[FR] At the mercy of the ill winds

‘On a voluntary basis’. In the conclusions of the European Council of 28 and 29 June, the expression is clearly specified with regard to the creation of ‘controlled centres’ to deal with the arrival of migrants. It is repeated with regard to the subsequent distribution of exiles among EU Member States. It was the governments most hostile to hosting both these centres and their guests that insisted that this ‘voluntary basis’ be an explicit condition. This “basis” is therefore extremely precarious, as it is subject to the goodwill of governments. It will fluctuate according to opinion polls, the approach of elections, internal coalition games and other short-term determinants of political will.

European integration is fundamentally a matter of “goodwill”. This is what has historically distinguished it from empires. The 28 Member States have each joined the project of a united Europe “on a voluntary basis”, so to speak. But this sovereign choice is now binding. Including on the right to asylum. EU Member States are bound by the 1951 Geneva Convention on Refugees. The right to asylum is also enshrined in the European Charter of Fundamental Rights, which since 2009 has become as binding as the European treaties. No European leader can wash their hands of it.

With Austria, where the far right is part of the ruling coalition, taking over the presidency of the Council of the EU this semester, there is a risk that an ‘axis of wills in the fight against illegal immigration’ will be established, contrary to European law and obligations. This expression, coined last month by Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz to refer to Munich-Vienna-Rome, is chilling, first and foremost because of the resurgence of the word ‘axis’. But the word ‘willingness’ should also set alarm bells ringing, as it potentially implies a disregard for any previously agreed obligations.

The time for complacency is therefore over. In recent years, European integration has too often lacked firm political will on the part of leaders who have been negligent in this area. Emmanuel Macron is now seeking to reaffirm a determination that had run out of steam. Simone Veil’s induction into the Panthéon on 1 July, in particular for her unwavering commitment to Europe, serves to counter the ‘ill winds’ that the Head of State denounced in his speech, repeating a metaphor he had already used in Berlin last April.

These winds, blowing from Austria, Italy, Bavaria, the Visegrad countries (Hungary, Slovakia, Poland, Czech Republic) and Slovenia, are seeking to divert the European Union from its founding values and the obligations that derive from them. Examples include Italian ports now closed to NGO ships and the law passed by the Hungarian parliament on 20 June making it a criminal offence for NGOs to assist migrants. There are no limits to what these forces want to achieve.

The ‘axis’ driven by the far right, or radical right, does not aim to leave the EU, as in the case of Brexit, which is already considered a failure, but to reshape it in its own image. Even if it means turning the founding fathers of European integration in their graves. The European elections in a year’s time are shaping up to be a bitter battle, against the backdrop of the migration crisis, between fundamentally opposing forces and headwinds. It is up to the pro-European forces to stay the course.