The migration researcher Gerald Knaus was one of the minds behind the EU-Turkey deal, which also provided for refugees to be taken back. Now he is calling for new agreements with other countries too.
A few weeks ago, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced in Lampedusa: “We determine who comes to the EU and not criminal smuggling gangs.” Isn’t that unrealistic?
This year more people from North Africa will come to Italy than in any year in the past decades. Seen this way, her statement is not a description of reality.
Shortly before, von der Leyen had announced a refugee deal with the local President Kais Saied in Tunisia. But more and more refugees are also coming from there. Why doesn’t the deal work?