Due to years of uncontrolled mass migration, many Europeans are asking what concrete options there are to reverse course, with many feeling that the situation is hopeless and cannot be significantly reversed. However, a new report titled “Taking Back Control from Brussels: The Renationalization of the EU Migration and Asylum Policies” — produced by the Mathias Corvinus Collegium (MCC), Hungary’s Migration Research Institute, and Poland’s Ordo Iuris Institute — provides comprehensive solutions to the crisis.
The paper’s core thesis offers bold and practical solutions today, noting that the power still rests with member states. The authors write: “European Union member states can reclaim effective authority over migration and asylum policy without changing the EU treaties.”
The report outlines how asylum policy has “completely collapsed” in the EU and reached a point of “total failure.” The authors contend that the current system lacks democratic legitimacy and has turned the Schengen area into a “sieve” that facilitates illegal migration and prevents effective border protection. Given the recent legalization actions of the far-left Spanish government, aimed at regularizing approximately 500,000 migrants who can then move freely across Europe, the paper’s proposals may be more relevant than ever.
The paper calls for a fundamental “paradigm shift” to restore migration sovereignty to individual nation-states, asserting that renationalization is a necessity for Europe to regain control over its borders and territory.
The following 18 proposals from the second part of the paper outline a roadmap for this renationalization. The paper itself provides far more details about each proposal and is recommended reading for any European party looking for a blueprint to regain control of immigration.
I. Opt-out and Derogations to Legal Frameworks
Grant Member States an Opt-in/Opt-out
Allow all Member States to request an individual opt-in or opt-out from the common EU migration and asylum policy, similar to the existing status of Denmark and Ireland.
Insert a “Notwithstanding Clause”
Amend the treaty to allow national parliaments to temporarily suspend EU migration rules when public order, security, or pressing national interests are at stake.
Unilaterally Disapply problematic EU Acquis
If treaty reforms are blocked, Member States should unilaterally stop applying the most problematic elements of the existing EU migration legal framework.
Withdraw from or Suspend the ECHR
Consider partial or total withdrawal from the jurisdiction of the European Court of Human Rights or temporarily suspending its application to regain border control flexibility.
Derogate from the 1967 Protocol to the Geneva Convention
Denounce this protocol to restore national flexibility and move away from “untouchable dogmas” regarding universal asylum obligations.
II. A New Migration and Asylum Paradigm
Restore National Competence for Readmission Agreements
Return the power to negotiate and conclude readmission agreements with third countries to individual Member States, as the centralized EU model has failed.
Condition EU Funding on Third-Country Cooperation
Legally mandate that EU funding to third countries be strictly conditional on their effective cooperation in migration, particularly regarding returns and readmissions.
Restore National Competence Over Returns
Grant Member States full control over the detention and expulsion of illegal migrants without interference from the EU or the European Court of Justice.
Outsource Asylum Processing to Safe Third Countries
Enable Member States to establish mechanisms to outsource the processing of asylum requests to safe third countries outside the EU territory.
Amend the Schengen Borders Code
Revise the code to eliminate legal ambiguities that currently hinder border guards and lead to “abusive” claims of refoulement.
Limit Free Movement to European Citizens
Restrict the right of free movement within the Schengen area strictly to EU citizens to prevent illegal secondary movements.
Prohibit Asylum Applications After Illegal Entry
Enact rules that bar individuals from lodging asylum claims if they have entered the Union territory illegally.
Radically Amend the Search and Rescue (SAR) Framework
Change SAR rules to ensure the duty to rescue does not equate to a right of entry and prohibit any collusion with smugglers.
Abolish EU Competence on Family Reunification and Integration
Return full control over family reunification and integration policies to national governments, arguing these areas bring “no added value” at the EU level.
Earmark EU Funding for Physical Border Infrastructure
Specifically designate European funds to finance physical barriers like fences and walls at external borders.
III. Reconsidering Civil Society and Agency Roles
Reform Frontex to Help Member States
Ensure the EU border control agency Frontex serves to assist rather than control member states and remove all NGO presence from its internal structures.
Strict Transparency and Accountability for NGOs
Subject any organization receiving European funds to rigorous rules on transparency, traceability, and accountability.
Prohibit EU Funding for Pro-Migration Organizations
Ban any direct or indirect EU funding for organizations that promote or facilitate illegal migration.
“The time for decisive action is now.”
One of the core points the paper tries to outline is that “contrary to popular belief, the EU does not possess exclusive competence in this field. While the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union provides for a common asylum policy, it does not abolish national sovereignty over border control, internal security, or the determination of who may enter and remain on national territory.”
In other words, there is an extraordinary amount that EU member states can accomplish in the area of migration policy if a determined national government is in place.
One of the authors of the report, Jerzy Kwaśniewski, an attorney and the president of the Ordo Iuris Institute for Legal Culture, said:
“Europe is facing an unprecedented legal crisis that is depriving member states of their ability to protect their own borders and citizens. After years of a common EU migration and asylum policy, the system has completely collapsed. The Schengen area has turned into a sieve through which illegal migrants move freely. Return procedures for illegal migrants are largely illusory. Meanwhile, overlapping international obligations have made effective border protection almost impossible from a legal standpoint.
To make matters worse, European taxpayers are financing NGOs that directly facilitate illegal migration and obstruct effective border control. Given the total failure of the European Union’s common migration and asylum policy, further reforms within the current EU framework are no longer possible. A fundamental paradigm shift is needed — the restoration of migration sovereignty to nation-states, which alone possess the democratic legitimacy to decide who has the right to enter and reside on their territory.
He added that “the renationalization of migration policy is no longer an option; it is a necessity. The alternative is a complete loss of control over Europe’s borders and the definitive end of our ability to manage our own territory. The time for debate is over. The time for decisive action is now.”
