European leaders weigh in on 'legitimate' issue of illegal immigration: 'Must be stopped'

UNITED NATIONS, New York – UNITED NATIONS, New York – European officials attending the United Nations' High-level Week told Fox News Digital astir the request to clamp down connected amerciable oregon "irregular" immigration, touting occurrence with stringent policies arsenic members of the bloc proceed seeking deals to unafraid the continent.

"There are a batch of agreements with the countries successful North Africa for reducing amerciable immigration," Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani explained. "We are successful favour of ineligible immigration, but the statement with this is the cardinal for reducing the illegal immigration."

"We are warring against transgression due to the fact that the quality traffickers are the aforesaid trafficking drugs and weapons," helium added. "For this, we request to combat against crime. To bushed the crime, it is besides a precise important instrumentality for reducing amerciable immigration." 

Europe experiences a important level of migration from North Africa and parts of the Middle East, which culminated successful a exile situation betwixt 2015 and 2016 that saw countries specified arsenic Germany conflict to grip the level of incoming immigration.

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Last twelvemonth saw different spike, with the European Union Agency for Asylum determining that October 2023 saw its biggest spike successful 7 years and comparing it to the levels seen during the previous exile crisis. 

To combat this, countries person enacted localized migration policies portion the European Union worked retired deals with countries specified arsenic Tunisia, Libya, Syria and Afghanistan. The Russian penetration of Ukraine added to this unit by displacing astir 4.4 cardinal radical who sought refuge successful neighboring countries. 

Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani attends a forum successful Cernobbio, Italy, Sept. 6, 2024. (Reuters/Claudia Greco)

Germany and Italy received the astir applications for asylum seekers – astir 930,000 asylum seekers await a archetypal lawsuit determination by the extremity of May 2024. Italy’s right-wing authorities introduced a raft of migration reforms to woody with the influx, including an 18-month detention play and caller centers to location asylum seekers. 

The island of Lampedusa, Italy’s southernmost island, receives thousands of migrants each period from Tunisia. New processing centers conflict to support up with the demand, with 1 idiosyncratic past twelvemonth calling the concern "complex."

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No 1 understands the complexity of the migration contented amended than Hungary, which remains locked successful a ineligible quality implicit its ain policies: The European Court of Justice successful June ordered Hungary to wage a fine of up to 200 cardinal euros for breaking the bloc’s asylum rules, and an further 1 cardinal euros per day. 

Hungary besides this period started exploring ineligible options to unit the EU enforcement committee to wage costs spent connected helping enforce the Schengen (or free-movement) portion of the European Union. 

Migrants from Tunisia and Libya get astatine Lampedusa land aboard an Italian seashore defender vessel connected Aug. 1, 2020. (Alberto Pizzoli/AFP via Getty Images)

Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto argued that his country's attack has faced backlash since the ruling Fidesz enactment took powerfulness 14 years ago, arguing that Brussels yet seeks migration successful examination to the assorted countries that marque up the bloc. 

"We wholly disagree with Brussels, and we don’t person the volition to fulfill Brussels, to beryllium honest," Szijjarto said. "We don’t person the volition to fulfill the wide mainstream. We person lone 1 intention: To fulfill the Hungarian people." 

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"I bash judge that Brussels and immoderate of the subordinate states of the European Union and immoderate European politicians, adjacent successful the caller past, person a precise wide work erstwhile it comes to the migratory crisis, due to the fact that Brussels has been carrying retired a pro-migration policy, and it is perfectly intractable if you look astatine however they talk astir this full phenomenon," Szijjarto said. 

"They accidental that migration indispensable beryllium managed – no, migration indispensable beryllium stopped, and arsenic agelong arsenic you negociate migration, it means you enactment migration, you promote migration, you promote radical to permission their homes," Szijjarto continued. "This is thing that we cannot enactment and cannot stand." 

Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto, right, meets with Slovene Environmental Minister Bojan Kumer, successful Budapest, Hungary, Oct. 4, 2023. (Attila Kovacs/MTI via AP)

"Our presumption is precise good: Migration indispensable beryllium stopped," helium added. "Another mode to enactment it: All radical successful the world, each quality beings, indispensable beryllium fixed the close to person a harmless and unafraid beingness wherever helium oregon she has been living, and this means that alternatively of encouraging radical to deed the road, the circumstances of everyone should beryllium ensured to beryllium capable to unrecorded wherever helium oregon she was born."

The situation remains however to bounds that migration erstwhile the full bloc allows escaped question betwixt members. Germany attempted to woody with this contented precocious by instituting its ain hard borders, which immoderate experts person warned could pb to a "chain reaction" crossed the continent, according to German outlet DW. 

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Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky acknowledged that the contented is simply a "difficult question" owed to the equilibrium of free question wrong the union against the request for stronger outer borders, saying that it puts "a batch of unit connected us." 

"I deliberation it’s a wide amusement that Europe has mislaid its quality to task geopolitical power, particularly into Africa and the Middle East, due to the fact that we are fundamentally not capable to bash immoderate benignant of measures to halt this irregular migration," Lipavsky said. 

Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky and South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul be a gathering of the North Atlantic Council successful Brussels, Belgium, connected April 4, 2024. (Reuters/Johanna Geron/Pool)

"When idiosyncratic who truly has nary close for asylum is successful Europe, determination are nary existent mechanisms, for example, for our populations," helium added. "So they volition request to enactment much effort into that, definitely."

Lipavsky praised Germany’s determination to prosecute stronger migration policies, saying that "it’s large for Europe" that the state "moved a small bit" toward the much strict policies of countries similar the Czech Republic.

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Leaders person keenly pursued solutions to the migrant situation arsenic the contented remains a cardinal operator successful elections: Earlier this year, right-wing parties made astonishment gains successful the European Parliament, with galore succeeding successful getting a fewer members added to the governing body. 

Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis admitted that portion helium believes the surge successful right-wing enactment is much a strategy daze than a grounds of a increasing movement, the results bespeak "a batch of anxiousness successful the population" erstwhile it comes to definite "legitimate" issues, including migration. 

Lithuania's Foreign Affairs Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis attends NATO's 75th day summit, successful Washington, D.C., July 11, 2024. (Reuters/Yves Herman/File)

"The occupation is guarding… outer European borders," Landsbergis said. "When we look the instrumentalized migration, wherever Lukashenko started bringing thousands of migrants from the Middle East and Northern Africa to our borders, fundamentally pushing radical into the European Union arsenic a instrumentality – to enactment governmental unit connected america due to the fact that helium doesn’t similar our policies and different things – we adhere to the rules."

Lithuania, on with Poland and Latvia, combated the weaponized influx of migrants from Belarus successful 2021 by gathering a astir 370-mile-long alloy partition with barbed-wire that is "electronically controlled."

Landsbergis claimed the borderline is "probably 1 of the amended controlled borders wrong outer borders of EU," which includes borderline guards and accrued resources aft the "whole country… shifted the gear."

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"This is simply a problem, and we have… a work to woody with the problem," helium said. "The easiest happening to bash is to fto the radical successful – mostly, they would similar to scope the Netherlands, they similar to scope Sweden, they similar to scope Germany… and you say, OK, it’s intolerable for maine to spell to the border. We didn’t bash that."

"We’re guarding the border, adhering to the rules, and I deliberation we’re rather palmy that the unit from the borderline connected Lithuania is minimal now." 

The Associated Press contributed to this report.