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Of course, it is difficult to stop a lone wolf. But the terrorist act on Monday still causes Belgium to seethe with anger over the problems in the asylum system.
– More needs to be done, the EU also urges.
The front page headlines are not kind in Wednesday morning’s Belgian newspapers, since it turned out that the perpetrator behind the murder of two Swedes was a person who should have been deported a long time ago.
“Another failure,” writes La Libre.
“The killer passed under the radar,” notes Le Soir.
“That’s enough,” thunders La Dernière Heure.
“Something has gone wrong”
The asylum system and migration have become an increasingly hot issue in Belgium.
Poor conditions and a lack of places for asylum seekers, not least in Brussels, are criticized by all political groups and have contributed to growing problems with growing homelessness, addiction and crime around the city’s major railway stations.
The fact that the man who attacked Swedish football fans on Monday was a 45-year-old Tunisian who had his asylum application rejected and would have been deported a long time ago adds to the irritation – even within the Belgian government.
– People who do not have the right to protection must leave the country. When you are ordered to go, go. When two people die, you can only say that something has gone wrong, says Prime Minister Alexander De Croo at his press conference with Sweden’s visiting Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson (M) on Wednesday.
“Just Darkness”
EU Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson is gloomy as she, together with De Croo and Kristersson, participates in a short memorial ceremony for the victims.
– This is just darkness. There are people who came to experience a fun football experience and have been shot to death, because they are Swedes, says Johansson.
At the same time, she sees the incident as proof of the importance of agreeing on the asylum and migration pact that has been hammered out for several years and where a greater focus on return is a key part.
It is something that she will emphasize when the responsible ministers of the EU countries gather for the regular ministerial meeting in Luxembourg on Thursday.
– More needs to be done in this area. In particular, we need to have a focus on those individuals who are criminals or otherwise pose a security risk. Then we need to work even more jointly within the EU, says Johansson in Brussels.
FACT EU Asylum and Migration Pact
The European Commission presented one on a new “asylum and migration pact” in September 2020. Among other things, it includes new common rules for faster handling at the borders, an increased focus on sending back people who do not have grounds for asylum, and a mandatory “solidarity”, where the countries promise to help each other in different ways in crisis situations.
The proposals normally need to be approved by both the EU Parliament and the EU’s member states. Both sides have now agreed on their views on most of the proposals, even if the EU Parliament is still not done with the so-called return directive.
Compromise negotiations are now underway to reconcile the different lines before a final settlement can be formally reached and approved by both sides.
According to the plan, everything should be ready in the first quarter of 2024, in good time before next year’s EU elections.
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