Assita Kanko wants a debate in the European Parliament on the failing Belgian asylum policy

This week, MEP Assita Kanko examined the asylum policies of Belgium, France and the Netherlands. She did so with a delegation of seven MEPs from six European political groups. Following the visit and recent developments, Kanko wants a debate in the European Parliament. “The federal government is not in control of the influx of asylum seekers, European legislation and court rulings are not being complied with and a Dutch judge has now also halted Dublin deportations to Belgium. I want Europe to identify the causes of Belgian failure, but I also want to discuss the consequences for the European asylum system.”

The European Parliament delegation visited asylum seekers’ centres in Brussels, Calais (France) and Ter Apel (Netherlands). Things have gone seriously wrong in all these places recently. Asylum seekers have had to sleep on the street and there has been nuisance for local residents. There are also major problems in and around Calais with migrants trying to cross the Channel to enter the United Kingdom. Trucks are regularly assaulted and drivers are threatened. The MEPs also learned from French authorities that violence by human traffickers is on the rise.

Belgium’s asylum system is failing

Whereas migrants in Calais mainly want to go to the United Kingdom and often refuse help from the authorities, migrants in Belgium and the Netherlands do want to request asylum. There have been capacity shortages in both countries in the past year. Accommodation has now been found for all asylum seekers in the Netherlands. In Belgium, many asylum seekers still sleep on the streets. This is while all experts expect new influx peaks in the coming months. “I spoke to many motivated people, both from government agencies and NGOs. They are doing fantastic work. But in Belgium, the system is failing. The result is the tent camps in Brussels, with inhumane situations for asylum seekers and nuisance for the Brussels population. It cannot go on like this.”

Inadequate European asylum policy

Assita Kanko emphasises that part of the problem is also the lack of effective European asylum and migration policies. “Asylum seekers arrive in Belgium, France and the Netherlands mainly through other EU Member States. European legislation, which requires asylum applications to be followed up in the country of first arrival, is no longer being complied with. This is also due to court rulings such as that of a Dutch judge this week on Belgium. Returning asylum seekers who have exhausted all legal remedies to their country of origin is also very difficult.”

In everyone’s interest

To gain more clarity on the European dimension of Belgium’s failure to control asylum and migration, Kanko has requested a parliamentary debate. “I want to discuss the Belgian situation and its European dimension in the March plenary session. Whether this is possible depends on the support of the other political groups. I think it is in everyone’s interest that we openly discuss what is going wrong and what the solutions are, both in the short and long term and both at national and European level.”