The weaponization of migration against the European Union in 21st Century

Migration has been the driver of changes many times throughout human history. Nations developed, economies transformed, and cultures united due to the influx of many foreign citizens. Migration can have adverse consequences when left unregulated, especially when manipulation is behind the movement. The weaponization of migration has become an increasingly visible phenomenon that influenced European policies for the last decade but what are really the implications of this phenomena and are there any solutions?

Weaponized migration in European context

Weaponized migration refers to the practice of using mass movement to reach political goals. This practice is not a new idea. It has been used many times in history but due to globalization and increased international mobility in 21st century, migrants and refugees have become weapon of choice for some regimes. Weaponizers exploit refugees who are leaving their home country due to environmental situations, socio-economic instability, or conflict. Other regimes, on the other hand, lure economic migrants and transport them directly to the borders of the target state.

The European Union and its states have already become targets of this practice a few times. The desire to live in peaceful, modern, and economically stable European states has been the driving force behind mass movements from many parts of the world, especially from Africa and the Middle East. What makes the European Union and its states an excellent target of this practice is the the laws and values. All European countries have, in one way or another, agreed to protect vulnerable people regardless of their religion, race or ethnicity. These idealistic principles are put to test by weaponizers of migration. European nations can usually accept few thousands refugees comfortably while ensuring stability of their society but inflow of hundreds of thousands migrants in relatively short time creates a situation where humanitarian values and laws are met with limited options of the real world like overburdened welfare system, nonfunctional migration procedures and fear of original citizens about future of their society. By putting pressure on existing laws and declared values, the weaponizers are waging so-called lawfare, putting the target states in position of betraying values and breaking laws or risk instability of society.

The weaponizers of migration

Libya

In the last 20 years, the Libyan régime under Muammar Gaddafi was the first to employ weaponized migration against the European Union. Since 1986, the Libyan régime has been under economic sanctions, which the régime wanted to be lifted in return for keeping sub-saharan migrants in Libya. In 2002, Muammar Gaddafi declared that „no North African state wishes to guard the gates of Europe for free, as our region is invaded by sub-Saharan migrants“. In 2004, he again tried to coerce European states by stating that Libya „no longer act as Europe´s coast guard“. In 2006, at the African Union ceremony, Gaddafi again said, „In our final statement, we will ask Europe to pay 10 billion euros per year if it really wants to stop migration towards Europe“. In 2010, Gaddafi threatened that Europe „could turn into Africa“, he also stated that „tomorrow Europe might no longer be European, and even black, as there are millions who want to come in“, „we don´t know what will happen, what will bet he reaction of the white and Christian Europeans faced with this influx of starving and ignorant Africans“ and „We don´t know if Europe will remain an advanced and United continent or if it will be destroyed, as happened with the barbarian invasions. Even though not every Gaddafi´s attempt to extort money was successful, he still managed to get an 80 million euro package to provide care for the migrants in Libya and to manage their movement into Europe. Until the fall of Gaddafi´s régime in 2011, the migration did not stop, even though there was some decrease in the movement. For Libya and its dictator, the weaponization of migrants was succesful and resulted in financial gain and lifted sanctions.

Belarus

Alexander Lukashenko, the authoritarian president of Belarus, threatened to weaponize the migration in 2002 and 2004. In the latter year, he publicly stated, „If the Europeans don´t pay, we will not protect Europe from these flows. “ Eventually, no direct weaponization of migrants was done. On the other hand, in 2021, Lukashenko weaponized migration again by orchestrating flights from African and Middle Eastern states into Belarus, where they were transported to the borders of the states of the European Union. While the European bordering states, Poland, Latvia, and Lithuania, fortified their borders, Belarussian authorities kept transporting migrants to the borders, forcing them to stay on the borderline without the possibility of retreating. In 2021, Lukashenko declared that „we stopped the drugs and migrants, now you will eat them and catch them yourselves“ and „We will not hold anyone back. We are not their final destination after all. They are headed to enlightened, warm, cozy Europe“. In 2021, only a few migrants managed to get into the European Union, while Belarus did not receive any concessions.

