Belgium to introduce 'entry controls' to combat illegal migration from summer

Belgium will introduce 'entry controls' from this summer to combat illegal migration. This was announced by Minister of Asylum and Migration Anneleen van Bossuyt and Minister of the Interior Bernard Quintin, reports VRT . The checks will be carried out on buses or trains entering Belgium, among other places. "Anyone who wants to enter Belgium illegally or has received protection in another country is no longer welcome," says Van Bossuyt.

The checks will mainly focus on people who do not have papers or who have already applied for asylum in another Member State of the European Union or have even obtained a residence permit elsewhere.

There will be checks at parking lots, along highways and at access roads. People who enter Belgium on a flight from countries within the Schengen area where many migrants enter – such as Greece and Italy – can also expect stricter checks.

"We see that Belgium is becoming a magnet for migration," Minister Van Bossuyt told VTM Nieuws. "We absolutely want to counteract that by carrying out very targeted checks." In April, she also announced that she wanted to put an end to what she calls "asylum shoppers" by no longer providing them with shelter.

Opposition

Figures from the Immigration Office in Belgium showed earlier this week that the number of asylum applications in Belgium from people who have already been recognised as refugees in another European country has fallen sharply, VRT reports. The refugees for whom this still occurs are mainly Palestinians who have already received asylum protection in Greece.

Opposition party Groen calls the idea of ​​the checks "completely unrealistic, inflated talk". It would be nothing more than "symbolic trumpeting with which the minister shows that she is not pursuing a serious policy at all", according to MP Matti Vandemaele.

He expects that the upcoming checks will mainly cause chaos "for everyone". "Soon we will all be stuck in traffic for hours at the border, on the train or when you get off a plane."