On Friday, December 6th, the national conservative Patriots for Europe (PfE) group put forward their most important political program to date. It calls for Brussels to completely overhaul its flagship migration policy package, adopted right before the EU elections in June, to better reflect the true expectations of both voters and governments.
The document is called the ‘Budapest Declaration’ after first being unveiled in the Hungarian Parliament and showcases the ambitious commitment of Brussels’ third-largest political faction to the protection of external borders, stopping illegal migration, and preserving Europe’s cultural identity and the security of its citizens.
The declaration argues that the Migration Pact fails to address the root causes of the problem and deals only with its consequences while leaving all the incentives that facilitate illegal crossings untouched.
Furthermore, the package was rushed through by mainstream parties in Parliament and adopted with the support of only 20 countries in the Council. It was passed without allowing others to veto, and all of this happened “before European citizens could express their will at the ballot boxes” in June. Given the changing political reality in Europe, this makes the package illegitimate to pursue, the declaration says.
“For this reason, the European Union must abandon this Pact and come up with a policy package that meets the expectations of the European citizens,” it reads.
The Patriots’ ideal version of the migration pact would be based on several recommendations outlined in the text, all focusing on either effective external border control or granting freedom to member states to ensure the protection of their own borders in case the EU is unable to implement these reforms.
In short, the declaration demands Brussels:
- Enforce the prohibition of illegal entries and only allow migrants onto EU territory once their asylum request has been granted;
- Set up reception (and deportation) facilities in third countries (Italy’s ‘Albania Protocol’) from the EU budget and clarify the rules around “safe countries” where migrants can apply for asylum, while imposing a lifetime ban on those who are caught trying to enter illegally (‘Australian model’);
- Streamline deportation procedures and pressure countries of origin that refuse to cooperate with diplomatic and economic means;
- Evaluate the refugee status of those already in Europe and immediately deport refugees convicted of violent or organized crime, as well as adopt strict measures against NGOs that encourage illegal entries;
- Encourage and help member states develop national family policies as an alternative means of combating the demographic decline;
- Allow member states to act on their own in case these reforms are not sufficiently adopted at the EU level, including granting the possibility of opting out from the bloc’s joint migration policy;
- And immediately withdraw all sanctions that punish member states for protecting their borders.
The vast majority of these demands are already what member states want, as made clear during the last EU Council summit. The European Commission has already begun working on a vast ‘Returns Directive’ to address many of these concerns, but the Patriots believe that patching the holes in the Migration Pact with complementary legislation is not going to cut it.
Besides, without directed effort and starting from the basics again, no update of the law will ever properly address the most fundamental requirement: member state sovereignty.
“We insist on the prerogative of Member States to decide for themselves who they allow into their territory,” the declaration reads. It then concludes by underlining the Patriots’ “unwavering determination to protect European culture and identity, the sovereignty of member states, and the security and well-being of their people.”
