The European Union has failed to reach agreement on changing the bloc’s asylum rules after a compromise plan was rejected - a thread on what happened in Luxembourg and it matters.
2. The proposal was rejected by half a dozen countries, but for very different reasons: Hungary (‘no mandatory quotas’) but also Italy (‘proposal worthless without meaningful mandatory quotas’).
3.Italy’s new interior minister Matteo Salvini said he was “very satisfied” with Italy’s rejection of a compromise proposal. “We had held an opposing position and other countries came to stand behind us, we broke the front.” h/t Ansa
4.
In reality Italy’s new government not yet so different from previous *on this specific issue*. Criticised rest of the EU for leaving Italy alone with problem. And divisions were already deeply entrenched: “no front” to be broken.
In reality Italy’s new government not yet so different from previous *on this specific issue*. Criticised rest of the EU for leaving Italy alone with problem. And divisions were already deeply entrenched: “no front” to be broken.
5. The stalemate leaves the EU deadlocked more than two years after the European commission published proposals.
6. The ball now goes back to EU leaders. But no one in Luxembourg has any idea how they can break deadlock. To some, a breakthrough on eurozone reform looks more likely. i.e. put migration deal into far realms of possible
7. Some expect Austria - which takes up the presidency on 1 July - to come up with new proposals. But Med states worried Austria only wants to focus on external border security, which does nothing to help them with people already there and those still coming.
8. “Today what we did is to take the temperature of a corpse,” said one EU source. “There is no political consensus and now the ball is back in the court of the heads of state and government.”
9. Belgium’s home affairs minister Theo Francken is just as blunt on the record - tells @lesoir “the Dublin reform is dead”.
@lesoir 10. The UK is sitting on the sidelines. Sajid Javid, at his first EU council, did not say anything in the debate. UK chose not to opt into mandatory relocation (2015) and is not opting into this law.
Textbook example of the UK’s special status in the EU.
Textbook example of the UK’s special status in the EU.
@lesoir 11. Why does this matter? Migration still has the potential to tear the EU apart. It’s more divisive than Brexit. It is harder to control than the eurozone. But it is something Europe will have to live with.
That's it.
That's it.
