EU Migration Policies: Good Intentions, Externalized Violence
EU Migration Policies: Good Intentions, Externalized Violence
Location: Žižcafé Therapy /Žerotínova 1520/33
Date: Wednesday, 19th August
Time: 7:00 PM
Our next Asamblea Abierta debate: the gap between Europe's humanitarian rhetoric and the violent reality of its borders. The EU wants to appear human rights defender, but outsources the dirty work to authoritarian regimes.
For years, the EU has built its migration policy on the "fiction" that it could externalize borders without externalizing responsibilities. It signs contracts with regimes that systematically violate human rights, paying them to keep people away from European soil. Morocco has become a key partner in this business of containment—a relationship that makes Europe dangerously dependent and vulnerable.
The Ceuta crisis exposed this: 70,000 people crossed from Morocco in hours. At least 88 died.
The far-right weaponized it. The response from European leaders has been telling. Rather than showing solidarity with Spain or expressing concern for the lives lost, several EU member states immediately attacked Madrid . Italy and Denmark led the charge, with far-right Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni demanding emergency talks to tighten external borders . The Spanish government was left isolated for taking a more humanitarian approach. Czech PM Babiš called for Spain's Schengen suspension. Meanwhile, Spain's regularization scheme was attacked as a "pull factor."
Questions for the Left:
· How is the migrant turned into a threat to justify militarization?
· Can we advocate for open borders without ignoring real social tensions?
· How do we build solidarity between migrant and locals?
· What happens when Europe's security depends on authoritarian regimes? Are these policies not creating the very instability they claim to prevent?
About us: Asamblea Abierta de Praga is a leftist collective established by migrants and locals in Prague. With our work, we seek to build broad and plural alliances with other similar groups and people in the city.
