EU Nations Set to Discuss Migration    12/10 06:11

   

   BRUSSELS (AP) -- European leaders will call for a toughening of migration 
policies on Wednesday in a move critics say bends to pressure from far-right 
groups and harms basic human rights protections for vulnerable people.

   Ministers from 27 EU member nations are meeting in Brussels to discuss 
countering migrant smuggling, with a keynote speech by European Commission 
President Ursula von der Leyen. In Strasbourg, France, representatives from the 
Council of Europe -- 46 countries from Iceland to Azerbaijan -- are expected to 
debate making deporting migrants easier for signatories to key treaties.

   Denmark was part of a nine-nation attempt last year to curtail the power of 
the European Court of Human Rights, the independent legal arm of the Council of 
Europe. Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Italy, Latvia, 
Lithuania and Poland argued that the court's interpretation of rights 
obligations prevented them from expelling migrants who commit crimes. That 
effort ultimately failed, but support for its basic tenets has since grown.

   The European Court of Human Rights handles complaints against the Council of 
Europe, under the European Convention on Human Rights, including many cases 
involving migrants and asylum-seekers. The intergovernmental organization is 
not an EU institution and was set up in the wake of the World War II to promote 
peace and democracy.

   Centrist and left-wing parties across Europe are coalescing around the idea 
of tougher migration policies as a way to blunt the momentum of far-right 
politicians exploiting discontent over immigration.

   The prime ministers of Denmark and the U.K. published an op-ed in the 
Guardian newspaper on Tuesday calling for tightening migration controls to deny 
entry to those seeking better economic opportunities as opposed to fleeing 
conflict.

   "For decades, citizens in our countries have demanded action. So we are 
acting -- not to exploit these issues and stoke grievances as some do, but to 
find real solutions," wrote Mette Frederiksen and Keir Starmer. "The best way 
of fighting against the forces of hate and division is to show that mainstream, 
progressive politics can fix this problem."

   Illegal border crossings into the EU were down 22% from January to October 
this year, according to Frontex, the EU's border and coast guard agency. The 
agency recorded 152,000 unauthorized border crossings in the first 10 months of 
the year.

   Most migration to Europe happens legally, by air, with some immigrants 
overstaying tourist visas.

   The EU has spent billions of euros (dollars) to deter irregular migration, 
paying countries in Africa and the Middle East to intercept migrants trying to 
cross the Mediterranean of the Atlantic. At the same time, European nations 
facing labor shortages and an aging population are in desperate need of more 
workers and have been investing in programs to attract and train foreign 
workers.

   The secretary-general of the Council of Europe, Alain Berset, said ahead of 
the Strasbourg meeting that the European Convention on Human Rights was "the 
final safeguard of individual rights and freedoms across our continent."

   "The convention's future and Europe's direction are inseparable," he said.