Morocco

Morocco is a convenient place to weaponize migrants because migrants do not have to leave Africa to cross borders to the territory of the European Union. Spain has two enclaves, Ceuta and Melilla, on the northern coast of West Africa. In 2017, the European Union´s Court of Justice ruled that the area of Western Sahara is not part of Morocco-EU free trade agreements. The area of Western Sahara is an especially sensitive topic for Morocco because its claim of this area is also challenged by the separatist movement Polisario Front. In 2017, the government of Morocco claimed that „Any obstacle in the application of this agreement is a direct attack on thousands of jobs… on both sides, and risks the resumption of migratory flows, which Morocco had succeeded in containing through a deliberate, sustained effort“. When the leader of Polisario Front was hospitalized in Spain in 2021, Morocco then commented that there would be „appropriate response“. Several days later, more than 6,000 migrants swarmed the border of Ceuta, while morrocan border guards helped them through. In the end, Spain softened their stance on autonomy of Western Sahara and the European Union provided several billions euro in total to Morocco for migration management.

Turkey

Turkey has been the primary gateway to Europe for many migrants from the Middle East and Africa, mainly Syrians, after the civil war. As the primary transit state, Turkey took advantage of this status to coerce fellow European Union member states. In 2015, Turkish President Recep Erdogan said to the representation of the European Union „we can open the doors to Greece and Bulgaria anytime and we can put the refugees on buses… So, how will you deal with refugees if you don´t get a deal? Kill the refugees?“. The threat of releasing thousands of migrants was used to receive financial aid, gain an advantage in its rivalry with Greece, and support for Turkey´s military operations in northern Syria.

Greece

Even though Greece has been a victim of coercive engineered migration, it has also become a weaponizer. During the rule of the coalition of the far-left SYRIZA party and far-right ANEL party, there was a significant shift from restrictive migration policies towards a more open-border stance. This change was used to criticize the European Union and propagate anti-European rhetoric. Since Greece was used as a transit state to the „Balkan corridor“, the migrants were used to blackmail the rest of the European Union. The goal was to coerce a better bailout package due to the Greek debt crisis from 2006 to 2012. In 2015, the Greek Minister of Foreign Affairs declared that „there will be tens of millions of immigrants and thousands of jihadists. “ The Greek Minister of Defence stated in the same year that „if they (EU) strike us, we will strike them. We will give documents to migrants coming from anywhere in order to travel in the Schengen area, so that this human wave could go straight to Berlin“. Nonetheless, Greece was unsuccessful because the rest of the European Union already made deals with Turkey.

Implications of Weaponized Migration

Securitization of Migrants

The concept of using mass movement as a weapon against other people undoubtedly gives migrants a lousy reputation among possible host states and their societies. Even though most refugees and migrants migrate to achieve a better life, weaponizers put them in a position of coercion tool which the migrants, in most cases, did not want to be in the first place. Such actions and rhetoric dehumanize the migrants and create suitable conditions for securitization of migration in possible future host states. Migration is thus presented as a security threat, so targeted society enables their political leaders to use extraordinary measures to protect their states. This is mainly visible with populist and far-right European political parties that are usually nation-oriented. The weaponizers themselves usually try to portray migrants as destabilizing force through labels like terrorists, uneducated or barbarian to increase the fear of ordinary citizens in targeted states.

Political Fragmentation and Polarization

In the last 10 years, migration has become a topic in most European states. While some states, such as Germany and France, prefer lax migration policies and welcome migrants, other states, like Poland and Hungary, are wary of migrants and advocate for stricter migration policies. This situation creates division and fragmentation while European unity disintegrates. Understandably, the primary entry point states and the future host states of most migrants do not want to carry the social and economic burden alone without help from other European states. Despite differences, in 2024, European Union states reached a compromise while increasing internal unity.

Violations of Migrants´ Rights.

Due to the securitization of migration, some European states that create external borders of European Union decided to militarize their borders. The most obvious is Poland and Greece. That means not only the deployment of law enforcement and military personnel in the border regions but, in many times, also unlawful practices.

The most notorious unlawful practice related to migration is „illegal refoulement“, otherwise known as pushback. It consists of unofficial arrest and arbitrary removal of foreign citizen without assessment of the legality of stay or entry, without providing them with the ability to apply for asylum or to protest their removal in front of a court of law. Greece, Spain, Hungary, Croatia and Italy have all been accused of pushing migrants back.

