Relocation of migrants between member states has repeatedly failed

There have been four attempts on part of the European Union since 2015, as recalled by Arpad Parducz, a researcher at the Migration Research Institute.

Pecinci, 2016. november 12. Rendõri kíséret mellett migránsok gyalogolnak a Belgrádból Zágráb felé vezetõ autópályán a szerb fõvárostól 50 km-re lévõ Pecinciben 2016. november 12-én. Az illegális bevándorlók azt remélik, hogy Horvátországon keresztül juthatnak el Nyugat-Európába. (MTI/EPA/Koca Sulejmanovic) Fotó: KOCA SULEJMANOVIC

This is not the first time for the European Union to seek a way to relocate migrants between member states. Prior to the migration and asylum pact, Brussels had already made four such attempts, Arpad Parducz, a junior researcher at the Migration Research Institute, pointed out in his  analysis. The 2015 migration crisis led to a political turnaround in Europe, with member states largely taking divergent positions.

The massive flow of new arrivals and the Dublin regime have created challenges that the migration systems of the countries in southern Europe were unable to meet. In response to these challenges, the European Commission designed a quota scheme to partially relieve the burden on Italy and Greece,

the researcher recalled one of the biggest challenges facing the European Union eight years ago.

He added that the European Commission sought to relocate 160 thousand asylum seekers and irregular migrants by September 2017, but the plans fell through. In the first two years, just over 20 thousand people were relocated to another member state, with the figure rising to 34,700 today.

Hungary and Slovakia challenged the draft quota scheme in court, but the Court of Justice of the European Union rejected the case. 

In Arpad Parducz's analysis, the issue of irregular migrants rescued from the sea justified the next relocation attempt. Primarily Italy and Malta pressed for a solution. Although the public saw a lack of support for the implementation of the project, a solution was eventually found though the voluntary commitment made by France and Germany in the Malta declaration. Following the agreement, around three thousand people were relocated from Italy and Malta to other European countries, but in 2020, Greece also requested help in tackling migration issues.

As part of a 35-million-euro project, five thousand people were moved to volunteering countries by October 2022,

the researcher recalled how Brussels supported Athens.

On 21 June 2022, the Declaration on Solidarity was adopted, which provided for the possibility of introducing a voluntary solidarity mechanism. The mechanism is intended "to provide a concrete response to the migratory difficulties of the Mediterranean member states," the researcher at Migration Research Institute quoted details of the agreement.

However, six member states, including Hungary, refused to sign the declaration.

"All in all, the relocation attempts made so far have been rather moderately successful due to divergent political positions," Arpad Parducz summarised the outcome.

Cover photo: Escorted by police, migrants walk on the Belgrade-Zagreb motorway near Pecinci, 50 kilometres from Serbia's capital, on 12 November 2016 (Photo: MTI/EPA/Koca Sulejmanovic)