In spite of the hundreds of thousands of desperate people who have been risking their lives to flee conflict and strife in Africa and the Middle East to seek asylum in Europe, Tory ministers, many of whom expressed solidarity and sympathy with the plight of the refugees before last week’s General Election, are now refusing demands by the European Commission to take a ‘fair quota’ of 60,000 migrants.
The EC wants member states to take a share of the migrants who are pouring into Europe after making the perilous journey across the Mediterranean; an idea backed by Germany, the key Brussels power broker and recipient of 200,000 asylum applications last year.
Ministers, led by Home secretary Theresa May, are also up against Italy, Malta, Austria and Greece, all alighting points for migrants arriving by boat in their hundreds, who also argue that Britain is not taking its fair share.
Mrs May argues that many of the new arrivals are economic migrants rather than refugees fleeing wars in Libya and Syria. In many cases, they have travelled across Africa to start the journey from Libya – where order has broken down following the toppling of dictator Colonel Muammar Gaddafi.
The EU cannot force Britain to take a quota – which would see the number of people seeking asylum here each year double from 30,000 – as the UK has an opt-out on edicts relating to asylum and immigration. However, it is likely to increase tensions at a time when Britain wants the EU to agree to renegotiate the wider terms of our membership ahead of an in-out referendum in 2017.
France has backed the quota proposals, with interior minister Bernard Cazeneuve saying: ‘It’s reasonable that there should be a redistribution of the numbers in the EU.’
Earlier this month, Mrs May disputed the idea that all the Mediterranean migrants were asylum seekers fleeing conflict zones, saying: “The issue is perceived as being people who are refugees from Syria.
“Those coming across the Med, they are coming from countries such as Senegal, Eritrea, Sudan. Many will have paid organised crime groups to get them through. If we are really going to stop the people putting their lives in danger by trying to cross the Med, we need to stop them starting their journey in the first place.”
The EU has assured the UN Security Council that ‘no refugee or migrant intercepted at sea will be sent back against their will’.
A Home Office spokesman said: “The UK has a proud history of offering asylum to those who need it most but we do not believe that a mandatory system of resettlement is the answer. We will oppose any EU Commission proposals to introduce a non-voluntary quota.”
