The images of thousands of migrants arriving in Spain owe nothing to chance. Of course, there is an unfortunate political game being played between two countries. These people did not arrive at the border at the same time by coincidence.
But we must not forget the overwhelming responsibility of Pedro Sánchez and his socialist government. With a mass regularisation procedure, Spain perfectly illustrates what a “pull factor” is. The more permissive a country is with immigration, the greater illegal immigration will be.
Spain received more than a million regularisation requests between 16 April and 30 June this year. That is insane and irresponsible.
Knowing this, criminal organisations of smugglers and would-be migrants have targeted Spain as a gateway into Europe.
Sánchez is thus putting Europe at risk, since we know that illegal immigration is today an easy source of labour for serious crime such as drug trafficking. I would remind you that 43% of our prisoners are not Belgian nationals, most of whom are staying illegally.
- By contrast, the results of Denmark's migration policies, which have aimed at tightening reception conditions for the past ten years, have produced remarkable figures: a deterrent effect on prospective migrants and a falling number of asylum seekers: between 2014 and 2019, the total number of asylum applications fell by 82%, from 14,792 to 2,716.
- This deterrent effect can also be seen in the entry of foreigners (excluding asylum seekers) into Danish territory: over the same period (2014-2019), the total number of migrants fell from 49,039 to 42,268 (-14%).
Does this mean we should close off access to our territory altogether? Certainly not. Selective immigration will be necessary to deal with an ageing population. We must also fulfil our humanitarian duty.
But it is important to remember that every country is responsible for its own population. It is not Europe's fault that 150 countries in the world live in worse conditions than ours!
We must therefore take our fair share, but certainly not all the world's troubles.
Consequently, our policy of tightening migration conditions is essential and must be tightened further still, following the example of the Scandinavian countries.
In the immediate term, the MR is calling for targeted checks to be reinstated for people coming from Spain, leading to a partial suspension of Spain from Schengen regarding the free movement of persons. The incompetence of the Sánchez government must not drag Europe down with it. I stand by my refusal to allow people in an illegal situation to swell the ranks of those already present, for example, around our train stations. Belgium already has 150,000 illegal residents on its territory.
In conclusion, it is clear that the situation of women, children and families cannot be compared to that of young single men, but it must be noted that in these massive influxes, families are not the majority. Our duty of solidarity must continue, but it must never lead us to abandon our obligation to protect our social cohesion and the interests of our country and its inhabitants.