The European Court of Human Rights stated that pushbacks violate the principle of non-refoulement and may be unlawful if a particular case is considered „collective expulsion“ which would violate the European Convention on Human Rights, 1951 Refugee Convention and the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the EU.

Furthermore, Greece has been accused of violating the right not to be subjected to torture, inhumane or degrading treatment, the right to asylum, the right to life, and the right to liberty and security. Spain was accused of violating the right to asylum, right to appeal and right to life. Hungary also allegedly violated the right to appeal, right to liberty and security, and right to asylum, while Croatia is suspected of not respecting the migrants´ right to appeal, right to asylum, right of access to independent medical advice, right to legal assistance, right to life, right not to be subjected to torture, inhumane or degrading treatment, and the right to security and liberty. Lastly, Italy was accused of violating the migrants´ right to liberty and security, right to asylum, right to effective recourse, right to legal assistance and right to dignity.

Possibilites of Solutions, Deweaponization and Mitigation

The use of migrants and refugees as weapons or tools to pursue political goals still persists nowadays and probably will in the future. In the last 20 years, this problem showed that even the most developed countries in the world can not defend their territories without violating the law and putting people, who often left everything they knew in their home country, in danger. Based on the contemporary security situation in the world and the worsening climate, it is almost certain that migration from southern parts of the Earth will prevail, and European states must change their practices to ensure security for their citizens and refugees.

Libya, Belarus, Morocco, Turkey, and Greece have all been trying to coerce European states for their own profit while damaging the internal cohesion of the European Union, violating the human rights of the migrants, and spreading fear in societies.

The first step in the development of a state that is safe from weaponized migration consists of effective integration policies and practices. Those migrants who manage to arrive in states of the European Union and are granted asylum should be immediately introduced to the destination state´s culture, put into official language learning, and should be offered apprenticeships and jobs that are in demand or study opportunities. Also, local governments in areas where migrants settle the most should create „one-stop“ offices to facilitate needed services such as housing, employment, and healthcare. To integrate migrants into the original society, mixed housing should be encouraged to prevent cultural separation and isolation while enjoying cultural exchange. Significant help for everybody would generally be a simplification of bureaucracy. Opportunities for meaningful life in the new society can prevent crime, increase social cohesion and disperse fear and xenophobia.

A radical and criticized practice for securing Europe from the uncontrolled mass inflow of people is creating „migrant hotspots. “Even though this practice has already been used, it was unsuccessful due to terrible living conditions. If this approach were better managed, it could be a working compromise between the safety of refugees and the security of Europe. The main advantage of this approach is screening the migrants before arriving on European soil, so only actual refugees entitled to international protection would get asylum and the resources that come with it. The most logical way is to find safe African and Middle Eastern states with warm relations with the European Union. Senegal, Rwanda, Ghana, Jordan and Oman may serve as safe countries given their excellent relations with the European Union that could host asylum seekers in exchange for financial and other benefits.

To ensure the safety and the rightful distribution of resources to the migrants to whom they belong, the states of the European Union must have working return policies and practices that should be tirelessly enforced. Offer of voluntary return should always come first. Still, if unsuccessful asylum seekers decide to go into hiding or run, they should be caught and deported while ensuring compliance with international law.

The states of the European Unions should set realistic expectations for arriving migrants. Even though the standard of living is higher in Europe than most of the world, it should be propagated that the main contribution to refugees in need is ensurance of their physical safety. The life in Europe should be portrayed realistically with possible downfalls and challenges that migrants may encounter.

Unfortunately, there is currently no successfuly working framework regarding action against the weaponizers while ensuring safety of used migrants. Even though United Nations law prohibits use of migrants as political tool, the enforcement is not effective and main solutions are sanctions, closed borders and financial deals. While deep rooted values may be hard to change, European states can create new laws regarding quotas of maximum amount of visas that can be granted per year to ensure stability of their internal system and society, like the United States of America.

Sources

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Source of the picture: https://oecd-development-matters.org/2022/07/22/shifting-our-approach-on-migration-from-security-to-development/

Written by Sebastian Raida

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