekers, are prohibited. This must be carefully monitored.
Pijnenburg supported Klaassen’s argument and added that asylum seekers should never be detained if they have to await their asylum application in a country outside the EU. Moreover, the country where the person concerned has applied for asylum remains legally liable.
Before a migration deal is concluded with a country, according to Assistant Professor of European and International Law Salvo Nicolosi, it must be investigated whether human rights are respected there. Requirements and agreements about this must be laid down in a deal, he said.
Various parliamentary factions see migration deals as an important instrument to reduce the influx of asylum seekers. Other factions are hesitant because deals are made with countries that do not take the protection of human rights so seriously.
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By: Editorial
