Nicolas Schmit, the lead candidate of the European socialists, has called for the revision of multi-million deals signed by Brussels with neighbouring countries to decrease irregular migration. These deals, involving countries such as Tunisia, Libya, and Egypt, have faced criticism for being inefficient and lacking transparency in the use of EU funds. Schmit’s opposition to these agreements puts him at odds with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who has been a proponent of such policies.
The agreements, often referred to as “memorandums of understanding,” have been heavily criticised by humanitarian NGOs and migration scholars for their reliance on autocratic governments and reports of human rights violations in countries like Tunisia and Egypt. However, the strategy has received support from leaders across Europe, including Italy’s Giorgia Meloni and Spain’s Pedro Sánchez. The latest development in this policy is an assistance package to Lebanon to prevent a surge of refugees heading towards Cyprus.
Schmit also denounced the so-called “Rwanda model” established by the United Kingdom to fly migrants to Rwanda to process their asylum claims. The centre-right European People’s Party has proposed a similar project in their manifesto, but Schmit firmly opposes such a model, calling it a violation of human dignity. He warned against any deal or arrangement with the extreme right, citing the unpredictability of their demands and the fundamentally different conception of Europe that they defend.
As the lead candidate for the European socialists, Schmit finds himself in a peculiar position campaigning against von der Leyen, who enjoys strong connections with EU leaders and is the frontrunner in the upcoming elections. Von der Leyen’s overtures to the hard-right European Conservatives and Reformists group have raised concerns among socialists, who warn that seeking votes from the extreme right would jeopardize their support. Schmit criticized the EPP for making distinctions between the “decent” and “pariah” extreme right, stressing the dangers of aligning with groups that uphold fundamentally different values.
