Last week at the Hague summit, NATO signaled de facto that illegal immigration is a significant threat to national security. This decision included a provision that allows member states to count border security-related expenses toward the five percent defense spending target.
This marks a substantial shift from the situation and attitudes that prevailed among European political leaders ten years ago, when people from developing countries streamed into the continent without asking for permission, seeking better livelihoods. However, it remains to be seen what kind of measures different member states will actually take.
A crucial factor in this context is the nature of the government in power in each member state. For example, in Finland, almost all politicians condemn Russia’s instrumentalized migration. However, those who arrive independently tend to receive sympathy—especially from the green-left, but also from the liberal right. Thus, Finland's currently tightening immigration policy would change significantly if the public were to elect a government that includes the political left.
The same largely applies to other European countries. And the unfortunate reality is that effective immigration control requires participation from all nations, because under the spirit of the Schengen Agreement, immigrants entering the EU can move quite freely within the area and apply for asylum in whichever country they believe offers them the best advantages.
It is also essential to note that EU countries still lack both a plan and a practical mechanism for how to remove large numbers of people from developing countries from the Union’s territory, should such a need arise—for example, due to an economic recession. And I don’t believe such a plan will emerge for a long time—certainly not on a Union-wide scale.
Previous thoughts on the same topic:
Expert Statement Highlights Russian Hybrid Threat Over Migration Across the Mediterranean
Human Rights Judge Pauliine Koskelo Questions Asylum Interpretation That Ignores the Threat of Hybrid Warfare
Friedrich Merz Needs the AfD – A Precedent from Finland
