Fortress Europe: Migration flashpoints in an election year

• Migration a key issue ahead of June's European election
• Politicians look to toughen rules as far right strengthens
• Rights groups warn refugees could be left in limbo

BRUSSELS/LONDON - As governments across Europe pursue policies aimed at deterring growing migration from Asian, African and Middle Eastern countries, rights campaigners say some measures could shut out or even criminalise refugees.

European Union lawmakers approved a major asylum policy overhaul on April 10 that the pro-EU political centre says would reduce irregular arrivals as it seeks to stem gains by the far-right ahead of the bloc's parliamentary election in June.

The compromise proposals, which still need member states' backing, aim to support countries such as Italy that receive many seaborne arrivals and scrap the Temporary Protection Directive, the mechanism which allowed EU countries to welcome millions of Ukrainian refugees.

Rights groups say the overhauled policy could increase arbitrary detention, racial profiling, and repatriations to countries where they are at risk of torture or imprisonment.

Legal experts warn that as government policies increasingly test the limits of international human rights law, there could be an increase in court challenges by aid groups and lawyers.

As June's vote nears, where are Europe's migration flashpoints?

Britain

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's government announced plans in December 2023 to cut the number of legal migrants arriving after annual net migration hit a record of 745,000 in 2022.

As part of his broader strategy to deter illegal migration, his government managed to push through divisive legislation on April 23 to send asylum seekers who arrive in Britain without permission to Rwanda, after multiple efforts to alter the plan.

Sunak's new law states some existing UK human rights statutes will not apply to the scheme and Rwanda must be treated by British judges as a safe destination, in a bid to override a Supreme Court ruling which declared the scheme unlawful.

Sunak says flights to take asylum seekers to the East African nation should begin within 10-12 weeks - ahead of a national election expected in the second half of this year.

Critics say the plan to deport people to Rwanda rather than handle asylum seekers at home is inhumane. They cite concerns about the East African country's own human rights record and the risk asylum seekers may be sent back to countries where they face danger.   

France

French government plans to significantly toughen rules for migrants were dealt a blow in January, when the Constitutional Court ruled large parts of a draft immigration bill must be scrapped.

It ruled against clauses making it harder for migrants to bring in relatives to live with them in France and to access to state welfare, among other provisions.

The court's intervention brought some relief to President Emmanuel Macron, who was embarrassed by the support the bill drew from Marine Le Pen's far-right National Rally party as conservative lawmakers toughened its content.

Germany

Germany, which received the largest numbers of asylum applications in 2023, is seeking to stem migration with a new tougher migration policy, with rules to cut benefits by doubling the amount of time until asylum seekers receive full social benefits.

Along with Austria, Germany has also expressed interest in the possibility of processing asylum seekers abroad.

Italy

Last year was the deadliest since 2017 for the Central Mediterranean crossing used by migrants to reach Italy, with Tunisia overtaking Libya as the main departure point, according to medical charity Médecins Sans Frontières.

As it strives to deter the flow of seaborne migrants to its shores, Italy moved a step closer to becoming the first EU country to have a non-EU country process migrants on its behalf.

Albanian lawmakers voted in February to ratify a deal with Rome to host up to 36,000 migrants per year in two purpose-built centres in the country.

The centres, one on the coast for identification and another inland for detention, would be paid in full by Italy and operate under its jurisdiction, meaning they would be covered by European Union asylum rules.

The deal has drawn criticism from human rights advocates, who warned Italian courts would find it hard to process asylum requests or appeals from people hosted in a foreign country in a timely manner, and that lengthy procedures could place an unjustified burden on migrants.

Spain

The EU's border agency documented a record 13,000 migrants attempting the perilous Western African route to Spain's Canary Islands in October 2023 alone, as political turmoil drives African migrants to head north.

The archipelago's seven islands have become the main destination for migrants from Senegal and other African countries trying to reach Spain.

Aiming to reduce arrivals on its southern borders, the EU hopes to station EU Frontex border guards in Senegal and Mauritania.

The bloc also wants to reach more deals with North African and Middle Eastern nations to reduce the number of migrants crossing the Mediterranean.

At the same time, Spain's parliament voted in April to draft an amnesty bill to legalise hundreds of thousands of undocumented migrants, based on a proposal by civil society groups.

Belgium

Belgium, which heads to the polls in June for a general election, has seen its current ruling coalition clamp down on migration, with elections likely to sharpen focus on migration.

Citing security concerns, the government wants to step up repatriations after a failed asylum seeker from Tunisia shot dead two Swedish football fans in Brussels in October 2023.

A failure to house asylum seekers has led to thousands of court penalties over the past two years. Rights group Amnesty International is leading calls for authorities to find shelter for more than 2,000 people who end up sleeping on the streets.

Netherlands

Far-right populist leader Geert Wilders and his Freedom Party (PVV) are struggling to form a coalition government after a shock election win in November 2023.

The anti-Islam Wilders has frequently called for a total ban on immigration, and would likely join forces with Hungary in demanding a much tougher EU stance on irregular migration if he were to become prime minister.

Finland

Amid wider tensions with Moscow, Finland temporarily closed its entire border with Russia at the end of 2023 to stop the flow of asylum seekers, and is drafting temporary legislation to continue these measures.

Helsinki has said a recent rise in asylum seekers arriving via Russia was an orchestrated move by Moscow in retaliation for the Nordic country's decision to join NATO, a charge the Kremlin denies.

This article was updated on April. 23 after the bill was passed by Britain's upper house of parliament.

(Reporting by Joanna Gill in Brussels and Lin Taylor @linnytayls in London; Editing by Helen Popper)